We took a good twelve days off from RV living and headed to Florida for a visit with family, and to celebrate some special birthdays. Rayne and Jayden’s birthday is August 17, and their baby cousin, Wren, has an August 18 birthday. We wanted to make Wren’s first birthday and have some family around for the girls’ seventh. We were able to kill two birds with one stone by catching a plane to Florida.
Fortunately for us, Ray’s mom and stepdad live in Kissimmee, so we were able to spend a few days with them, before driving on to Cocoa Beach, where we had rented a condo for the week.
We had a great time in the Orlando area. hanging out with Ray’s mom, Saijai, and stepdad, Paul. We weren’t doing Disney this time, but there are plenty of other things to do there. We spent some time in Old Town, which is a sort of Theme Park/Attraction with shops, restaurants, bars, rides, and other things to delight.
We also visited Sea World, and while I know plenty of people take issue with them (especially after the film Blackfish), I think they are trying to change their image. The girls enjoyed the kiddie rides, and we watched several shows (dolphins, pets, sea lions, and orcas). One of our favorite parts is the penguin exhibit, though it’s freezing cold, and we could only stand to stay a few minutes.
It was nice just hanging out with the grandparents, too – swimming, going to dinner, having ice cream, and watching cartoons.
After a few days in Kissimmee, we headed to the coast. The condo was right on the beach, and we didn’t venture out all that much. With a pool and beach just steps away, we didn’t need much else. It was really relaxing!
We shared the condo with my parents and aunt, and my sister and baby Wren were there much of the time. The girls were thrilled to do sleepovers with Aunt Bobbie and YaYa (my mom). They got lots of swim time in, and they learned how to use boogie boards by the week’s end.
We had two big birthday parties during our week in Cocoa Beach! The first was the girls’ seventh. As they are pretty obsessed with the Disney Descendants, we planned a surprise Descendants party for them. This required us ordering tons of decorations, some costumes, and other Descendants gear from Amazon, and having it all shipped to my sister Kim’s house (at the base down the road from Cocoa). They were really surprised, and they were so excited to spend their birthday with so much family!
The day following the girls’ seventh was Wren’s “One is Fun” party. We were so excited to be there for that precious girl’s first birthday. She was adorable opening her presents, getting into her cake, and holding up that “one” finger.
We had such a great time in Florida with family. It was a little hard to settle back into the RV after waking up every morning for a week with beach views, drinking my coffee on the huge balcony, and breathing in sea breeze. I’m not going to lie; It took a couple of days. But, we are back in the fifth wheel and continuing that adventure. Stay tuned!
.
4ina5 