We spent a beautiful sunny day at Siesta Beach.  The sand was brilliant white – I’ve never seen sand like that before.  Aliya and I took a walk down the beach and saw a skate or stingray jump right out of the water – very cool.

Adlani’s attempt at a cartwheel…

Aliya is 12.  Yes, 12.

Not only is she wearing underwear on her head, she’s twerking.  Oy.

I know what you’re thinking…there are no photos of me.  I think there may be some on Ben and Aliya’s phones, but here’s one that proves I was actually there…

Grammy and Poppy gave us tickets to the Magic Kingdom for Christmas!  Norah mentioned several times that it was her FIRST trip to Disney…like we had previously deprived her of an experience that was owed to her.  We went when Aliya was a baby – about 2 months old, and again when Adlani was a baby (those trips were obviously for Ben and I), so at least we failed all 3 of them because I’m sure none of them remember their previous experiences at Disney.  I neglected to tell them that I did not go to any of the Disney parks until I was 19, which was also my first time on a plane!  Or that my first time out of the country (except Canada) was at age 28.   

Thanks Grammy and Poppy!

It looks like Norah was driving, Ben was backseat driving, and Adlani wasn’t enjoying the Magic Carpet ride.

Adlani was seriously puzzled when he couldn’t pull the sword out.  I told him he obviously wasn’t pure of heart.  I’m waiting for him to confess to some egregious sin now that the secret is out.

The official $20 photo from Splash Mountain is below, but check out this one from the very top of the drop.  I’m fearful of Norah’s lack of fear…

Aliya likes to experiment with photography, and she took this photo of the carousel horses at night.

Adlani got tired and went home with Grammy and Poppy, while we partied on…

It was a great (and exhausting) day!

We arrived in Sarasota the night before Christmas Eve, after a LOOOOONNNNGGGG drive.  For the most part, the kids have been really good travelers on this trip.  We’ve had our moments, but I haven’t left anyone on the side of the road yet.

The kids really loved choosing gifts for each of us and each other.

Norah bought Poppy a bird feeder and bird seed, and wrote him a card that said, “Please don’t shoot the precious birds,” because Poppy is a hunter.

Adlani developed a sudden interest in the Megazord toys, which could only be found on eBay.  This is the first one, which I had to buy used since it was discontinued before he was born.

Woohoo!  A book!

Norah has been wishing for this – hair chalk.

The second Megazord – this one shipped from Hong Kong.

Grammy and Poppy bought all of us tickets to Disney’s Magic Kingdom!!!

Norah’s art set, with how-to-draw books and sketch pads.

An erector set with 2 motors!

New boots, which she promptly traded for Uggs.

Reenacting an old photo of the trash baby.

I splurged on a family gift – a Singtrix karaoke system, which is TOTALLY AWESOME.  You can use your own music, the Singtrix app, or another karaoke app.  It has hundreds of different effects to change your voice, add harmonies, make you sound like you’re singing with a choir, or like you’re a robot, or have inhaled helium.  It also corrects your pitch.  Videos to follow.

Adlani loves Lennox, and just about every other animal he comes across.

Walking in the road…a very exciting activity for suburbians.

The horses were curious at first, but took off when they figured out we had nothing for them.

Quite a few calves even though spring is months away.

This is Huck…a gentle giant.

Here horsey horsey horsey.

Adlani made friends with every barn cat while I was checking his shot records for a Tetanus booster.

Still Life – Barn Cat.

Up on top of the ceiling.

These baby goats lost their mom, and were trying to find food wherever they could.

New to the farm…sheep!

Aliya needed some hay for a school project, so I had them pose for a photo.

And then they decided to climb to the top.

This doesn’t seem like a great idea to me.

Auntie Kristin is going to kill Elijah when she sees these photos.

They didn’t know how to start the 4-Wheeler, so they decided to push it.

Time to put it back.

Aliya’s favorite Tennessee activity – driving.

Walking home, tired out from all the fun.

After less than 36 hours in Tennessee, we continued south toward Sarasota, Florida.