Girls' weekend!

It's been way too long since we caught up with Raquel and Aliyah so we were really excited to finally get a Girls' weekend on the calendar :). The girls made blankets after an amazing dinner at Four Rivers - the best BBQ smokehouse in the world!!

 

 

In the morning we went to Animal Kingdom...

 

The girls recreated a photo taken of them two years ago! What a creative and sweet idea - look how beautifully it turned out:) 

 

 

Good times - thank you for such a perfect visit. Love you guys :)

Nana's Chili cook off!!

It wouldn't be Superbowl weekend without Nana's annual Chili Cook Off at the Villages! This year team "Piping Hot Pepper Pots" thrilled the crowds again!

 

 

Delicious!!!

The Presidents Hall of Fame

We love to visit quirky off-beat roadside attractions and the Presidents Hall of Fame in Clermont has been on my list for a while. I found this really cool blog, www.atlasobscura.com recently and it popped up again so we decided to make the 30 minute drive over to Clermont for a random afternoon. We started the trip at their Farmer's Market in the historic district and took a walk down to the beautiful Lake Minneola to enjoy the view. After a lovely lunch and some shopping in some of their antique stores we found the museum right beside the Citrus Tower - one of the tallest landmarks in Florida.

 

The exhibits on display include a 'one inch to one foot' full replica of the White House that has toured with the Smithsonian collection...and a dilapidated, plastic Mount Rushmore replica which was my personal favorite :)

 

 

And for comparison...here's the real one...;)

 

 

Once inside you sit and watch a fascinating movie about the White House surrounded by creepy wax effigies of former presidents...

In the next room some of them move...which is even creepier...

Hangin' with Obama...

...and JFK...

 

Looking into the Oval Office...

 

Mike and Daniel Day Lewis...;)

All in all it was well worth the trip. Clermont is beautiful and the museum was as bizarre and peculiar as I'd hoped for. I would totally recommend it!

Awesome nature!

Saw a black vulture eating a bloated alligator in Lake Apopka at the weekend :).

Mum and Dad's visit!

This year we couldn't wait to take Mum and Dad up to our new favorite place, Mount Dora!

 

The gorgeous Donnelly House...

 

 

There's always something random going on in this quirky little town...

 

There was a little health and wellness festival and they had two-day old baby goats. My God - they were so adorable - we all fell in love...

 

We took a walk down to the lake - looking for lost cameras :)

And had a great dinner to celebrate Mum's birthday...

 

In the evening we did the famous Mount Dora Ghost Walk which starts at the original Lakeside Inn (the oldest continually operating hotel in Florida). This is the room that president Coolidge stayed in for a month...

 

The guides dressed in Victorian clothing and stayed in character the whole time while telling spooky stories and old legends of the town...it was very bizarre :)

 Back in O-Town the next day we had lunch on the savanna at Animal Kingdom...

 

And went to the petting zoo at the park...

 

 

...to find some more goats :)

 

I was ever so brave and rode a new ride (Dinosaur!) after miserably failing my goal to ride all Disney attractions last year.

 

We ended up in the Jungle Jammin' Parade for a few minutes:)

 

And ended the day with the safari which was perfect as always :)

 

The next weekend we went to Hollywood Studios and then to the Blue Springs Manatee festival.

 

 

Maddy brushed up on her skills on the mechanical surfboard...

 

 

And Mike tried his hand at darts...

 

It wouldn't be a southern festival without crazy '80s frisbee dogs...

 

 

And then we went to see the beautiful springs - there were manatees everywhere!

 

 

It was so pretty - thank you Mum and Dad for such a lovely visit. See you next year :)