On the last day of 2011, we went to Treasure Island Beach with Kenny to see the last sunset of the year. It didn’t happen. Well, I guess it did but we couldn’t tell because of the insane fog. Check out the crazy video below and head over to my personal site to see more photos from that outing.
On New Year’s Eve Day, we headed to Boyd Hill Nature Preserve in St. Petersburg to check out their trails and area known for great bird watching. Not only does the 245-acre park have wild fowl, but they have a bird of prey aviary with eagles, falcons, and various owls (including a one-eyed great horned owl).
Being the day before the holiday the park closed early so our self-guided tour was a bit rushed. We still got to walk out on the boardwalks to an island in Lake Maggiore and spot a pretty large alligator hanging out in the sun. On the walk back we spot a gopher tortoise lumbering about. Trey had just asked me about a sign telling visitors to not bother the endangered reptiles and I told him we probably wouldn’t see one since they are so rare. Seconds later… tada!
Years ago Heidi’s dad bought a used sailboat for a mere $100 (trailer included!). The family has put it to good use over the years and this past holiday was no exception. They brought it out and we took it down to the inter-coastal waters between St. Pete and Treasure Island.
Trey got to sail with me and his granddad and then later he and Heidi took Kenny’s kayak out for a spin as well (video below). Trey’s newborn cousin also joined us but he stayed on solid ground for the afternoon simply enjoying the fine Florida weather.
* I’m catching up on a back log of Christmas photos and videos. So bear with me as I post them in batches of three or four.
Trey’s favorite toys right now are Legos. Combine that with Star Wars and you’ve got something he can hardly contain himself over. He got quite a few Lego sets at Christmas and they were by far his favorite gifts.
Our friends Dr. & Mrs. Davis sent him a Christmas card with $10 in it and he had $5 he had already saved over the last couple months. I had a Barnes & Noble coupon for $10 off so I took him there and he bought a big $25 Star Wars Lego set he’d been eyeing for some time (and that I had previously said was out of our price range).
We came home and I helped him put it together. Then next morning, before we headed off on a 6-hour road trip he had me dismantle it all. He spent four hours of the trip putting it together on his own in the back seat.
Forget buying a car TV for my kid! I just hand him an pile of Lego bricks and he’s content for hours!
It was a very different Christmas Day than we’re used to in Sweetwater. With Grammaw’s passing earlier in the month and Peepaw’s dementia, the whole vibe was off. Nonetheless, it was good to see all my immediate family and Trey had a wonderful time.
We gave Trey the job of handing out the gifts – a job he does with great excitement. He was always either jumping over himself to help Peepaw and Philip unwrap their gifts or getting a head of things and looking for the next gift.
Before going to Sweetwater for Christmas Day, Trey and I swung through Greeneville to see my aunt, uncle, and cousins on their farm. I’ve recently become addicted to Instagram, the iPhoneography social network. Here are some photos from our visit that were all taken on my iPhone and processed in Instagram.
