Great weekend

I was sooo glad to get rid of the cold! Friday turned out to be a perfect day with the temperature in the low 20C.

After picking Sarah up we took the dogs for an hour walk in our new neighborhood, visited her new school (where they gave us a grand tour) and just enjoyed the outdoors.

On Saturday Sarah and I packed up the dogs and drove out to the Myakka River State Park where we hiked for 2½ hours on different nature trails. Friday night had been a very rainy night, and it was still gray and drizzly, but nice temperature. We had such a great time, and Sarah actually told me Nature is one of her favorite words, because she loves nature. She even contemplated becoming a State Park Ranger just so she can show others the nice hiking trails.

After our walks we had a nice lunch at the park's restaurant and I also bought some pictures that I am going to frame.

After lunch we took the dogs out to a viewing platform overlooking Myakka Lake and River. There were big, fat alligators all laying in a row on the river banks, trying to soak up a bit of sun... I bet they were happy the cold is over too!

On Sunday Ken was finally able to hang out with us, and we all headed down to Anna Maria Island where we had breakfast on the beach, then we took the dogs to the Desoto National Memorial and took a long walk on one of the nature trails there.

We have really been into hiking and nature walks lately, I think we got a taste of it up in the mountains, and it is one of our favorite things to do now. I got some good trail maps, and hopefully we can head south to the Oscar Sherer National Park soon. It is a lot harder to go hiking in the summer here, since it is so hot (plus more bugs and snakes), so now is the perfect time of the year.

We have also been planning a few mini vacations. If you live in Florida, you might want to check out the new Florida Resident Dream Pass at Disney. We just got the tickets, 4 parks for $99, we paid a little extra to add the Disney water parks, since Sarah has never been to a water park. The restrictions on the tickets are that you have to use them before May 25.

We are also trying to book a condo rental in the heart of Washington DC for the week around 4th of July, that way we get to see the spectacular fireworks while we are there. There are so many things to see and do in the Nations Capital, and we are all looking forward to our trip in July.

Yesterday after we got home Sarah and I got back in the car and we drove to Tampa and IKEA. I am so glad Sarah likes visiting IKEA as much as I do!

Today it is a national Holiday, Martin Luther King Day, so no school for Sarah. I think today will be a cleaning day.... We haven't been home much over the weekend, so the kitchen is a mess and the laundry is piling up :-)

Have a great day!