The Florida Loop - Part 3

          We spent the final few days of our trip to Florida with Matt's mom in Jupiter.  We all enjoyed our time together.  Mom made us a fantastic meal the first night we were in town, which was delicious.  During our days, we played in Nana B's house, walked to a nearby park, and spent some time at the beach.  Audrey absolutely loves the beach, and I couldn't resist posting several of the precious pictures we took while playing on Jupiter Beach.  During our evenings, we ate some great seafood and enjoyed relaxing and talking together at Mom's house.  It was a great way to end our loop through Florida!

          On our drive back to South Carolina, we spent one night on the Florida/Georgia border.  We met up with Brad, Jeff, and our friends, the Reeds.  Matt and the guys took Jeff out for his 21st birthday, and we drove back to our house the next day.   

The Florida Loop - Part 2

          DISNEY WORLD!  The wonderful world of Disney is once again honoring the military with its Salute to the Military, which allowed us to take a day and spend it at the Magic Kingdom.  Matt and I have always LOVED Disney World.  I had such a blast taking Audrey to Disneyland in November with Garrett and Meg, so I was so thankful that we had the opportunity to go as a family.  Matt really wanted to experience Disney World with Audrey.  Even though we know she won't remember this particular trip, we, as parents, will always cherish the joy and excitement on her young face during our day in the park!

          In addition to Matt, Audrey, and me, Brad and his daughter, Samantha, and Jeff also came to Disney with us.  The park was pretty crowded, but in true Disney fashion, we rarely noticed the crowds.  The girls loved riding the rides, but one of their favorite moments was meeting three Disney Princesses:  Cinderella, Belle (Beauty), and Aurora (Sleeping Beauty).  Samantha talked to each princess, and Audrey was content to give them hugs and hold their hands.  Our little princesses were happy to meet the Disney princesses!

          Brad, Jeff, and Samantha left the park in the early evening, but we decided to stay longer.  We rode more rides, strolled through the park, ate dinner, watched a parade, and ended the day pushing Audrey (asleep in the stroller) on to the ferry while we watched the fireworks over the castle.  It was a spectacular, magical day for the Russells!

The Florida Loop - Part 1

          Two weeks after Matt returned from Iraq, we made a loop through Florida to visit Matt's family.  We spent eight days in Florida, and in order to break it up, I'll just break the blog into three segments.  We spent the first few days of our trip with Dad and Barbara at the Broken "R" Ranch (in St. Cloud).  Both of Matt's brothers, Brad and Jeff, and our niece, Samantha, were also at the Broken "R" with us.  Jeff was on his mid-tour (he's in the Air Force stationed in Okinawa, Japan), so the entire family was happy to be together for a few days.

          The girls relaxed on the lake one day while the guys drove to Daytona to experience the Daytona 500.  They really enjoyed their day, even though the race was called early due to rain.  We had a fantastic cook out one afternoon, too.  The best part about being at the Broken "R", though, is that it is on the water.  We truly love just relaxing by the lake.  The dogs swim, we play in the water and ride jet skis, and Audrey explores all in sight.  If we're quiet in the early morning, we can even see the wild turkeys cross across the property in search of food.

          We took a few pictures of us enjoying our time by the lake, which I've posted below.  Our dogs, Buddy (the lab) and Sydney (beagle) absolutely love the Broken "R", so we included a shot of them watching Matt jet ski.  Up next in the Florida Loop - Disney World and Jupiter!