Froliking in Florida

Our trip to Florida got off to a great start when the pilot allowed the boys to sit up front and even push one of the control buttons! (Since BB#1 wants to be a pilot when he grows up, he LOVED this!)

One of the highlights of our hotel was this balcony which overlooked the ocean. We would sit outside to read, eat, and talk. But I think the best part was falling asleep to the sound of the ocean.

When the Caboose needed a nap, Nanna would take him up and sit out on the balcony while he slept, so we were able to stay out with big boys.

One of the downsides of the trip was a complete dearth of good waves. Nonetheless, Diamond made a great effort to teach the boys how to boogie board on what little waves there were. For beginners, they were able to get in some decent rides.

Big Boy #1 catching a wave.

Then he told me "I'm practicing my wipe-outs!"

Big Boy #1

There was time spent building in the sand.

A good chunk of the trip was spend floating on the water. Grandpa was great about getting out with the boys and they loved it.

Ganelle also had some time floating on the ocean. Sooo relaxing! (Of course having my cell phone turned off for the bulk of the vacation sure helped with that whole "relaxed" feeling!)

Some locals at a Surf Shop encouraged us to check out Bathtub Beach. It was only about ten minutes from the hotel and boasted a reef complete with all kinds of fish and lots of shallow water for little ones. It was one of our favorite spots and we went almost every day.

Bathtub beach was a great place for Nanna to teach the big boys how to snorkel. It was so shallow that they could simply stand up if they got water in their masks/snorkel.

While the snorkeling was nothing like the Caribbean, there were still several varieties of fish - some even as big as a foot long. They boys were fascinated by the world beneath the water and spend hours snorkeling the reef looking for fish, or along the shore looking for shells.

Big Boy #2 looking over his collection of shells gathered while snorkeling at Bathtub Beach.

With water so shallow at Bathtub, Diamond got everyone involved in a game of Frisbee.

I spent just about every summer as a child along the Atlantic Coast. It was so cool to bring my boys to the Ocean to enjoy the kind of beach trip I had loved as a kid. We played in water in the day, played games at night and spent a ton of time together as a family. It was perfect.