Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Of Sand and Sunburns



My family and I just got back from Florida and a much needed vacation. We spent four days in a condo that one of our friends blessed us with on the beach. It was wonderful to get away from the busyness and decisions of life.

Our grandparents were able to come with us so it was an even more enjoyable time with them.

My grandfather and dad took all the boys on a four hour deep sea fishing trip. That made their day and they caught some delicious Mackerel and Mahi-Mahi. to put in the freezer. (You can click on the pictures for a larger size.)
















OK It was not my idea to turn Dad into a merman just for the record! But it was rather funny to watch.
My favorite part of the beach is finding little treasures. I'm a marine enthusiast so I love seeing what I can find, and the children had fun looking alongside me.





I loved it when we went to the pool. Of course we were flipping everyone out with the number of children. You could see their heads nodding as they counted.


Then the questions come..."Are they ALL yours?-You didn't adopt? How do you get anything done?"

And I probably got asked three times if they were my kids. Really? Do I look old enough to have had eight kids? My wrinkles must be coming in early.






The love birds.













Jax loved the sunshine and sitting in his float.

And of course there was the occasional, slightly threatening presence of dangerous critters. One day the jellyfish were so numerous we didn't try to venture playing in the ocean.

You almost got tangled up in them even if you were looking out for them.








Amazingly, we saw sting rays feeding every evening and morning and they would leap out of the water. And they were so friendly they'd come right up to your feet. Though I didn't want to get that close for a photo shoot.






Ellia didn't care all that much for the sand or waves.
For the first time, we were not ready to go home; perhaps because we don't have our real home right now, or perhaps because we were just having so much fun. Still, we were so grateful for our friends who sent us off on such a great break.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Hey, Bria!
I have been reading your blog for about a year now. My Mom reads your Mom's blog, and my name is Bri, and I am the eldest of a "large" family (number seven still-on-earth on the way) so I kind of thought that we had a bit in common, and have really liked reading your blog!
I was so sorry to hear about the tornado and all you lost, but it was great to hear that you were all protected and have been able to started the rebuilding process!
I was surprised at how big the baby was in these pictures! And I will have to show my little brother (Andrew, almost five) some of these pictures. He has never been fishing (yet), but he loves anything that has to do with it!
I've gotten some of the "Are they yours" questions also, and I've only just turned fourteen! Mommy has also been asked if I was her sister, haha.

Joy said...

It looks like a great time, and is so pretty there!

Kim M. said...

So glad you all could have such a nice get-a-way. I loved the pictures; everyone has grown so much!

Unknown said...

Haha... Hey Joy! I saw you had added some blogs to your list after you started really reading my blog... was this one of them? :)... I've really enjoyed all the insights from this blog :)!

Natalie said...

What a blast! I loved seeing all your pictures! So glad you all had such a great time...thanks for sharing some memories with us! : )