Emma's First VACATION!

We decided to head to Florida for a week of vacation. We bought a new 5th wheel camper over the winter and we were itching to try it out. Also, the space shuttle was scheduled to launch, and that is something that Rodney and I have always wanted to see.

It was a long drive, but overall, Emma handled it pretty well. A bucket of new toys from friends Rochelle, Avery, and Riley helped out a lot!

Emma's loved the playground and pool at the campground in Florida. She was so brave! She went on even the biggest slide by herself.

Emma putting on her aviator sunglasses for the flight.

All systems GO!

It was a REALLY hot day for the shuttle launch. We headed to Space View Park in Titusville.

We kept Emma in the shade of the umbrella as much as possible.

We had a great view of the lift off. It was amazing to see it and listen to the cheers of the crowds all around us.

Unfortunately, there were a lot of clouds that afternoon, so it got lost in the clouds all too soon and we didn't get to see when the rocket boosters fell off.

Emma striking a pose after the launch while we were waiting for the crowds to disperse a little.

Emma loved the pool at the campground. She would wake up from her nap and say, "Go swimming!" She will put her face in the water and blow bubbles, jump in while holding our hands, and go completely underwater.

We drove out to Cape Canaveral National Seashore, which is right beside Kennedy Space Center. We had a great view of the second shuttle they had ready to go in case they needed to rescue the first crew.

We also hit the beach. I was really worried that Emma would just HATE the sand, but she did pretty well with it. She loved shoveling it into the buckets.

Isn't she the cutest little beach bum??

I'm pretty sure Emma shouldn't be sitting here!

The second weekend we were there, Emma's Uncle David and Uncle Mike came over from Tampa to spend the weekend with us. We went on an airboat ride which was a lot of fun. Emma enjoyed the first part, but it was an hour long, and just a little too long for her.

Check out the hair blowing in the wind!

A little hard to see, but there is a bald eagle right under the top part of the tree.

Our encounter with Hollywood (the alligator, that is)!

I was shocked that Emma petted it!

We capped off the night the traditional camping way - S'MORES! Emma wasn't all that impressed. She would have preferred the chocolate straight.

While we were getting the camper packed up, Emma and her uncles headed out to feed the squirrels pretzels (give me a break - we didn't have any nuts!)

Emma has a love/hate relationship with dogs and cats, and Bandit was no exception. Emma is fascinated by them, and talks about them nonstop, but she is terrified of them.


It was a wonderful trip. The weather was almost perfect - hot, but not too hot most days. The day we left, the rains came and it rained for a week straight so I was really glad that wasn't when we were down there! They needed the rain, though. When we were there, there were several brush fires burning - one probably about 5 miles away from the campground!