In celebration of our 5 year wedding anniversary last month, Nate and I wanted to go on a fun mini outing while we were in Miami and had babysitters. We settled on a "Millionaire's Row" boat tour, with highlights including beautiful islands like Fisher Island, the cruise ships of Port of Miami, and homes of Gloria Estefan, Julio Iglesias, etc. We had a great time and enjoyed being out on the water.
Another day, we all (except my mother who had a little cold) went to the Miami Seaquarium. I hadn't been there in years, and was surprised at how much fun it was. We watched show after show of dolphins, seals and sea lions, and a killer whale. There were also other things like shark feedings, sting ray feedings, alligators, random fish, etc
The dolphin shows were a blast:
Karina clapping in delight at the flips and jumps some dolphins were performing:
I think this lady is crazy to be in the water with the killer whale, but it was an awesome show for us in the audience!
Florida manatees aren't particularly lively creatures, since they're slow and just sit there, but it was still interesting to see an endangered species. They entertained us by munching on lettuce:
Here are Mormor and Lydia, with Lydia holding the coin of a 30+ year old play cash register. Lydia was very tied to these coins and was scarcely seen not holding one of these, her prized possessions.
Karina and Mimi playing with an equally old Hello Kitty house set. They were having a picnic/party.
We went to the beach twice while in Miami - once to Matheson Hammock Park, and then to Bill Baggs State Park. We quickly learned that Lydia wasn't her normal cheerful self playing in the sand because she hated that no one would let her put the sand in her mouth. She thought we ruined all her fun. Lydia did enjoy the water though.
Karina had a great time digging in the sand and building a sand castle, looking for shells, and just exploring the sand.
At some point she decided that her next project was to throw sand from the beach back into the ocean. She took handful after handful of sand and dutifully threw it back in the water. Silly girl.
Nate and Mimi took turns taking the girls into the warm ocean.
While we were in Miami, the Ft Lauderdale Temple had their open house going on, and we went there for a tour. After the tour we had my mom take some family photos of us.
We had the girls in matching dresses, so we wanted some sister pictures too, but they never did quite cooperate. after an already tiring morning.
Individual pictures turned out a little better.
The girls really enjoy riding in 'special carts' at grocery stores and other places. Steering wheels are always a highlight. Karina and Lydia usually enjoy being together in carts, but if one of two things happens we have a disaster: 1) Karina squishing little sister with overbearing hugs, or 2) Lydia yanking on big sister's hair.
Lydia speaks 3 words now. She often calls out for her 'ma ma' when only I will do. Nate is 'da' and she also says 'ba ba' when we say bye-bye. 'Mama' is what she says most often and consistently though. Lydia also got yet another tooth in Miami. She is up to 8 now and it looks like she doesn't want to wait to get her molars:-(
Lydia also entertained us today at home in Maryland by waving happily at her reflexion in the fireplace glass. Then she saw herself in a mirror later, and enthusiastically waved at herself then too and then seemed ecstatic that her reflection waved back.
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