Go RVing - Leaving the Keys

Our last morning in the Keys started out pretty relaxed.

Derek and Miles took in the sunrise from our porch.

It was so fun to be in a location where you can see the sun set and rise along the horizon because you're on such a small island.

We had some shrimp and squid bait to use up, so the boys fished a little.

Then we took a few photos for "Go RVing" to use for promotional purposes.

They manufacture park models as well as RV's, so wanted some shots in one.

So, we obliged. 

Then the boys went fishing... yes again, while I finished packing our things. Derek took a phone video of this catch and Cooper can be heard saying, "Oh, it's a big one!"!  This made me laugh so hard coming from a kid who had a shark on his line a couple days before!  The fish on his line here is that little speck to the right of the pole closest to the camera.  :)

That's when it rained a little.  Not much but just enough to make me thank God again for answering our prayer for good weather.  The forecast showed pretty high chances of rain when we were scheduled to be there.  We prayed for sunshine during shooting and are thankful His answer was "Yes".  We drove into the Keys in a light rain but had sunshine the whole time there, then it rained just a little as we left.

We loaded up and hit the road, enjoying our last drive across the bridges of the Keys.  I kind of felt like I needed to pinch myself.  I'm so thankful for the opportunity to go on this trip and spend the week soaking in God's beauty with my little family!

We had worked it out to stay a couple extra days in Florida after shooting had wrapped.  Our first extra night we headed to Miami.

Where we found our hotel and checked out the view first thing!

Miles had never stayed in a hotel before and Cooper didn't remember when he did last since he was so little.  They ran around looking at everything so excited!  Even the bathroom... ha.  Things I remember hearing: "Look at the sink!"  "It comes with a built in blow dryer!"  "And a coffee maker!".

It didn't take much to convince them to change into swim trunks so we could hit the beach.

Where one of the first things they saw was a jellyfish. 

So we spent the rest of our time there avoiding stepping on it.

We didn't have any time on a beach in the Keys, so it was fun afternoon in the sand.

The boys worked their way out into the water.

And had fun playing in the waves, something else we hadn't done yet on this trip.

I put my feet in and maybe got wet up to my knees, good enough for me!

I enjoyed my view of the boys playing from my beach towel. 

 They also did some sand castle construction.

And Miles just really liked the sand.

He was also always searching for something.  When he found this old coconut he asked if he could take it home. 

But then he noticed the seagulls.

And since we were about to leave, I let the boys feed them some leftover snacks... 

Feeding the seagulls attracts a bunch of them, so we had our fun and then left!

We went to get cleaned up and then headed to Cousin Donna's condo.

Donna is Derek's G'pa's cousin, who never had kids of her own.  She's always been more of a G'ma or the "Cool Aunt".  :)  Derek and I spent Thanksgiving with her the year we lived in Florida... she holds a special place in our hearts. The last time we saw her Cooper was a baby, so it was fun to have the boys get to know her.

We headed out for a walk around the park right by Donna's condo.

We saw a drawbridge in action which was fascinating to the boys.

Donna took us to dinner at one of her favorite little eating establishments across the park. 

The boys had pizza, but Miles said, "Didn't you hear what I wanted? That cake!".  So after he finished his meal, Donna bought him the cake too!  Cooper chose a spiderman ice cream bar with gum ball eyes.  He even shared one eyeball with his brother. :)

After we finished, we made the walk back to Donna's.

Where she let Miles unlock the door for us.

We spent the rest of our time telling Donna way too many fishing stories about our time in the Keys and showing her pictures from my phone.   We enjoyed seeing Donna and before we left I heard her say to Cooper and Miles that she didn't know she could fall in love so fast.  So sweet.

And then the boys were asleep almost as soon as we put them in the car!