Nothing says "vacation" like eating ice cream for breakfast while staring at the beach. This kid know how to live.
Lance caught Cribbage fever and honed his skills with anyone who would play him. Grandma was happy to oblige!
Poor Jude wasn't feeling too well. Lily had a fever the first few days, then Cole, now Jude had one. Poor kids. Being sick is the worst.
Cole with his trains.
My mom watched the three younger kids this morning while Lance and I joined Aunt Linda, Kailey, Bethany, Jason, Stephen and Amy paddleboarding! We were so excited!
Lance thought the boards were so funny. "YOLO"
Listening to our instructor tell us how to paddle.
Launching! We were launching into the same little cove we had seen the night before at the park that was right next to the river.
Lance was a natural! He took to it like he'd been paddleboarding his whole life.
We got to float around the cove while we got comfortable on the boards. There were several manatees swimming around, some coming quite close to our boards.
I couldn't help but sing: "Barbara Manatee, you are the one for me! Sent from up above, you are the one I love!" Thanks, Veggie Tales.
We saw their paddle tails poking out of the water everywhere.
This one seemed to like Stephen and swam right under his board!
Once everyone was in the water, we struck out on our little tour. I thought it would be hard to keep your balance, but after a bit it was fairly easy. There were a few moments where I was scared I would tip over, but for the most part it was easy.
I liked our guide. Funny and straight-forward, she did a good job showing us the ropes.
Talking about all the animals that live in the river. Like bull sharks. Great.
We saw this dolphin that swam pretty close to us. His dorsal fin was shredded, they think by a boat. He was affectionately named "Shredder" and he followed our group for about 5 minutes. (You can see his shredded fin between Kailey and Bethany.)
About halfway through, we stopped and swam a big. The river was much more shallow than I thought. Lance was the first one to jump off into the water. The rest of us were a big hesitant. There are bull sharks in the water, after all!
Lance's poor head. He face-planted on the sand one day while diving through a wave.
We all finally did get in.
Girl shot! We almost sank that board.
Me and Lance. I love that I got to do this with just him. We don't get to spend very much one-on-one time together, so this was special.
While I was looking at my camera (see photo below), I accidentally floated into a restaurant's oyster bed. Oops! Christy, our guide, had told us at the beginning to avoid them not only because they can cut you with the sharp shells, but because the paddleboarding company could be banned from doing tours in the river if the restaurant complained. Luckily, I was able to paddle my way out before anyone noticed (I hope!).
Back at the cove, waiting our turn to land. Lance found a spot where several mom and baby manatees were swimming. He thought it was neat, although when they got a little close, he might have been a tiny bit nervous. They are large animals after all!
Watching.
Ha! I love getting photos from Jason, Bethany and Kailey's phones. They are hilarious!
How about these, where Lance was learning the fine art of crazy face?
Grandma Brewer came over to spend time with us that afternoon.
We went walking on the beach that evening while the sun was setting. Maria had come over with her husband and two boys too.
SnapChat--it's the best.
This poor kid got some medicine in him and was feeling a little bit better.
Bubbles!
Lance and Braden
Lance decided the water was the best place to be and swam down the beach while we walked. I was so nervous he would get bitten by a shark. Glenn was nice and went swimming with him so he wasn't alone. Thanks, Grandpa!
We had seen Santa riding his bike on the beach a couple times this past week, but this time he stopped and talked to the kids and gave them a tiny little toy bear. Who knew Santa vacationed in New Smyrna Beach?
See the little bear Jude is holding? Thanks, Santa!
Braden was a champ and insisted on pushing the stroller. Be my guest! It's heavy with the big boys in it!
Whoa! Even heavier with Lily.
Can you imagine a more beautiful place?
Sisters. Bethany will be leaving on a mission to the Philippines in a little over a week. So excited for her!
Lance and Glenn finished with their swim, heading back to the condo.
There's Maria! She is looking great!
My group!
After baths and kiddos went to bed, it was story time with Grandma!
She told us stories from when she was a child. It's so neat to hear about her life and how different times were back then.
Here she is as a little girl:
Grandma and Grandpa: Rachel Teague and Wester Brewer. Such a handsome couple!
Oh man. Someone was ready for bed!
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