WARNING!!! I love taking pictures of my kids, especially at the beach so I make no apologies for all the photos, you were warned! We took a family vacation with my family this summer. We visited the Clearwater/St.Pete area. Our main objective was to relax and spend time together. Mission accomplished!
We had one excursion with the kids to the local aquarium, but this aquarium has two very special dolphins, Winter & Hope. Winter is the dolphin featured in the movie "Dolphin Tale." The movie is about a dolphin that gets cut in a fishing net and loses it's tail in the process but is saved when a prosthetic tail is made specially for her (yes Winter is a girl). Thanks to Amazon Prime we pulled the movie up for the kids to watch the night before we went. Not only did we have a very enjoyable adult dinner but the kids were super excited to see Winter the next day. It is really an amazing story. I had prepared the kids that the "tail" was just for the movie, but I was wrong! As we were taking our last walk by her tank she had the tail on for some physical therapy time. It was pretty cool, I have to admit. They also had a very inspiration short movie about how Winter has been therapeutic for children (and even adults) who face challenges such as autism and deformities. It was a real tear jerker. I commented after the movie that it would have been nice if they would have passed the Kleenex around. My dad said "I'm surprised they didn't pass the plate!" It really was that moving! We took a little boat ride to a museum and the kids did a hurricane simulation. Stay tuned for "Dolphin Tale 2" coming this fall - it is the story of Hope, an orphaned dolphin. Other than the guys taking a little side trip to a dog racing track we were all pretty content to hang out by the pool or the beach or take a nap in a lounge chair!
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| Apparently Brandon had a stiff neck that needed adjusting! |
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| Trying to hold up the sun |
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| Awe.... |
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| We found amazing seashells! |
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| Team work on a sand castle |
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| He loved this shovel! |
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| A little crab friend that we had hanging out on our patio |
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| Sand castle! |
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| Making a heart with our hands was hard for us for some reason! |
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| Action shot! He was jumping and yes he did fall but he recovered quickly! |
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| Our little monkeys |
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| He is catching up to her |
The stand up paddle (SUP) board provided us lots of entertainment! At first it was just a challenge to see who could get up on it but then it turned into a little friendly competition. David won the race around the buoy by a few seconds but I gave it a good go. The kids loved to just sit on it and let us paddle them around. We saw quite a few string rays and even some dolphins.
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| Dad tried everyday and each day he got better, but it wasn't pretty! |
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| People make it look easier than what it is. I could do it but never found it to be relaxing! |
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| Lots of birds and ducks on the beach. Sometimes we let the kids chase them ;) |
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| Every time I am on a beach I write my name in the sand and do a cartwheel. I've done it since I knew how to do a cartwheel. It doesn't look pretty, but I still do it and usually pull a muscle in the process! |
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| Following in my footsteps (we have her signed up for gymnastics this fall!) |
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| We love to eat so we had to take pictures of the food! |
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| I am certain the kids had a blast playing at the chess table, even though they never once played chess! |
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| "Where's our food?!" After a little dinner miscommunication this was the expressions we got from the kids...arms in the air and both of them saying "Where is our food?!" |
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| Grant looking like a sea creature in a blanket |
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| The chess fun continues with Uncle David |
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| Spot-it game |
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| Ima sleeping with the kids and her CPAP machine on - doesn't she look comfy?! (for the love of her grandchildren!) |
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| Sand sea turtle |
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| More yummy food! |
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| This bird really wanted to come inside - he was right on the patio and moving towards the door! |
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| He loved the oar as much as he did the shovel! |
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| David "Hey Mom, don't you think I am the best SUP boarder in the family?" |
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| Dough Boy (inside joke, long story) |
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| Chilling |
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| She thought it was so much fun to have this lizard crawling up her arm.... |
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| ....Until she thought it had gone down the front of her swimsuit! |
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| Elizabeth really bonded with Chef Christian! |
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| Awesome family dinner al fresco |
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| Doesn't he look relaxed?! |
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| This bird and any bird flying overhead is now referred to as "poopy bird" since Ima and Grant got pooped on by well yes, a poopy bird! |
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| Photo bomb! |
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| Sand sea turtle with shell decorations |
The last night we had an awesome dinner out on the patio. We then took a lovely walk on the beach and watched the sunset. David had shared with us the YouTube craze of "Sweet Brown" (just search for it on YouTube and your life will probably never be the same!) so Brandon started playing the remix of Sweet Brown and then the tunes just kept coming and before we knew it we were having our own little dance party on the beach. It was so much fun and a memory I will always treasure. What was really funny is that we were the only ones in our little beach area but then we saw people coming from both sides with flashlights. Probably just families crab hunting but we kind of wrapped up the party and moved on inside!
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| Mr.DJ |
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| Key Lime Pie |
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| Winter (left) & Hope (right) |
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| Inside the hurricane simulator - not sure what this boy had on his mind but something important! |
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| Grant having an edible orchid as a snack |
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| I love pictures of my baby sleeping too! |
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| On the last day my dad and I went for a run and we passed by this sand dollar. On the way back it was still there! I am convinced we only got it because of the sprints he had us doing and because we passed a couple of sea shell hunters as we sprinted by! Haha and the treasure was ours! Until Brandon decided putting it in a book would be a the safest place to pack it and it shattered :( |
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| Really awesome shells! |
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| Grant fell asleep in Uncle David's arms during our beach dance party, but then promptly woke up for key lime pie! |
Making memories....that's what it is all about!
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