Christmas 2011

We spent almost 2 weeks in Utah for Christmas - weirdly, there was no snow anywhere the whole time! Immediate family on both sides are all still there, but this may be the last year that we're so lucky.

The boys made quite a haul even though we tried to keep it simple. 1st Brother got 3 different Lego sets, inherited an old Nintendo DS player, got more Leapster stuff, etc. 2nd Brother got 2 different Lightning McQueens, his own Curious George since the boys fight over the one we already had, a Leap Frog computer and more. They also got new pajamas and a light gun each:

For our Christmas/10th anniversary present to each other, my husband and I decided to take a trip to Florida. It was also a big gift from a number of family members who cared for the boys while we were away from Dec. 26 - 31. Babysitting really is the best present you can give parents of young children, whether it's for an evening or a week. The absolute best.

It would have been exquisite to be anywhere while only having to look after ourselves, but enjoying the 80ish degree weather in south Florida was especially nice. For most of the trip, we stayed in Key Largo at a small resort called Kona Kai. They only allow people ages 16 and up (!) and were extremely helpful and great.

Here's their beach/dock area with kayaks and paddleboats you can take out whenever:

Sea kayaking (at last!). We've tried to go twice before but didn't because I was too pregnant in one case, and a storm ruined our plans in another.

The pool and hot tub:

That door in the foliage led to our comfy little room:

We had some great meals around Key Largo. For the record, the best were breakfast at Made 2 Order and dinner at Ballyhoo's.

We were not impressed with Key West, the southernmost of the islands that make up the Florida Keys (Key Largo is the northernmost). It was a 2+ hour drive with some lovely scenery, but Key West itself was crowded with cruise ship people and felt like Fisherman's Wharf. We waited too long to have a mediocre lunch, then toured the Truman Little White House, converted military housing where President Truman spent 175 days of his presidency working/vacationing.

The tour was interesting, but I was distracted. There was a chubby white kid in our group around 9-years-old wearing a shirt that said, "Cool story, Babe. Now go make me a sandwich." I wanted to strangle his parents for allowing (probably encouraging?) him to wear it. Then there was this mouth-breathing typical tourist guy wearing a shirt that said, "I know, I know, I'm awesome. Let's not make a big deal out of it." He and his portly gal pal were being very affectionate with each other, to the point that our guide said, "We need to get you two a room!"

We did the obligatory alligator farm visit and fanboat ride. It was fun, and I was glad we did it since we didn't see much on our night walk in the Everglades.

Baby alligators!

Here's my husband in the backyard of Vizcaya, a rich guy's former winter estate that is now open to the public (including LOTS of engaged couples, quinceanera girls and others with their professional photographers). I discreetly barfed into a ziploc bag before we went in - more on that in another post.

A few other memories:

-Our trip started out in a bad way at midnight at the Hertz rental car counter. Despite having a "reservation," we were told there were no cars available because people had extended their rentals during the holidays. But we could be added to the wait list and be FIFTY-FIRST in line (?!?). Lifetime boycott, y'all! We ended up getting a car from Budget but not without a good amount of run-around from them too. We got to our hotel at 2:00am.

-We were walking down the street in Key West when we heard a LOUD gunshot kind of sound, and then there were some bird feathers fluttering down from the sky. A local came out and explained a pigeon had flown into an electric transmitter again. Ha! It was like some sort of Looney Tunes cartoon, but more fatal for the bird.

-It was a little morbid, but I regret not buying a little shellacked alligator head from a gift shop we visited. They also had bins of little alligator feet.