Coming not a moment too soon in this long winter, the Brysons traveled south in January to visit Nani with a couple of side trips thrown in for fun.
We arrived to "cool" weather in Tampa - temperatures were in the 50s and 60s. Somehow, for a Green Bay family, this wasn't so bad. After settling in for a day with Nani in Bradenton, we took a quick day trip to Cape Coral, about an hour and a half away, to visit Mom V, who was on her five week vacation with some family and friends.
The Bryson clan hooked up with Mom V. in Florida - which inevitably led to a couple hours of shopping for the girls and a couple of hours of standing around for John.
Mom V. and her posse were staying in a rented house right off a canal. Amazingly, a boat was included with the rental. Our first order of business was to set sail into the canal and check out the Gulf of Mexico. We passed enormous homes as we sailed through Cape Coral's canal system and decided to turn around upon reaching the Gulf - choppy water and heavy boat traffic made us reconsider the plan. It was a pleasant way to start the visit, which ended with swimming for the girls and a nice meal.
Ready for her three hour tour.
Upon returning to Bradenton, we had a nice time with Nani at a craft fair as well as shopping and dining out at some new restaurants. We then headed north for a few days at Walt Disney World.
Isabella finds someone to look up to.
Izzy really enjoyed Disney this year. We started with a character breakfast - we had a surprisingly good buffet and got to meet Eeyore, Piglet, Tigger, and Winnie the Pooh. Izzy got progressively more excited as each friend came over to visit.
Fun waiting in line for a Jungle Cruise.
We visited the Magic Kingdom twice and Hollywood Studios once. Highlights included taking Izzy on a flying magic carpet ride, playing in the "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" playground, and the spectacular fireworks show where Tinkerbell flies over the crowd to start the extravaganza. We also enjoyed an incredible meal at House of Blues for John's birthday.
Stylin'.
Izzy in front of the Muppet Fountain at Hollywood Studios.
While the weather at Disney was absolutely gorgeous, our return to Bradenton brought cold rain and a day of staying in. Things improved slightly over the next couple of days and we enjoyed a Spring Training baseball game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds with Nani and Grampa Porter. It was very cool but we all had fun.
As things warmed up a bit, we had to take Izzy to the beach - she had a blast playing in the sand and we had a tasty beachside meal.
Nani, John, and Isabella on a wonderful day at the beach.
We reluctantly returned home after almost two weeks of fun. This looks like a tradition we'll have to continue.
Click Here for our fun video - Isabella Eats Cake! It's her birthday and she'll destroy a cake if she wants to...
Click here to see Isabella Esperanza get inked so we can have a footprint and handprint - it's messy fun!
View our first video of Isabella Esperanza - click here!
The Bryson clan hooked up with Mom V. in Florida - which inevitably led to a couple hours of shopping for the girls and a couple of hours of standing around for John.
Ready for her three hour tour.
Isabella finds someone to look up to.
Fun waiting in line for a Jungle Cruise.
Stylin'.
Izzy in front of the Muppet Fountain at Hollywood Studios.
Nani, John, and Isabella on a wonderful day at the beach.
