Sun, surf, and sand

We are slowly adjusting back to reality after a glorious week of sunshine in Florida.  We spent our days at the beach, swimming in the ocean and the pool, walking for ice cream in the evenings, and enjoying being outside all the time.  The house we rented was a dream, and had so many fun things for the kids.  We're glad Evie and Noah don't share a room at home, though!  Noah had a hard time going to sleep, and then Evie was up early, and in a moment of desperation, we resorted to driving around in the car one afternoon so they'd both catch a nap.

The kids loved the beach, and they both had fun swimming in the ocean.  I couldn't believe how brave they were with the waves, and even after getting a face full of salty ocean water, they'd go back for more.  Evie collected a ton of shells, and Noah liked drawing in the sand at low tide.  We would draw letters, trucks, roads for the trucks, and then wave would come and erase it so we could start again.  Matt did some fishing in the canal behind our house, I read an entire book, vegged on the beach a ton, and had some delicious boat drinks.  Our niece Carly joined us, too, and she was an awesome help and lots of fun to have around.  All in all, it was just the R&R we needed to come home refreshed and ready to face the rest of winter.  And, my body must have known it could finally relax, because I also caught strep throat in Florida and had to go to urgent care.  Don't worry - I still made it to the beach by 10:30 that day!

Evie's vacation goals for Day 1

Noah missed his drums at home!

We found coconuts in the yard and decided to see what the inside was like

Coconut!

Just my size - ha ha!

Beach drumming

Sand drawings

More pool time

Last night

Cousins

Heading home

Tired boy on the flight home

Bye bye, Florida!

Of course, traveling with kids always includes some adventures.  One of the first evenings that we were there, we had ice cream and thought it would be fun to take the kids to see the beach at night.  Evie and Carly were walking near the surf when they both noticed a pain in their foot, which turned out to be a man-o-war sting!  After an anxious rush home and a call to the pediatrician, both girls toughed out the pain, but ended up being fine.  We thought it was strange, but reassured ourselves that we would have seen the creatures in the water if it had been daytime.  The next day, we realized that wasn't the case when I also got stung, and never saw anything in the water!  I was in knee-deep water with Noah when my leg started burning.  I got out of the water to see a huge welt forming, and it felt like I had been stung by a bee.  It took a few hours to feel better, but thankfully it was me and not Noah that got stung!  We were all a little nervous to go in the water after that, but the water was beautiful and the sand was so hot, so we had to overcome our fears.  As the lifeguard told me - "You gotta pay to play!"  Thankfully, we made it through the rest of the trip unscathed.

These girls give the thumbs down to the man-o-war washed up on the beach.  I agree!