Westpark Village

I often speak about our cool little neighborhood and the fun shop's and things around us. So many people always say they "just can't picture it". I decided that on our EVERYDAY walk around the hood, I would take some pictures of the things we see and the "layout" of Westpark Village.



I live right nextdoor to my mom and stepdad, which is nothing short of amazing. To have them in the kids' lives is more than I could ever ask for and I am sure they would say the same. Here we are leaving our driveway and pretty much in front of mom's house.



Catty corner...wait, I have never written that phrase before in my life...caddy corner, I have NO idea how to spell that. Huh. That's a first as I am a really good speller. Anyway, across the street and down a bit is the "square" or park that we often go over to to fly kites, ride the bike around or just play in the grass.



A few more houses down...still trucking along, Ian on the bike, Emery in the stroller



Now, at the end of our street and coming up to the shops at the Village



As you enter the shops, we have Zen Bistro Sushi on our right, Quiznos, a coffee shop, martial arts academy, wine bar and a creperia (coming soon) all on the left and then the fountain which is turned into a giant Christmas tree during the holidays



Past the fountain on the left is our most frequented stop, Tijuana Flats. If you look in the distance you can make out a green marquee...that is the site of Westchase Elementary where the kids will go to school.



Next to Tijuana Flats is our favorite bar...World of Beer. Nothing like a bar that is nice AND in walking distance! They have tons and tons of beers, from all different countries and a gazillion more on tap. Live band plays most nights and they do lots of events for the holidays.



On the other side we have a Planet Smoothie, a My Gym for kids, tanning salon and coming soon will be a burger joint, Thai place and an Anytime Fitness! More shops are opening up and I didn't even take pictures of the Starbucks, Catch 22, baby boutiques and pizza shops at the other end of our street. It is so nice being so close to these places and is a lot of fun!

For the rest of our walk we always check out the ponds to try and see if the alligator is there and any other animals we may find. This day we did not see the alligator, but saw tons of huge fish and some Heron's.



a few ducks...



And a GREAT flag out in front of someone's house...



All the while, Emery sat and sucked loudly on her first pickle ever...



And then we made it back to our house again. We do this route everyday and I think it is almost time to take the training wheels off. He is doing such a great job!



Here are some recent pictures of Emery...