Bradenton with the cousins!

Bradenton is so much more fun with extra family in town. I drove down Saturday morning to get in one last visit before everyone headed back up to Connecticut. The girls wanted to see if we could find an alligator, so we loaded in the boat and headed up river. Michaela found a seat on the step and plopped herself down to play with her water bottle.

Along the way Michaela had a colossal temper tantrum. This was seriously one of the worst she has ever had in her life. It was all because I wouldn't let her hold my very full glass rootbeer bottle. Luckily she had cousins on board and after she calmed down slightly she was easily distracted by Amanda singing to her. Pretty soon we had a huge sing-a-long going on in the stern of the boat. Michaela had fun doing all the motions to "The Wheels on the Bus".
She also showed off her best little teapot impression.

My dad let Amanda drive the boat. This girl is a crazy driver! I will remember to stay off the roads in Connecticut in about 5 years!

Caitlin also got to drive. She was much calmer of a driver but did still try to run us into the channel markers.

When we got back to the house we laid Michaela down for a nap then got in the pool. It was fun splashing around and acting goofy with my cousins. We had lots of chicken fights and dove for pool toys.

At one point it started pouring rain, but there was no lightning so we just stayed in. The rain was really cold but luckily the pool was 90 degrees so we stayed warm.

After Michaela woke up we took a walk down to the playground while the parents cooked dinner. We were sad to see everyone leave that night to catch an early flight the next morning. Michaela combated that sadness by sharing her shoes with her Nana.