Keys Vacation

We just got back from a week in the Florida Keys. It was a really nice trip! We found a condo to rent in Key Largo which is about a 5 hour drive from home. We were excited about the condo because it had two bedrooms, a living area, and a kitchen, as well as a pool and beach onsite. It was very nice to have some space to spread out rather than being cramped in a small cabin or even a hotel room. Plus we were able to cook some meals so we didn't have to eat out constantly.

While we were there, we did some really different and interesting things. We went to John Pennekamp State Park to go to the beach on Father's Day, which coincided with the first day of our vacation. We were a bit disappointed in the beach since we have such beautiful beaches near us--we didn't know that there's no sand or waves in the Keys! The second day we went on a glass bottom boat ride out to Molasses Reef. That was fun and I think the kids enjoyed going on the  boat and seeing the corals as well as a lot of sealife. Emily saw a sea turtle and Bailey and I saw a (small) shark in the canals leading out to the ocean!

We also went out to dinner at a place that had a glass bottom bar and they gave the kids fish food while we were waiting for our dinner. We saw a sting ray there and lots of fish. We went to several other beaches as well (each one wasn't what we were hoping for). Emily did some snorkeling and underwater photography! Liam was TERRIFIED of the seaweed. I think he thought it was a creature of some kind. It wasn't until I explained that it was just like grass, but it grows underwater, that he would even go near the water.

The next day Will took the girls deep sea fishing. They had a blast and caught some fish. They brought home some snapper and some grunts and they ate it for dinner!

We also drove the entire Overseas Highway down to Key West and rode the Conch Tour Train. It was SO HOT. We were sure to get a picture in front of the southernmost point of the US. We also visited the Key West Butterfly Conservatory and Emily made a butterfly friend!

Another fun day trip was to a place called Robbie's where Will and the kids fed huge fish called tarpon. We also went to an aquarium that was really neat--it was all interactive so the kids got to touch rays, starfish, urchins, horseshoe crabs, and even a sea cucumber! And they dug for sharks' teeth which they thought was really neat.

We ended up leaving a day early to try to go to the beach in West Palm Beach, but a huge thunderstorm blew in just as we arrived at the beach. So we spent a wonderful afternoon visiting with Aunt Robin and Uncle Cliff. We had such a great vacation and made lots of memories!

Beach Day

Today we went to New Smyrna Beach with our friends and had a lovely time.

The kids were really having a ball playing in the water and the sand when Emily called me over. "Mommy! I found a shark egg case!" she said. I was like, I don't know what that thing is. She was insistent, so I took a photo and said we'd look it up at home. Sure enough, it WAS an egg case--possibly from a shark egg or maybe from some type of ray. I had no idea that there was even such a thing. I was super impressed with her! Here's her find:

Cool, right?

Pool Fun

Today we spent some time swimming with our friends. I got a couple cute pictures of the kids jumping into the pool. This used to be an easier task with my previous phone, which had a "burst shot" setting on the camera. I don't have that anymore so a lot of times when I try to take a picture of them jumping in, all I get is the splash:

BUT I was able to get these pictures that I thought were fun:

I love watching them. They are in the pool almost every day but they never get tired of it and they always have this much fun. It's really wonderful to be able to share in that.