We were very excited to take the girls on our first
'airplane vacation' in a long time.
The big girls have traveled to the west coast several
times, but none of the girls have been to the east.
For as long as I can remember, Avery has been begging
to "go to the beach and collect sea shells".
While we love traveling to California for the
beach and family visits, we decided this time to take
a trip to the best beaches around: St. Petersburg, Florida.
The girls were so excited, especially Avery. She couldn't
wait to get on the airplane. She talked about it for weeks.
I was nervous that her expectations could not possible be met.
Luckily, I was wrong!
We had great flights and a great trip!
Everyone was excited to fly, but Avery definitely proved
to be a natural in the air. She loved every minute of the
flights. She never even noticed the pressure changes and
didn't complain once of plugged ears. I wish I could say
the same for the 2 big girls!
 |
| So excited to take off for the first time! |
 |
The big girls enjoyed sitting together and taking care of themselves for most
of the flights. They're getting so big! |
We arrived at our resort around 4:30pm and quickly threw our
bags in our rooms and headed to the beach!
Avery had never seen the ocean before and she was thrilled!
As a mom, this will forever be one of my favorite moments.
Watching my girls run into the ocean for the first time (or first time
in a long time) and see the excitement and awe on their faces. Priceless!
After a bit of ocean time, we headed to our room, changed into
more appropriate Florida attire and went in for our first swim!
 |
| Ella and Avery were the first to head in. They loved the water! |
 |
Dave and the girls enjoyed swimming out to the reef and then
jumping off of it. I enjoyed staying on shore taking pictures! |
We spent the first day enjoying the beach.
Our resort was very nice and had great amenities.
We especially enjoyed the beachside cabanas. We took a trip
to the store and stocked up on sand toys and snacks
and then lazed a day away on the beach.
When we grew tired of the beach, we headed in to take a dip
in one of the pools. It really did have everything we could want
and we made the most of it!
Midway through the trip we took some time out of the
sun and headed into Tampa. We spent the day at the
Florida Aquarium and some surrounding attractions.
We all love aquariums and had a blast on our visit!
 |
| Avery, ready for a day of aquarium fun! |
 |
This is a sting ray at the aquarium that we were allowed to pet.
It was very similar to the REAL sting ray that chased us out of the
sea the next day at our resort! |
 |
| Looking for Nemo... |
 |
All of the girls are fascinated by sharks, so they were thrilled to
see this great collection. Not the best picture, but believe me, we
were in shark heaven! |
I really enjoyed the outside play area at the aquarium.
It was a great way to enjoy the sun and let the girls have some
play time and burn some energy while Dave and I
relaxed and enjoyed some tea!
 |
| Ahoy mateys! |
After the aquarium, we headed to a warship museum.
Dave really wanted to do this and I was hesitant, but
went along. It ended up being really cool and the girls had
a blast and learned a bit along the way, too!
 |
| Captain Avery |
After a great day "in town" we spent the rest of the trip
in the sand and water!
We had fun building sand castles, burying each other
in sand, and swimming, swimming, swimming!
 |
| Ella was the first brave soul to get "buried alive"! |
 |
| Breaking free is the fun part! |
 |
| Avery loved it! |
 |
| Claire wasn't so sure, but was a good sport! |
We had many sandcastle-building contests throughout the week~
We enjoyed paddle-boating around our resort. Well, most of us
enjoyed it. We had a duck that liked to follow us and Claire is
not a fan of ducks, or really any birds!
 |
| Ready for some fun in the sun! |
One of the big attractions of the resort is their
"waterpark" in the water. We sent the girls our there
once, and it was not a hit! It was hilarious to listen
to me yell at them, "no, you can't come in. Go have some fun!"
Once was enough for the girls.
 |
| Claire and Ella each gave the slide a try. That's Claire at the top. |
We spent two evenings at John's Pass. This was really special for me
because I remember it from when I was a kid. I spent many
spring breaks in St. Petes with my dad, and I always enjoyed
the boardwalk.
The girls had fun shopping and watching the fishermen.
One night we were able to watch a big group of dolphins playing
in the water. I enjoyed a delicious seafood dinner both nights
we were there. Yum!
 |
| Some of the dolphins out playing |
Back at the resort, we took advantage of some of the fun 'extras'.
 |
| The girls and I enjoyed a night of "glow in the dark" mini golf! |
They had a kids club, but we didn't do much there.
We did take some time to paint sand dollars, which was a lot
of fun and a great souvenir!
 |
| Taking a break from the sun in one of our cabanas. |
The favorite activity, by far, was the sea-doo.
Dave took everyone out for a fast and fun trip
and it was awesome! I think the girls would have
kept riding all day, if they could.
We tried to rent them again on our last day, but it
was too windy and choppy. Even through they were
disappointed we could ride again, they did have fun
'body surfing' on the big waves.
 |
Fun in the pool!
|
All in all, it was a great trip!
We had some fun and new experiences.
We made some great memories, enjoyed some
great family time, and can all say we've made the most
of the Florida sun!
