Joshua insisted on bringing the hockey sticks and puck and I'm so glad we did. He and Josiah pretty much played outside every moment that we were at the house. 
Grammie and Poppy and Miss Jackie took us all out to a special place for breakfast where you get to make your own pancakes right on your table! Miss Jackie turned out to be the expert pancake maker...she even created Mickey Mouse pancakes! 
It was cold on the day we went to see the manatees. We had a picnic lunch and even got to go on a boat ride to see all the wildlife on the St Johns River. We saw all kinds of birds, even wild turkeys, and a couple baby gators! 
Can't keep this kid out of the trees...even pokey looking ones!
Joshua has been working on his chess game and wanted to take Poppy on...Poppy took him down but it was still a good game! We also played a few rousing games of Sorry and Uno. 
Here we are at Gatorland. In case you can't read it the sign says, "Trespassers will be eaten!" The kids loved it and even got to sit on a real, live gator for a picture. None of them were even the least bit scared! 
Another day we hit the Sanford Zoo which also has a super fun ropes course! Abigail, Joshua and Josiah all tried it out. Chloe decided she would rather cheer them on from the ground. Everybody did really well on the course and Grammie and I decided that next time we are going to do it too. :)
On our last day the girls went out to a tea room for a lovely party. We had a great time trying on hats and sipping tea (and hot cocoa) with our pinkies out. Our lunches and fancy desserts were delish! We rounded out our time in Mt. Dora by stopping in a few of the little shops and meeting the horses who pull the carriages around town. While we were being girly girls Unlce Mikey took the boys out to lunch and bowling. They had a great time too. Unfortunately Poppy had to go to a conference for the weekend so he missed out. 
Finally, the boys wanted hair cuts so Uncle Mikey helped them out. Joshua talked us into a mohawk and Aunt Dana spiked him up real good. He loves it. Uncle Mikey will be getting a buzz cut of his own as just this week he has returned to serve in the Army. Please remember him and Dana in your prayers as he goes through re-training (he served in the Army years ago). So that was our trip. We are already back into our regular schedule but looking forward to the next time we can head south!
