Anne Kolb Nature Center

April was still a VERY busy time for Dallas's work, so we were beyond excited when he took a Saturday morning off during Easter weekend to go on a fun family adventure.  I have a list of fun things to explore throughout the state of Florida.  There is so much to see and do down here and I'm constantly amazed by the uniqueness we find in each of these places.  Since we only had a morning, we drove a few miles south to Hollywood to explore the Anne Kolb Nature Center.  The park holds over 1,500 acres of coastal mangrove wetlands where there are several boat trails and you can rent canoes and kayaks to explore them.  After purchasing our tickets for the mangrove tour boat, we decided to climb the 68ft observation tower.  It gave the most amazing 360degree views of the surrounding mangrove wetlands.  I loved being able to look down on all the different boardwalk trails through the mangrove trees.

Daxton thought it was so funny when Dad lifted him up to look over the edge...mommy, on the other hand, did not!

We had about 20 minutes to kill until our boat tour, so we let Daxton freely explore.  He was so excited and kept running up and down all the different boardwalks.  Daddy was a saint and followed him where ever he went.  Considering how hot it was outside, I was grateful for the resting time.

Mangroves are such interesting trees.  I think I will forever think of my mom and dad when I see them now.  We all learned about them while traveling down in the Florida keys.  In order for mangroves to survive in salt and fresh water conditions they have "sacrificial leaves."  These leaves are where the tree sends all of the salt contaminants soaked up through it's roots.  If you look closely at the mangrove trees you can see each of these leaves, because they eventually turn yellow and die.

The boat tour turned out to be a lot of fun.  It was only 5 dollars a ticket (Daxton was free) and lasted about 30 minutes.  Our tour guide gave us lots of information about the park and nature in South Florida while we road on the pontoon boat.  Daxton had a blast leaning his head over the side looking for fish.  We saw lots of different birds and wildlife on our tour along with gorgeous vegetation.  It turned out to be a very relaxing morning!

We were glad we brought some snacks for our little man.  He was perfectly happy sitting next to his daddy, eating goldfish, and riding on a boat.  This kid is pretty easygoing, thankfully!

My absolute favorite shot from our adventure.

We were so glad to have daddy with us, even if only for a morning.  Life is just always better with these two together.  They are two cute peas in a pod; best little buddies.  I couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude watching my two boys.  I love them both so much and love the many adventures we are having.
It was a great morning!