Well it only took me a month but the pictures are finally up. We still don't have our computer but I managed to get them done on Connie's laptop so I could get them on. We had a blast visiting wife Jennie's immediate family in Clearwater, Florida. All her brothers and sisters and their kids were able to come down as we spent the week in a rental house. This is the second time that we have made this trip and these are seriously the best vacations we have taken as a family. It is so nice to just relax and spend time with family. I know the kids loved playing with all their cousins and being able to swim all day. We were sad the Granny couldn't make the trip but grateful that she let some of us stay in her house.
We ended up driving down which really wasn't all that bad. We left around 10 at night and the kids slept all the way to North Carolina. We stopped at Uncle Jay's house to pick up Spencer and wait for Greg and Bill who were also driving. On the way I had the chance to stop by Duke University which was really cool. I figured I better stop since I was so close. The campus was amazing. Very green, lots of trees and very old buildings. It was nice to drive around the campus and see the sights of such a prestigious school. I then went to try and find the University of North Carolina since it is right there. I wasn't able to find it but did find where the Durham Bulls play. We then went to Uncle Jay's and I was able to get a few hours of sleep. We then loaded everyone up and headed for Florida. We ended up switching Brooklyn for Cannon so the boys and girls could be together. Poor Cannon ended up being sick the whole way down and probably threw up 5 or 6 times. I felt bad for him because every time he ate something it came right back up. I guess it was good that he was sick on the way down and not while we were there.
Our vacation was a perfect way to spend the week. The kids would swim in the pool all day long and then we would go to the beach in the evening after it started to cool off and became less crowded. The Clearwater Beach is very nice as it has perfect sand, is really clean, and the water is in the 80's. It was funny because it was the first time that Nolan had been in the ocean and it didn't take him very long to figure out that he didn't like the taste of ocean water.
The sunsets were amazing and something that I could definitely get use to. Spencer, Jennie, Aaron and some others went down and were able to play beach volleyball almost every night which I know Jennie loved. Jennie also started running every morning with Jessie and has continued it to this day. She gets up every morning and runs around the neighborhood before the kids get up. We also went to Honeymoon Beach which is a state park the anyone can visit. We went there to take pictures of all the girls in dresses that Connie made for them.
We got some great pictures and the kids had a great time playing in the ocean and looking for shells. I got Maddux probably 100 feet off the shore, in the ocean, jumping and playing in the waves. He wasn't that crazy about it at first but ended up staying out there for an hour or so. Brooklyn ended up walking a couple hundred feet up and down the beach filling up a bucket full of seashells. She got some good ones and was able to bring them back with us.
Greg, Donovan and I took Maddux and Cannon deep sea fishing which was a blast. Neither of us had ever been so we were looking forward to it. The boat left about 9 in the morning and we didn't end up getting back until 6:30 or so. They took us about 25 miles off shore and supply all the rods and bait to fish. I think there were about 17 of us on an 88' boat. It took about an hour and a half to get out where we were going but the ride was very smooth. We did run into a little rain but nothing to serious. Once we got out to where we were going to fish the weather was perfect. I had to cast the poll for Maddux but he was ok reeling it back it. I think we ended up catching about 30 fish or so between the 5 of us but Maddux did catch the biggest and was the only one who caught two at once. He somehow got the string looped around one fish while reeling the other one in and when he brought them up there were 2 fish at the end. I don't think I have ever seen that before and may never again. We also was a sea turtle floating out in the ocean which was kind of cool.
We also saw quite a few dolphins swimming around the boat and there were actually about 4 that followed us all day. It was kind of funny because we caught quite a few fish that we had to throw back because they were too small. The ironic thing is that you had to throw them back so they could get bigger but once you threw them back in the water the dolphins would swim around and eat them. It was funny because you knew when you had one of these fish before you got it on the boat because when you were reeling it in you would all of a sudden see a couple of dolphins and you knew what you had. Then as soon as they were tossed back in the ocean the dolphins would eat them. I don't even think we count how many of those things we caught that day but I do know that the dolphins ate very well.
We also encountered something that we will probably never see again. A couple of hours before we were to go in the captain overheard a distress call to the Coast Guard from a boat that was taking on water in the middle of the ocean. We were only about an hour away from them so we ended up going over and getting the people off the boat and waited until the Coast Guard came to pick them up.
The Coast Guard helicopter which was actually there before we were.
The boat taking on water. I guess three guys were scuba diving and didn't give the anchor enough slack when they dropped it. So when the waves came the boat didn't have any give and a couple of big waves came over the side and filled the boat with water. I probably wouldn't have sank but it was not going to start and wasn't going anywhere. The captain said the Coast Guard would probably just roll the boat all the way over to get the water out. It was kind of funny because when we were pulling up to their boat everyone on our boat had a camera or video camera running. Here they are stuck in the middle of the ocean and a boat full of people taking pictures and shooting video pulls up. We waited about an hour for the Coast Guard to come out and pick them up and then we were back on our way. What should have ended around 5:00 ended up lasting until about 6:30.
By the end of the day Maddux was absolutely spent. He slept the whole hour and a half ride on the bench on the boat. It was a long day but filled with lots of action and everyone had a blast.
With the kids spending all day every day in the pool they got very comfortable in the pool and became quite good swimmers. When we first got there they won't really get in the pool without a life jacket or an adult and didn't think about going in the deep end. That only lasted about a day as the older two soon were in and swimming all over without the jackets. It is amazing what a week in the pool will do for your confidence. Nolan may have been the funniest as he has no fear of the water. There were some water guns that he would fill up and shoot people in the pool and around it. When they would return fire he would jump in the pool and just float around shooting people. It was like he was a little sniper picking people off. I know that my words don't do it justice but you would have had to seen it to appreciate the true nature of it.
There were also lots of water / pool games, story times and dance contests which kept the kids very busy for the week. Uncle Spencer and Uncle Aaron started a story the first night which ran until the final night we were there. Every night they would tell a little more and keep the kids excited for the next night to continue. Then the last night there was a dance off with the kids to burn off any energy they may have had left. It was a great time and I am glad it worked out for everyone to come. I am sure there are things that I am forgetting but hopefully the slide show caught all the fun.
Then on the way home we stopped in Atlanta to see my grandmother, on my mom's side, who I hadn't seen in quite some time. Because of the distance I don't get to see her very often and outside of pictures she really hasn't seen the grandkids at all. I was glad that we were able to stop by for a couple of hours and spend some time with her. It was also a nice little rest for me to take a break from all the driving.
Great Grandma and Great Grandpa with everyone.
Great Grandma with the great grandkids.
It always seems like the vacation goes by so quick. We had so much fun and did so many things and only wish it were like that all the time. I am so sorry it took so long to get this stuff up here but hope it was worth the wait. I am hoping to get our pictures from Washington DC up tomorrow and posted.
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