Wild Florida Celebrates Seven Years -- Press Release

Wild Florida Celebrates Seven Years of Airboat Tours, Gator Hugs, Buggy Rides and Slothies by offering FREE admission to its Gator and Wildlife Park

This June marks Wild Florida’s seventh anniversary of providing visitors from all over the globe a world of adventure in the Middle of Nowhere.

Celebrate with more than just airboat hair. Beginning this June, Wild Florida will offer everyone free admission to its Gator and Wildlife Park through the end of 2017. Get an up close and personal look at more than 200 animals ranging from native Florida species to more exotic animals like sloths, lemurs, zebras and more. Explore and interact with these amazing creatures and learn about their heritage, habits and what it’s like to care for these animals. That’s right, hug a “Fluffy” gator or snap a “Slothie” (sloth selfie) or two.

Since the opening, the mission at Wild Florida has always been to provide an unforgettable Everglades experience that promotes a connection with animals while inspiring education and conservation.  

“Over the past seven years we’ve shown hundreds of thousands of guests what real, wild Florida is all about. We have built a world-class attraction in the ‘Middle of Nowhere’ and we couldn’t be happier!” says Sam Haught, co-owner and co-founder of Wild Florida. “The best part about Wild Florida is the WILD part. Wild rides, wild animals, wild memories with your family. We’re much more than a roadside attraction with gators. Wild Florida’s a destination where guests can experience both rescued gators at our park and wild gators in the Everglades.”

Wild Florida has grown from day and night airboat tours to a ½ day experience including the expansion of the Gator and Wildlife Park, dining and event space and ranch buggy tours through some of Central Florida’s working cattle ranches. That’s not all. This year, Wild Florida welcomed several species of Crocodiles and some other fun animals to check out on your next visit.  For additional information, visit www.wildfloridairboats.com.

Baby Bonnets and Swimming Pools

From the archives...of drafts. This post was started last year, about this time exactly, and never posted. So, I give you a post that has never seen the light of day, but isn't half bad. It's filled with photos of a beautiful baby, after all. 

Last week was my kid's Spring Break. We had no plans. Heck, because of having no plans, it completely snuck up on us! Come Monday morning of said Spring Break I was wondering what we would do all week to get the sillies out and not drive each other crazy {read not drive momma crazy}. 

We are blessed to have family that have a condo in Amelia Island Plantation and that allow us to visit and take over the pool. I totally said take over, because when a family with five kids comes to the pool, we kinda take over. Add to that, my sister-in-law and the cousins and Ganny {my husband's mom}, we are a force to be reckoned with! But, we have a really great time and a LOT of energy is burned off!

[Love Mabry's bonnet? It's from Urban Baby Bonnets on etsy. Click here to find one like it.
This post is in no way sponsored by the seller. I've been buying her bonnets since McKinley was a baby. I genuinely LOVE them!]

We are currently one day into Spring Break 2016, let's see if we can get a repeat of this gorgeousness!

A Guide to Disney's Yacht Club Resort

My family and I had the amazing opportunity to stay at Disney's Yacht Club Resort last week. We've stayed at lots of Walt Disney World Resorts over the years. From Value Resorts to Deluxe Resorts, we've seen a BUNCH of beautiful accommodations at Walt Disney World! So far, Disney's Yacht Club is our favorite. Let me show you why.

This is my family. Thanks to American Tourister we all had our very own suitcase to pack for more fun!

The moment we walked through the doors to the lobby, I knew we were home. {That's Disney speak for where you'll stay for the next few days.} I mean, look at how beautiful the lobby is.

Pro Tip: Be sure to look for the Hidden Mickey's around Disney's Yacht Club Resort. They are lots of fun to find!

After we checked in, it was time to go see our room. If the rooms were as beautiful and charming as the outside and the lobby, we knew we were in for a treat. Let's go inside!

Absolutely breathtaking. With two double beds and a daybed, it comfortable sleeps a family of five. Do you crave your cup of coffee first thing in the morning? There's a coffee maker in each room. Need a place to sit and do a little writing, or maybe you want to map out the next day at the Parks. There's a nice desk area just for you. This is a good time to tell you about the free wi-fi in each room, and around the entire resort area. With two sinks in the bathroom area, you won't need to worry about sharing while brushing your teeth. 

My family's favorite amenity in our room?? The mini-fridge. Each night, we filled it with bottled water, small bottles of juice and soda. Each morning, before we headed out for the day, we filled our backpack with cold drinks to keep us hydrated throughout our day. This way we only had to buy drinks when we ate a meal at a restaurant. 

If you've ever stayed at a Disney Resort, you know they have the most amazing pools, sandy-bottom pools. Some will tell you that Disney's Yacht Club Resort has the best pool of all of the Resorts. I'd have to agree that it's really awesome. 

Stormalong Bay is 3 acres of water wonderland and features a looonngg slide that is fun for all ages! In fact, you won't find a waterslide at a Disney resort that is higher than the one at the Yacht Club Resort.

Even the biggest of kids love Stormalong Bay!

A few more fun perks to staying at Disney's Yacht Club Resort:

• You're a five minute walk from Epcot or a short boat ride to Hollywood Studios. 
• Beaches & Cream, the Ice Cream Parlor that is famous for The Kitchen Sink ice cream dessert is located at Stormalong Bay. 
• Want to have an elegant dinner? Visit Yachtsman Steakhouse for a delicious meal after a long day at the parks.
• There's a full-service gym located right on property for those of you who like to pump iron or jog along on a treadmill.
• Take the kids down to the beach for a nightly Disney movie under the stars. 
• Play tennis, volleyball, corn hole and more!
• Run along the jogging path on the boardwalk each morning before the sun wakes up. 
• And so much more!

Disney's Yacht Club Resort is now our favorite resort on Disney property. Next time you plan your family vacation to the Walt Disney World Resort I urge you to look into booking at the Yacht Club.

My family and I stayed at Disney's Yacht Club Resort while attending the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration. We were provided with discounted tickets and accommodations for our stay. We were not asked to provide this review. All opinions are our own. 

Polar Vortex of 2014? What Polar Vortex?

What do you do when the entire country is sharing photos of their below zero temperatures on their dashboard thermometers? Or, when you've seen a million and one pictures of snow filled front yards? How about when you've seen screen shots from every mid-west and northern state's weather forecast? You dig into your Flickr feed and find the most recent beach pictures to daydream on. Because it won't stay this cold forever! And, quite frankly, you're over the #polarvortex of 2014! This too shall pass. {Thank goodness...cause even in Florida it's in the thirties. And that's COLD!}

This post is pretty photo heavy. But, the sand, the surf, the tan lines...I'm ready for summer again! {And this wasn't even summer! It was in November, in Florida!!}

My mom and step-dad have a time share in Daytona Beach, FL. This year it worked out that we could go spend a night with them in their condo and enjoy the ocean views, heated pool, sunrise, and family time. In just one evening and one full day we packed in the fun!






Jett was loaded with silly faces this particular day!




I think he was giving me his best zombie impression. We may or may not be The Walking Dead fans.








Hubs was doing school work and Jonah and Mabry were with my mom in the condo during this beach play. {In case you were wondering where they were.}


This is probably my favorite picture from the trip. He was just so filled with silliness!





I told Hubs before we went to bed that I would love to see the sun rise over the ocean. Bless his heart, he got up early enough to make sure I was awake to see it.




Amazing, right?! I don't remember the last time I saw the sun rise. {who gets up that early?!}

After breakfast, we spent a lot of time in the pool and then headed down to the boardwalk to see what we could enjoy. It was November...and apparently, not many folks vacation at the beach in November. We had the entire boardwalk pretty much to ourselves.


Jake and Papa rode the go-carts all by themselves.








Jonah and Hubs rode the roller coaster, just the two of them.



And then McKinley, Jett, Mabry and myself rode the ferris wheel. Just us.

I joked that the people should let us ride these rides for free to lure folks into the attraction. :o)









One last shot...of my favorite guy.


Thanks mom and Ray for inviting us to come crash your joint for a night. We ALL had a super fun time!! Next year??

Spend A Day in Fernandina Beach, FL

A couple of weeks ago I told you about the 50th Annual Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival that goes on in Fernandina Beach, FL.  Well, as it says in the name...annual...you'll have to wait until next year to go to it.  But, I have great news!  You can visit Fernandina Beach anytime of the year and experience good food and beautiful sights.

Last weekend we spent a day exploring Historic Fernandina Beach and a few of the treats it offers.

Our first stop was Timoti's Seafood Shak.



We went with some more of our family to celebrate my mother-in-law's birthday. The atmosphere is casual. Most of the seating is outside with a few places to sit and eat inside.

Be sure to take the kids. There's a pirate play ship that's just off the outdoor dining area that will keep them entertained until your food is ready!

Speaking of food, OH. MY. YUM!



We got a bunch of shrimp baskets and one oyster basket {that I failed to get a picture of} and each of us were completely satisfied. There was even food leftover!



The seafood was, indeed, fresh!



{a couple of the cute kid tagalongs}




After lunch we went for a short walk to Fernandina's Fantastic Fudge located on Centre Street.



When we walked in we got to watch a girl finishing up some homemade fudge on the marble slab.



Doesn't that look amazing?!?!

Funny thing, we didn't get any fudge. It was so hot outside that we opted for a scoop of their delicious ice cream each.


And hubs got a frozen lemonade too. Nom.


There's so much to do and see in Fernandina Beach.  Have you ever been?  Tell me where we must go next in the comments.