An All-Star Weekend

We went to Melbourne this past weekend to meet up with Pap Pap for the Minor League All-Star weekend hosted by the Brevard County Manatees.  We got in Friday evening in time for the Gala dinner, and from there, the weekend took off.

Breakfast overlooking the Atlantic; followed by a couple of hours of pool time.  The hotel pool was fabulous, and Eli swam like a fish all morning.  It is always awesome when you can see the ocean while floating around in a pool.  I wanted to stay in all day.

With our recent travels, we have stayed in a couple hotels, and Eli is a fan.  He loves to explore them and then kick back and relax.  He loves the key cards to get into the rooms and always wants to carry his own.

That afternoon, after Eli's nap, our friends Kevin, Debbie and their boy Andrew drove a couple hours north to be able to see us and go to the game that night with us.

Eli and Andrew became fast friends and were very sweet to each other.  Andrew is a tall kid; maybe an inch shorter, and 11 months younger.  Eli also very quickly introduced Andrew to boat rides on blankets.  Lucky Kevin got to give several rides around the hotel room.

Saturday evening's highlight was the baseball game....the reason we made the trip in the first place.  Eli loved taking it all in and held tightly to his ticket.

The Rainbow Ice Dippin' Dots were a hit, and as you can see, Andrew had his eye on them. The chocolate his mommy had gotten him didn't seem near as tasty as the colorful ones. I am happy to report, that Eli willingly shared half of his bowl with his new friend.

Eli didn't want to sit still for much of the game, but when he did, he was full of questions about baseball and everything else around.

Actually, it was more like the same question over and over again...."Is it time for the fireworks yet?"  He overheard that there would be fireworks after the game.  This little guy stayed up WAY past his bedtime to be able to seem them.

He was super excited, and did well watching them.  He only kept his hands over his ears for the first few, and then he put them down to watch in awe and wonder.  "Wow," he said over and over.  Needless to say, he crashed on the drive home.

Sunday was full of more adventure as we met up our friends again for a trip to the Brevard County Zoo. We started in the water.

It was a very HOT day.  And after the water play, the hands on play areas, and the petting zoo, the boys didn't make it much further before nap times loomed.

We saw a couple sections of animals and then stopped for a quick bite to eat, a train ride to see a few more animals,

and finally a popsicle before heading home.  I guess it was a long, and fun-filled weekend, as boy was pooped.  As we hit the highway, Eli quickly dozed, and slept a good 2+ hours in the car as we headed back home. 

Thanks for inviting us to join you, Pap Pap!  We had fun and look forward to your visit to the beach with us this weekend.  Yay for summer weekends of fun!