The Epic Florida Trip Continues

So once again I have finally made it to the computer to update our Florida vacation. We have been having a great time here playing with all of our family and enjoying the pool and beach.

Morgan takes a snack break from the pool to enjoy some watermelon. Another advantage of visiting family is the amount of free babysitting. I took advantage of my dad's willingness to stay home with Morgan while he slept to see some Summer Fine Arts plays put on by the county's high schools. The first night my mom, my good friend Jessica and I went to see Les Miserables put on by North Brevard County. I was worried about high-school kids' abilities to perform this particular play but was pleasantly surprised. The production was phenomenal and quite enjoyable. My mother and I have been listening to the soundtrack in the car ever since! (Oh and yes, Jessica is pregnant and no I am not...ugh!)
The next day my mom, a sister from church and I went to the Saturday matinee performance of Crazy for You. It is a typical Gershwin musical and was also a typical high school production with some enjoyable moments as well as painful ones. It was nice to have another girl's day out however, so I'll take what I can get.
Morgan has discovered a new way to eat his yogurt all by himself.
He's also discovered he likes to help Gramma do everything. He follows her around whining to push the vacuum, helps her bring the trash cans to and from the curb and of course is always ready to lend a hand around the kitchen...secretly with the hope that food may fall his way at any moment.
One morning my sister Jill, my mom and I took the kids to the Brevard Zoo. It is a small county zoo but it has a lot to offer and we only made it through half the zoo before the heat and humidity and nap time caught up with us.
Morgan really enjoyed watching the rhinos for an amazingly long time.
I took a quick pic of the warthogs in honor of Cody since he's a big fan of theirs.
We payed a little extra for our tickets so we could get a chance to feed the birds and giraffes. Morgan loved watching the birds and even touched a few of them. I was amazed that he didn't scream or cry or try to get away from them. My mom was covered in birds and he thought that was the funniest thing he had ever seen.After the birds we took a train ride to hopefully catch a breeze while we watched the animals. Morgan wasn't as fascinated by the train as I thought he would be but he enjoyed it and insisted on sitting all by himself with no one holding him. Such a big boy!
Me, Morgan, Jill, Jane and baby Alice's car seat. Jane enjoys the heat if you can't tell! This girl has the best scowls ever made!
The humidity brings out the best in Morgan's curls.
Up close and personal with an ostrich. There was nothing between us and the animals which was kind of disconcerting but made for nice pictures.
Baby Alice enjoying the train ride and humidity as well.
Two seconds before the photo took the giraffe was eating a biscuit from Morgan's hand. Once again I was amazed at how calm Morgan was by the whole thing. He just quietly watched the giraffes and willingly held his hand out to feed them. What a trooper!
After a day at the zoo we went back to Jill's for naps and to hang out for the rest of the day. Since Morgan was soaked from the zoo he borrowed some of Jane's clothes to hang out in. Here he is playing Jill's piano. Both my sisters' homes and my parents' home have a piano in them. Morgan LOVES to play them. The amazing part is he doesn't just bang on them but actually picks out notes, sings along and likes to turn the pages on the music after a few notes. I think piano lessons will not be too far away in his future.

Here's a little video of him playing the piano.

Right before his nap I was changing Morgan on the counter where they change baby Alice. Since her umbilical cord was still attached there was a bottle of rubbing alcohol next to the changing station. While I was changing Morgan he grabbed the bottle and unfortunately the top was not on and he dumped rubbing alcohol all over his face and in his eyes and everywhere else. I immediately grabbed him and put his face under the water, then called poison control to make sure there was nothing else I needed to do. They told me to rinse his eyes for fifteen minutes. Well needless to say we both got soaked and another change of clothes was in order. After his nap he seemed to be just fine and we couldn't resist taking a picture of my rough and tumble boy running around in Jane's pink striped shirt and pushing her very girly stroller. This kid just rolls with the punches no matter how pink they may be!

Another new discovery for Morgan is steering wheels. Every time he gets near a car this is all he wants to do. It's gotten to the point that we can't let him walk in a parking lot because all he does is start banging on the doors and pulling on handles trying to get to that beloved steering wheel.
Now that my sister Kim and her family are home Morgan has lots more cousins to enjoy. Kim's only daughter Mikayla has been enjoying entertaining Morgan. Here they are dancing to Barenaked Ladies Snacktime album. I figured I should indoctrinate the rest of my family's children with my love for this music.


After a hard day of playing it was time to clean up and the girls decided they needed to help Morgan with his bath. We must have sung "5 Little Monkeys" twenty times but it was sure a crowd-pleaser.
Last Saturday the 19th my whole family traveled to St. Augustine to celebrate my grandfather's 90th birthday with a surprise party. Cody flew in late Friday to accompany us on the trip. Here are my boys enjoying the car ride.

Here is my father Kerry and his father Harold. See any family resemblance?
The great-grandkids were more than happy to help great-grandpa open his presents. My Auntie Sue (in yellow) and my cousin Kenneth (in gray) flew in from California for the party, along with my Uncle Larry and his partner Pat from Boston. We were so excited to see everyone and spend some time with family we rarely get the opportunity to see.
Uncle Cody enjoys hanging out with his nieces and nephews and it seems the feeling is mutual with Mikayla.
After the party we went in the pool at the country club we were at and then the children ran around and tuckered themselves out. I guess they weren't the only ones who were tired on the way home.
That is just a small sampling of what we have been up to these past few weeks. We have really loved being here in Florida but after getting to spend a couple days with Cody we will be happy to get home and be around him for good as well. Morgan loved having his Daddy around even if it was for a short time. We love and miss you Cody! See everyone at the end of next week.