We flew to the Florida Keys!
We awakened at 4am to make our flight.
We spent the entire day traveling. Luckily we have devices and snacks to entertain every age.
To remember:
MO: "Are we in the air?" Molly asked 15+ times while stuck on the tarmac.
RY: parkour-ed off the cement parking barriers in the Miami airport
ED: "BINGO!" 40+ times as we passed the taxi cap lot.
MADDIE: She stopped at the bottom of every escalator, creating pile-ups behind her
NICK: 500+ high pitched giggles coming from his room (the boys gamed)
MAISIE: "Let's all clap really loudly when we finally arrive." We didn't.
ANDY: He napped the entire flight, held 2+ bags and Ryan's hand most of the transit. "Mom! What's taking you so long? Did you get kidnapped?" (We took a while buying the food for the week in a sketch Walmart.)
AUSTIN: "Get your buddy's hand and don't let go."
ME: I took 2 naps and read every other minute.
Saturday we kayaked through the mangroves, played in our pool and canal, and ended at the beach/park. Super cool.
To remember:
MO: "Come swim with me!" She loves her new found freedom without floaties.
RY: He hung on for dear life when Andy swirled him around those monkey bars.
EDDIE: When the monsoon hit, he was a rain runner.
MADDIE: She was the most fortunate to be in Austin's kayak. She compliments him in so many ways. Her strokes were beautiful and effortless.
NICK: I made him cry because I was the worst kayak companion. I really did try.
MAISIE: Best game creator -- "Let's jump in the canal backwards then use no arms or legs to get back to the ladder."
ANDY: He lost a few of our games, so he dove beautfiully into that dirty canal.
AUSTIN: beach napper
MOI: I tried to play. Like, I played all the creative games and survived all the consequences.
ALL: During the monsoon, the children stood at the street and tried to get cars to honk.
Sunday we went to church -- we doubled every class and offered the prayers. The park called to us in the afternoon.
MO: She made a store selling shoes under the beach chairs and towel canopy.
RYAN: He was "accidentally" pushed into the pool.
ED: From the corner of my eye, I watched him jump off the two-story balcony with the disclaimer, "Bye, guys!"
MADDIE: She brought home not a lesson from YW, but a list of fun activities for the week. She still comes in to kiss us good-night.
NICK: He used the hose to spray Molly's store shoppers while cackling.
MAISIE: Once the toys at the park got old, she hopped the fence and exclaimed, "Oh, look! A forest. Let's make a town." They did.
ANDY: Pretty much water boarded Nick.
AUSTIN: While playing at the park, he had beads of sweat rolling down his bald head.
ME: I spent three hours in my chair resting, finishing the 40-day BOM challenge and napping.
88* with 90% humidity
MOndy we drove to Key West to for a bicycle tour and browsing.
Home again for canal games and hose games.
To remember:
MO: "Please can I have this sparkly unicorn necklace?" Yes, you may have anything you want. You sat nicely in a bike basket for 2.5 hours.
RY: He was a bored biker, coleslaw eater, and not a complainer.
ED: sprayed the hose then was sprayed
MADDIE: She helped me make dinner and learned how to wrap burritos.
NICK: He decided that he would climb the Key West palm trees like a native. Nope, it didn't work out.
MAISIE: Andy accused her of being addicted to her phone, "I've read two books so far."
ANDY: "Why don't you just let us have fun on this trip?"
AUSTIN: He bought us the biggest cookies and maneuvered the bike basket through the small bars at the park. The tour guide even complimented him.
ME: I told my entire family that they were going to hell because they don't participate in CFM very well.
Tuesday we slept in and got started slowly. We then spent the day at Bahia Honda Beach.
To remember:
MO: She spent the day in the water. She clung to all the tall people and swam back and forth.
RYAN: Hung on my back -- even in the water he is heavy.
EDDIE: He loved eating the fresh coconut and used a mangrove pod as the Elder Wand.
MADDIE: She followed Austin around both in and out of the water. She tumbled and showed me her cool tricks on the sand.
NICK: Of course he discoverd worms in the sand and threw them on Maisie.
MAISIE: She walked to the tower with her teen brothers and swam out the the buoy.
ANDY: He began the coconut adventure and then rolled Nick over and over in the sand to make him a "sugar cookie."
AUSTIN: He was all in all day.
Wednesday we snorkeled with the most beautiful fish I've ever seen. The reef looked just like Nemo's home.
But first, a quiet morning together.
CFE prep
MO: She snorkeled along side me. She cooed at the pretty fish.
RY: Said Captain Dan at least six times, "He sure has a lot of energy." He did not get sick? (He barfs on every car ride, so I was really surprized.)
EDDIE: I spied Eddie and Beckham playing an imaginary sword game until he was sea sick.
MADDIE: She swam right in the fish and donned her new Key West hat all day.
NICK: He was a nice swimmer, a quiet and kind diver and sea sick.
MAISIE: She was the last person in the boat, and I watched her dive down deep.
ANDY: He swims so naturally. He long, brown, muscular limbs make him look like a merman.
AUSTIN: He doved so deep, barfed two times and put so much sun block on that he was a ghostly white.
ME: I enjoyed the fish; it was the best snorkeling day, ever.
Thursday we went deep-sea fishing and cooked up the fish.
To remember:
MO: "I just want to go home." She was sea sick again and chummed the waters with her barf.
RY: After fishing for a bit, he used the boat bars to swing like an acrobat over the water. Captain Claudia was impressed.
EDDIE: "This fish doesn't even taste like fish."
MADDIE: She was the star fisher woman. Maddie listened to our instructors, and then she killed it. Well, she killed several fish. That's just like her, being awesome at another new skill.
NICK: He did catch a few fish, but was sick and napped.
MAISIE: Of course fishing became a competition, and she won the game she created. Her loud cries of elated joy made Captain Caludia cheer, "Get it, gurrrrrl!"
ANDY: He wasn't catching a thing, but his luck changed and he caught 8 in 10 minutes. He was really close behind Maisie.
AUSTIN: He helped the three youngest fish, and he got lucky himself. His "cheffing" skillz did not diappoint.
ME: My pole was often put away, but when I was fishing, my pole was hot. I was one of the only ones to catch the yellow-tail trout.
Friday we fed the tarpons, tried out "Bum Beach," and then ended up at the beach/park.
tarpons (I inserted a link.)
Relay race (Another link.)
MO: "It smells really bad. I can't take it."
RYAN: "Can I have another cookie?"
EDDIE: "Ryan always cheats." True. To be fair, Ed cheaps Ry as well.
MADDIE: "Okay. It's harder
NICK: "AVADA CADAVRA!" He found another wand a killed
MAISIE: "Let's swim out to the buoys; it's tradition."
ANDY: "Mom, am I burned? Am I tan?"
AUSTIN: "Let's stand in the water. It doesn't smell as bad."
Saturday we had to set an alarm for 7am, and we traveled all the way home. We all wanted time to stand still in Florida, but it was time to come home.
Good-bye beach house.
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