Florida adventures

We spent a lot of time on the beach and just vegging for the most part, which was fine by us. With two little ones, you have to work your day around naptimes. This made it especially nice to be in a house. We could all go to our separate rooms, but we had a beautiful back deck, a living room and kitchen to gather and spend time together. It was ideal with this many people going.

This was the first time we've taken Camryn on a vacation. She did so well. We had been talking up the beach for the last month and when she got here, she couldn't get her swimsuit on fast enough. This was also the most time we've been able to spend with the entire family for a long time. It was nice. I think Charlie got pretty used to us by the end of the week. She's so sweet. It was cool to see the two girls play together every day. They'd dance for us and chase each other and play with each other's toys. Yes, there were power struggles on toys, but that's normal toddler stuff.

The girls were fun on the beach. Charlie loved having the waves rush up on her legs (although it's funny to read Liz's blog as she had a completely different take on Charlie and the waves). Cam not so much because when the water rushed back into the ocean, she'd sink into the sand a bit. Didn't seem to care for that. She was content playing with buckets of water in the sand.




Cam didn't like to walk far in the sand. She said it hurt her feet. I think it just felt so different to her. There were little dead plants in the sand and she'd come up to one and scream. I'd turn around and it wouldn't be any larger than a dollar bill on the ground by her feet. I asked her to walk around, but for some reason refused. With all of the toys we hauled to/from the beach that I'd have in my hand, I finally said, "see you at the house" and she'd figure out how to get back.

The water was not great for swimming in it. There was quite a bit of seaweed and jelly fish. Although that didn't stop the boys. All of them would swim quite a ways out there, despite the purple flag flying (warning of potential dangerous marine life). Some folks we spoke to that come every year say this July was the dirtiest they've ever seen the water. June is usually crystal clear, but with more storms in July, the seaweed comes in and stays for a bit. Still, the water great to look at, walk along side and listen to. I could just sit on the beach and listen to the waves coming in for hours. It's so relaxing. We took a great walk on the beach the first evening.






On Tuesday, Craig, Dad, Jon, Jeff and his friend Mike got up before dawn and went out on an ocean fishing adventure. Their boat was called Don't Let Go!, and they all did pretty good. Dad said he was the first and last to catch the fish. Craig got a large King Mackeral (40" long). Several of them also caught an Amberjack, which apparently have a lot of fight in them and are tough to reel in. Craig said when he caught his, the pole was almost bent in half. When he got it in it was something like 27.5", which is considered a baby, so he had to throw it back in. I teased him that it was that hard for him to catch a baby fish. I wondered how hard it would be to get an adult. They had the fish cleaned there, and brought a bunch of Red Snapper home to eat. Not being a fish eater, I figured I'd load up on the sides, but Mike grilled them up for all of us, and it was really good.

Here's Craig with his King Mackeral.

The captain said it was the largest one he's seen caught this year.

Here are the boys with their catch for the day.

On Wednesday, we took Camryn to a place called Gulfarium. It was like a poor man's Sea World, only we paid $40 bucks to get in. The tanks needed a fresh coat of paint and the bleachers were super old. There was a dolphin show, a sea lion show and a combined dolphin & sea lion show. Each were supposed to be 30 minutes. The dolphin show started 15 minutes late, and Cam had to pee so we ran down to the bathroom and made it back just in time. One of the dolphin's tricks was to splash outside the tank. We happened to be standing in the lucky spot. So we were drenched. Then Cam had to pee agian. By the time we raced back up to the dolphin show, it was over. Oh, the joys of potty training. The next two shows were short as well, but cute. Cam spent more time asking me for another sip out of my soda and playing with the snap on her pants. A little too young still I guess.

The next two days were spent soaking up as much beach time as we had left. Jon rented a kayak and the group shared it throughout the day. We even took Cam out, which was probably one of her favorite things. Maybe next time we'll rent a boat for a while.

This picture looks like Craig is about to knock Cam and me out of the boat. What's up?

On the last night we went over to a popular shopping area that had a water play area for kids. Camryn & Charlotte were in heaven!

We even had a temporary pet that Camryn called Dewey. The name stuck around. And so did Dewey. Maybe that's because Mom kept feeding him bologna and cheese.
It was a wonderful trip. Great time with the family. Thank you mom and dad for such a wonderful week!