call us crazy!

on our last day in florida.....before we drove our 800 miles home, we decided to go on a SIX MILE CANOE TRIP! 3 miles UP RIVER, then 3 miles back down river....no, we didnt lose our minds. my sister and i really wanted to do this, and with the weekend being so busy, this was the only day available to go! well, it was the second day, but the other day it rained all day...

we saw tons of animals....turtles galore, fish of many sizes, birds of all kinds, beautiful trees and foliage...and yes, even a few alligators (YIKES)....

and the highlight of the trip for me was....

we saw THREE MANATEE! up close and personal! i could have touched them we were so close! our canoes went right over top of them...i did get camera happy, ive never seen a manatee in the wild before....THEY ARE HUGE! it was a mama and two babies....what gentle giants...they didnt care we were there, they just carried on about their business...eating sea grass and coming up for air every 2-3 minutes....it was amazing...

my favorite two pics are the middle one and the bottom left one (and of course, they both are blurry)...they came up for air, and i seriously was soo close i could have reached out and petted them on their nose! they couldve cared less that we were there, so gentle, so peaceful, so great!

smiles and waves from barbie and brandon...and the beginning of the 6 miles!

hunky hubby....such a poser! and such a good paddler!!!!!sisters.....the best bond ever!!!!
matt and i, enjoying the river....before our trip home....

whew...i think i am done blogging about our florida trip! wasnt that exhausting! lol! we had such a great time, as we always do! we just love spending time with our family!