GRANDPARENTS!!!

My parents came to visit. My dad has been watching for a conference in Miami ever since we moved here, and a couple of weeks ago he called and said "So, where is Coral Gables?" UHhh---right here!!! In our ward boundaries!!!! So they got to come party with us for the weekend! It was so much fun. We had such a great time with them!

I feel like everything we did was fun and enjoyable and turned out so great!

We took dad to Robert Is Here because mom enjoyed it so much when she came. It never disappoints! I tried a new shake with all of my kids' requests: Blueberry for Will, strawberry for Ruth, and coconut because that was the recommended one on the board. I would not normally put all those together but it was SOOOO good. I want to go back just to get coconut in a shake again!Also those sunflowers by Ruthie in the photo were SO gorgeous! And a group of three ladies stopped Ruthie and oohed and aahed over how her braids looked JUST like Anne of Green Gables, haha.

After stopping at Robert is Here we took mom and dad to the Fruit and Spice Park because we thought it would be a nice, relaxing activity while still being enjoyable. I feel like we were ALL worn out after, haha, but it was still a good time! Sterling wins for greatest picker award, he jumped off the trolly at most of the trees to grab us the fruit/berries to try. Thanks, babe!

This cutie pie could NOT get enough of grandma. Poor grandma played "I'm going on a trip/ABCs" waaaaay too often in the car and Hide and Go Seek at the park waaaaay too long, due to Ruthie's begging. She even has our neighbor friend, Clarke, asking for 'grandma' to come back to play Little Fly (a hide and go seek version mom made up when she came out for Molly's birth two and a half years ago)!!!!!!! 

Will made sure to watch the map so we knew what trees we were looking at, haha!

I can't remember what these are actually called, but when the tour guide said they tasted like cotton candy, I found it a little unbelievable. Well, believe it. Exact. Same. Taste. So crazy.

Weird things that grow in Florida. This is actually used to dye things, if I remember correctly. Like gum and butter.

Touching this African tree with your left hand was supposed to bring good luck.

Molly's adorable smile!

See that box in the stroller? All our goodies from Robert Is Here. Which makes me crave mangoes right now. I've never liked mangoes, until I moved here and had REAL mangoes. Oh man, divinity.

That night Sterling studied, but I took mom and dad to Wynwood Walls. It's super trendy, super MIAMI experience thing. I was excited for dad to try the food trucks and then afterwards decided I was the worst person ever to have there. I've had lots of Peruvian/Ecuadorian/Jamaican/Cuban dishes since moving here. Do I remember the names of anything? no. So basically they were on their own. Dad tried some fried conch that I really liked, mom stuck with some bbq that was so-so, the kids gobbled up some really delicious pizza and mom topped us all off with some really delicious icecream, so I'll consider it a win! I was glad dad was there to push my stroller through the MASSES of people on the sidewalk. Hopefully they weren't too scared by my parking choices, haha (usually Sterling drives and parks when we go to downtown Miami unless it's to the beach, which I have down, haha.)

A new one I hadn't seen before and really liked.

Saw this on our way out and Molly was ECSTASTIC. She wanted a high five, a hug, for the troll to come home with us practically, haha.

Oh, and Saturday morning (before Wynwood in the evening) we took them to our local farmer's market just to try out the Peruvian ceviche. I can't have it, because I am pregnant and the fish is not technically cooked--just 'cured' in lime juice--and I was super jealous. Mom and dad loved it as much as we do, so that was worth going right there. But then they got all adventurous and tried some empanadas and meat churro roll things (see? I never remember the names of foods!) and basically made us want to come back every single Saturday until we move just to get our fill in of all the good things!

Monday dad had his conference and Sterling was studying so we headed to the zoo. I wanted to show mom everything---I love our zoo so much!!!---but we made it about 1/2 through. In five hours, haha. We probably should've called it quits sooner. But the kids ended at the splash pad, which completely revived them, so it was a good day!

There's an alligator right under Ruthie!

The zoo lady told us the anteater had a baby. I never really did get a good shot, but the baby is on the mom's back in this photo. I kept walking and heard the SHRIEKS of my children calling me back "MOM! IT MOVED IT"S HEAD! TAKE A PICTURE!" but of course, I missed it. Haha. They were pretty excited to see.

Mom and the girls doing yoga, haha!

So that was our Friday-Monday. I still need to load the beach pictures from Tuesday. Sunday we went on two little walks inbetween rain storms and generally relaxed and it was wonderful. The whole weekend was wonderful. Mom? Dad? Can we repeat? Next weekend? Same time, same place!