Miami Trip

This trip actually happened a week or so ago, I'm just finally getting around to adding a post. So, Joel and his business partner Jelani planned a company vacation for us. When I first heard mention of it, I'll have to admit, I was skeptical. Then Joel started asking me about dates, and I started to think that maybe they were serious. Turns out, they were, and we had a really fun long weekend in Miami. I wish that we had been able to stay longer. Miami is such a fun and beautiful place. The guys did a really good job at choosing a location and planning all of the logistics. They bought the plane tickets, rented the house and the vans, and all we had to do was show up. Thanks Joel and Jelani for all of the work that you put into planning and executing the trip. We had a pretty big group, there were the six employees, Joel, Jelani, Kacelia, Joe, Paul, and Scott; and Joe brought Jamie and Allison, Paul brought Elizabeth, and Scott brought his best friend Jared. The people that you travel with can really make a difference in how fun a trip is, and I don't think that the trip could've gone better.

We spent some time on the beach, toured a fruit and spice park (sounds a little boring, but it was fun and we got to eat some interesting exotic fruit), visited "Monkey Jungle," and drove to Key Largo for a glass bottom boat tour of the coral reef. Allison and Kailey did really well on the plane rides, and during the whole trip. They both loved swimming in the ocean. The water was a really beautiful clear blue. I love going to the beach, and it is my dream to one day have a beach house (highly unlikely, but everyone should dream, right?), but I will admit, as I have gotten older, and had a few encounters with some sea creatures, jelly fish to be exact, I've gotten a little more cautious in the ocean. The water hear was so nice, clear, and inviting that I forgot about my fears of jellyfish.

Kailey had fun feeding the monkeys at Monkey Jungle

Kailey ate nearly all of this star fruit by herself, guess she was hungry.


This is us driving under the african sausage tree at the fruit and spice park. These fruit weren't edible, but very interesting looking.

The Hamiltons had a good time with the "dead man fingers" this is actually edible fruit. None of us were brave enough to eat it, but Jamie did admit to trying some of the juice, and said that it was sweet.

Kailey cut loose a little bit at the beach, check-out her cover-up.

Some how we managed to escape without any serious sunburn, jellyfish stings, or shark attacks :) I caught some of shark week before the trip, and learned that tiger sharks hang around the Florida coast sometimes. I didn't help that we saw a small shark just off the coast while we were on our way out on the boat tour.

There ofcourse, were no toys at the house, but the girls worked it out.

These giraffes provided endless entertainment. They were originally in our bedroom, but made their way around the house with the girls. Kailey drug that big one around with her every where, and when I made her leave it in the room one morning as we were leaving, she had to wave and say goodbye to it. They became such good friends.