Chad and I are celebrating our 10 year anniversary this September. Chad needed to take a CPA review course and the class we wanted him to take isn't offered locally. We decided to combine our anniversary trip and his CPA review course into one trip. We found one in Miami and decided to book it. Luckily for us Chad's brother and his wife had just moved to Miami so we had a place to stay. We lined up babysitters for the older two boys and Sutton came with us. The little stinker doesn't take a bottle so we didn't really have a choice.
The first two days in Miami Chad didn't have class so Janessa and Brent offered to watch Sutton while we crammed as much sight-seeing into two as possible. First stop was the everglades to see some alligators and go on an airboat tour-
The Everglades were beautiful and I tried to snap a few pictures every time we took a break.
This was the biggest alligator we saw. It was a cloudy day and apparently they like to be out in the sun. It was still fun though!
It is crazy how fast the boats can go in such shallow water. They really whip around the corners too!
How cute are all these baby alligators?
Afterwards they had an animal show that was pretty fun.
The guy made me kiss a frog. It was the hugest, grossest looking thing ever!
J/k. I would never kiss a frog. It just looks like it.
Chad took a picture holding a gator. We texted it to the boys and they thought it was pretty dang amazing. Keller is still talking about it weeks later. He says when he grows up he wants to hold an alligator and eat frog legs too. Haha
For lunch we tried alligator tail and frog legs. It took me a minute to work myself up to the frog legs but once I did it actually tasted fine.
After the Everglades it was raining pretty hard so we just drove around and looked at a few things. This is the famous Biltmore Hotel. It was beautiful.
I couldn't get over how awesome these huge trees are. They just lines the streets and made a beautiful tunnel to drive though.
Chad and I really enjoyed driving through Coral Gables and looking at some of the ridiculously priced homes.
For dinner we went to this place I read about in a book. We couldn't find it at first. Then we saw this little sign that said it was inside the gas station. Weird we didn't think to look there right?! The funny thing is that it was actually a nice restaurant with delicious food.
The next morning we headed to Key Largo to go on a glass bottom boat tour of the reef. The boat ride out to the reef was SO relaxing. There is just something about the ocean air that calms my soul
The reef was beautiful and way different than anything else we had seen before. You can't really see it in the pictures but you could really see a lot in person.
After that we went to pick up Sutton so Brent and Janessa could go to trip. We headed to Vizcaya Museum. It was an old mansion that is now a museum. I wasn't sure what to expect but it was actually really cool.
The coolest part was this crazy concrete barge the owner had made. Seriously who does that?!
Then we went to the Perez Art Museum. It was really modern and had some amazing exhibits.
We picked up some cool gifts for the boys at the museum.
After the art museum we took Sutton back to Brent and Janessa. Then we headed to South Beach and rented some bikes. We road around and had a blast. Nothing beats a bike ride on the boardwalk!
After that we grabbed dinner and headed home. The rest of the week Chad had class from 9:00-1:00 and then did homework until about 5:00. We tried our best to play in the evenings though. On Monday night we headed to this awesome little cove. I was wishing our older boys were there because they would've loved it.
I love the "Beware of Alligators" sign!
Before we went to sleep we had fun playing games together!
One night we went to Wynwood Walls. It is a few blocks of some amazing graffiti art. Some of it was pretty impressive! My favorite was this awesome building turned into a boombox.
While Chad was at class we worked on getting Brent and Janessa settled into their new place. We found everything a home and did some decorating. I think they have an adorable new apartment to call home for the next four years of medical school.
On Saturday we planned a day trip to Key West. Our first stop on the drive was at this cute little bakery. We got a key lime pie, coconut key lime bar, and some key lime soda. It was all so delicious. It's never too early for dessert on vacation right?!
We stopped and played at a few beaches along the way. It was insane how blue/turquoise the water got the farther we drove. I've never seen water like that.
At one of the beaches we rented a kayak. It was fun to go play. One thing I didn't know about Florida beaches - there are no waves. So different than California!
Look at this jellyfish we saw. I'm not going to lie, after we saw that I was afraid to go in the water. Haha
We were driving around and I spotted this huge thing in the grass. It was enormous!
We drove by the Key West Cemetery. I know that sounds kinda creepy but it was really interesting. There were a lot of aboveground graves. Plus lots of them were really old and cracked. It reminded me of a cemetery you would play an extremely scary game of hide and seek in.
Our last activity before we headed home and back to Las Vegas, was a sunset snorkel trip in Key West. It was hands down the BEST part of the trip. The boat ride out to the reef was so relaxing. We have snorkeled quite a few places: Hawaii, Acapulco, Cancun, Australia. This was the BEST snorkeling. We saw school after school of fish. It was like everywhere you looked you saw something new. Also the reef was so pretty. It was just breathtaking!
Sutton crashed on the boat ride. We all took turns holding Sutton once we started snorkeling. I was so appreciative of Janessa so Chad and I could go for a few minutes by ourselves. She's the best!
I love these brothers!
Don't forget about us girls on the boat ;)
On the ride back to the dock we enjoyed the sunset and gave Sutton lots of loves ;)
I'm pretty sure Sutton has been going through Aunt Janessa and Uncle Brent withdrawals since we've been home. We were beyond grateful for their hospitality. We miss you already!
I am so grateful for both of our parents and my sisters who all took a turn watching the older boys. The didn't miss us one bit! They rode bikes, went to Chuck E Cheese, saw a movie, baked cookies, etc.
We had fun but it feels good to be home!
