Miami and Key West (Key West Mostly)

Ed was home for the month of October. Because he had so much time off, we decided to go on a little vacation. At first, we toyed with the idea of going overseas, but I quickly vetoed the idea because I wasn't sure if I was up to an overnight trip with the boys. But...after our two hour flight, I'm starting to re-think the idea. I've come to the realization that any flight, during the day or overnight, isn't necessarily the ideal situation with two little boys. So...maybe our next trip, we'll brave the night flight and hope for the best.

One more story before I start with the vacation -- Once we decided to go to Miami and Key West, we asked Tate if he wanted to see forts. He said, "No, I don't want to see forts". That comment really puzzled Ed and I. Then we asked, "What do you want to see". Tate said, "I want to see cannons". Haha! Once we told Tate that he was going to see cannons, he was much happier about the vacation.

OK - onto our family vacation -- we decided to fly to Miami and drive to Key West. Several times in the past, we discussed renting a convertible and driving to the Keys. So...we decided to finally take the trip (of course, having tons of "cool forts" (as Tate and Ed would describe them) to see wasn't an incentive at all for Ed to take the trip).

We stayed in South Beach for the night and walked around the city a bit. The only picture that we took was one of Colt on the balcony. The boys LOVED the balcony and spent a lot of time on it when we were in the room.

As you can see Colt had a great time.


Here's a pic of Tate just looking "cool" in his new shades (for some reason, I forgot to pack the boys' sunglasses and we had to spend the next morning searching for children's sunglasses AND a pair of sandals for me because my only pair decided to snap that morning).



We toured The Fruit and Spice Park outside of Miami. The boys had a blast. They loved all of the fruit samples and Tate loved the train that we had to ride in. The boys also liked being able to get in and out of the train during all of our stops to sample the various fruits.

I must say that the bananas were delicious! So much better than the ones that you purchase in the stores. Tate seemed to enjoy them too.

Here are the boys during one of their many "escapes" from the train.

During our first say in Key West, we went to Fort Jefferson. According to Ed, it's one of the coolest forts around (mainly because you have to take a float plane to see it and there's nothing else around it).

Here we are walking out to the plane. At first, Tate was a little apprehensive and didn't want to board the flight. He actually cried and tried to run away.

Once he was on the flight, he relaxed and really started to enjoy the trip. When Tate realized that we landed on the water -- he said "We landed on the water!". He was so excited.

We tried to put the earphones on both of the boys (on account of the noise), but both of them refused to wear them.

Here we are approaching the fort.

Getting closer...

After each landing Tate bolted for the door and swung the door open. And yes, he attempted to exit the plane, but I caught him every time. I guess that he was just so excited to be on the plane.

A picture of the plane on the water.

Watching our plane take off.

Tate really enjoyed watching the plane.

There it goes...

Ed and Tate are ready for the fort!

Here we are the top of the fort.

Tate loves his cannons!

Ed and Tate having fun at the fort.

The fort from Tate's perspective (Yes, Tate took the picture).

The fort from Tate's perspective again.

Our plane coming into the fort to pick us up.

Before we left the fort, we still had time to play in the water. The boys were so excited about playing in the water that they didn't want to change into swimsuits. Eventually, we stripped them down to their bums to wash all of the sand off so that we could go.

They had so much fun! There's nothing like being in your diaper and playing in the ocean!

So...here are the boys in their swimsuits. Seems kind of backwards, I know, but the boys refused to waste their time changing clothes when we initially arrived at the beach.

Here's Colt with the headset on. Of course, it didn't stay on long. I guess he really didn't need it because as soon as we took off, he fell asleep for the entire trip. I must say that I loved having him sleep on me. He's so precious and those moments will be gone soon.

I love it when Tate takes pictures!

A picture of our plane approaching Key West (we successfully avoided the cruise ship population while we were there).

Our pilot talking to Tate.

Visiting the southernmost point in the continental US.

This is supposed to be the southermost house in the US, but I don't get it because there were a few more houses below this house. Of course, the other homes were far less as impressive. I guess whoever has the money makes the rules???

Hemingway's house in Key West.

Where Hemingway did his writing while in Key West.

Hemingway collected six-toed cats. They're known for their good luck. Today, the house is still crawling with cats six- and five-toed cats. Of course, the boys did their best to harass the cats. After a while, the cats would scatter once they saw Tate and Colt turn the corner.

Not only did we see forts and cannons, we also had to tour boats (there's nothing like a feminine military boat for me to tour -- haha!).

Hey! There's another fort!

Colt liked looking into the cannons.

Ed's and Tate's version of paradise.

A picture of the boys at the top of the fort.

Flying a kite at the fort. The boys loved it!

Tate flew the kite by himself. He did a pretty good job considering the winds were really strong.

Colt's clearly excited about the kite.

He even helped pick up the kite and tried to throw it up in the air to get it to fly again.

Tate flying the kite alone.

Here I am flying the kite with Colt.

We toured the cemetery in Key West.

This is what Colt thinks about cannons -- haha!