Okefenokee

Before we left on our trip, a couple different people recommended us going to the Okefenokee swamp in Georgia.  We decided we couldn't miss out, so Waycross, Georgia was put on our itinerary.  

We love it when we find the girls like this.  They both love to cuddle. We let them sleep in for a while before we were off to our swamp adventure.

Hazel enjoyed feeding the turtles.

Oh just an alligator hanging out.

We purchased the boat tour, but unfortunately it started raining while we were out.  We had our big umbrella with us all crammed underneath, but we were still getting wet and the tour was cut short.

 

Later we went on the train tour, and luckily that was covered.  The train took us to an old pioneer village where we got out and walked around and explored.

We went to the reptile show, and Brendan held a one year old alligator, and Hattie touched it's teeth. Brendan also held a three year old alligator.

We enjoyed our swamp experience and recommend it to those traveling near the area!

Orlando

We had a rough start in Orlando.  While being on the beautiful beach in Miami, Brendan somehow forgot to put on sunscreen and was fried like a lobster, and all three kids were sick.  Hazel had about 20 bug bites on her body and a bad cough, Hattie had a cold and woke up crying at 3 am with an earache, and Niels had croup.  We had to spend our first day hanging out in the hotel resting in hopes we would be better for DisneyWorld the next day.  We actually went out later that night to Downtown Disney and walked around and ate, and the next day we made it to Disney World feeling pretty good.  We just went to Magic Kingdom and were there from 11 am to 11 pm.  It was a long day, but we had fun, and were ready to move on on our trip.

 Best Castle shot we could get together with the lovely crane in the back too.

 Hazel's favorite ride was the tea cups. (Hattie was napping)

While we were waiting for Brendan on Space Mountain, there was a concert going on and the characters came down and danced with the audience.  Hazel was SO excited to dance with Chip.   

 They had fun Fall and Halloween decorations everywhere.

Our last day in Orlando was a Sunday, and we went and walked around the temple grounds.  It was such a beautiful temple located in a really nice area.

Key West and Miami

After spending the first two weeks of September traveling apart, Brendan and I had three days back at home together before we were off for another trip, but this time all together.  We logged 59 hours in our rental car in three states in 16 days.  I was a little nervous taking that long of a trip with three little kids with lots of driving, but it turned out really well.  We are already planning our trip out east again for next year. 

No such thing as traveling light with three small children.  We had 3 car seats, a double stroller, 2 checked bags, and 3 carry ons.  

We flew into Ft. Lauderdale late at night and stayed in a hotel near the airport.  In the morning we picked up our rental car and were off to the Florida Keys.  It was a really pretty drive down there.  We had a small Chrysler 300 with all of our stuff jam packed into it.  All of the car seats barely fit in the back seat.

We stayed at the Parrot Key Resort and loved it.  The greenery was beautiful and our place was right by the 4 garden pools.  We also had a cute back porch with sand and a waterfront view.

  

 Key West is known for its beautiful sunsets.  Every night on the pier there is a big sunset party.

 We bought some really good cuban food and coconuts to sip on the beach.  

 

We had some delicious key lime pie and banana cream pie here at the Key Lime Pie Factory in Key West.

Miami

We stayed right across the street from the beach.  When Hazel saw one of the beds in the room she was excited and exclaimed, "It's a princess bed!"   

We only stayed one night in Miami, but we loved it and want to go back.  The water was so warm and just beautiful.  Unfortunately it was a little stressful with the kids.  We just weren't prepared with snacks and a big umbrella for the baby to be shaded and sand was getting everywhere.