Tag Archives: Beach

February 8, 2012 · 2:21 am

A Day At The Beach With Matty

Some days I just need to spend a little one on one time with one of my love bugs.  Matty skipped preschool today to spend the day with me at Fort De Soto Beach.  We picked up lunch at Subway in Terra Verde and picnicked at the playground on the North Beach.  Matty ran and played.  He even made friends with a man by the name of Mr. Martin who was fishing for speckled trout.  Matty showed him how well he swims and the man showed him his ‘live shrimp’ and fish when he caught them.  We had so much fun and of course the weather was beautiful…love him!

 

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August 6, 2011 · 9:43 pm

AMI Saturday Fun

August 6: Saturday

We love the weekends!  So much to do and see….  We started our day today down at the Holmes Beach public beach for breakfast.  We had heard about their all you can eat pancake breakfast and that sounds perfect for the boys.

After breakfast we loaded up the beach gear and decided to spend the rest of the morning at Bean Point.  We knew that the beaches were going to be crowded, so we thought that we might get lucky here since it is a little more private and secluded. The kids played in the kayak and on the paddleboard. We even went for a walk around the north point. The tide was out and the view was beautiful. The kids were even rewarded with a finding a starfish.
To end the day, we moved over to the west side to watch the sunset. The weather was beautiful and we were rewarded with sand dollars. :O)

Amanda and her family came out to spend the day with us.

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August 3, 2011 · 2:06 am

Holmes Beach and After Dinner Fun

August 3: Wednesday

Every morning while we are making breakfast, the little ones beeline for the golf cart.  Jack has taken to calling it the tractor…so ‘The Tractor’ it is.  The front of this house is all sliding glass doors to a screened in patio which faces the road, so it really is perfect for us and them because they can play outside and be watched.

To change up the beach fun, we decided to head down to Holmes Beach today.  The little ones have been asking to go to the park and we knew that there was a playground here.

It didn’t take long for the older boys to make a few friends…  Four older boys asked them if they wanted to play volleyball and frisbee.

After we got back from the beach, they all hopped into the pool and cooled off with popsicles.

For our after dinner fun, we headed a little further down to the beach and parked the golf cart on Palmetto.  We love the wooden footpaths that head down to the beach and they did a great job pausing for a photo for us.

Feeding the seagulls…

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August 2, 2011 · 5:13 pm

Bean Point and Fishing on the Pier

August 2: Tuesday

Today we started our day with some scrambled eggs and bacon for the children.  Afterwards, I ran over to Ginny and Jane’s and picked Kelly and I up a couple of Latte’s.  About 30 minutes later Brandie and Laurence stopped by and said, “Let’s go to Bean Point!”  We stopped by Beach Bums to find out exactly where the foot path was, and we were off.  I had to park the golf cart at the Rod and Reel pier, but the views and solitude were worth it.

This picture is so funny to me….  For some reason we have had terrible AT&T service today and poor Brandie has been constantly checking her phone just hoping that her work emails are coming through.

Me and my Matty Bear….

After dinner we decided to take the boys fishing; with the sun setting on the west side and it being a little later in the day we were hoping that it wouldn’t be too hot.   In retrospect, this is something that definitely needs to be done with the daddy’s here….there are just to many little people wanting help with baiting their hook, casting, and pulling off the caught fish.  We bought some bait over at the General Store and went down to the Anna Maria pier.  The boys were so excited when uncle Laurence showed up to help them.  All of the big boys caught fish, they were so happy!

I love this picture because Emma’s face is just classic….

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August 1, 2011 · 6:11 pm

Let’s Ride the Waves

August 1: Monday

We have found that the most pleasant time to be at the beach is in the evening.  The sun is setting and not overly hot, there is a wonderful breeze, it’s not to crowded, and the children get to run and play before bed.  Tonight we took out all of the boogie boards, they are a big hit this year for all of the children.  The waves have been the perfect size for our little guys and the current hasn’t been to strong either…  :O)

Brandie, Laurence, and Ryla stopped by for a quick visit.  How cute are they on their 4 seater bike!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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August 1, 2011 · 5:20 pm

AMI Vacation 2011 – First Weekend

July 30-31: Saturday and Sunday

YAY!!!  It’s vacation time!  With much anticipation we have been waiting for this vacation for what feels like months!  We reserved the house back in May, and we have been dreaming of our two weeks of fun in the sun all summer.  This year Kelly and I decided to set our eyes on Anna Maria Island.  We love it here and come quite often for the day, she’s never been here, and it is close enough for the husbands to drive back and forth as needed for work.  The house we found is Anna’s Cottage – 309 Spring Ave; it is on the north end one block off of the main street Pine Ave and is three blocks to the beach.  The house is a three bedroom with a pool and is adorably shabby.  Check in time was 3pm, so Saturday morning we packed up and headed out.

Here is Andy’s truck: 6 scooters, 5 bikes, 3 tricycles, 3 fishing poles, 2 wagons, beach toys, chairs, and tackle boxes, 1 bike baby seat, and 1 easy shade.  We loaded up the van, Kelly’s SUV, Brian’s Camry and off we went.

The beach house was everything we expected and so much more….  We are all in love with 309 Spring Ave.

I had to include this picture, because when we arrived at the house, a FedEx from work was already there waiting for me.  I just found it so funny that work beat me to my vacation….  :O)  If you are wondering what it is, I have been having computer issues and needed a new battery for my laptop.  After we had unloaded all of our stuff, we sat down to enjoy a nice cold beverage…  :O)

It was a little late and still a little warm, so we let the boys swim in the pool out back.

We went for a walk down to the beach so Matty could see the water….  All little Matty has been asking for, for the last two weeks, is to see the beach.

Kelly’s cousin Brook is still in town visiting and she agreed to watch the boys so Andy and I could go out to dinner.  While posing for a picture, I guess the boys are so used to the family photo they just snuck in like it was normal and smiled.  :O)  Love them.

The next morning, we decided to take the boys fishing before it got to hot.  We went over to the Anna Maria Pier.  At the end of the pier they have a bait shop, but much to our dismay they were out of bait.  How does that happen?  Especially, on a weekend.  We let the boys cast a few times and then we packed it up because we knew that they weren’t going to catch anything.

After naps we picked up our golf cart and went to Scoops for some ice cream.

Aunt Brandie and Uncle Laurence arrived today so we had to go over and see baby Ryla.  Their rental house is 3 beach blocks from ours.  She just loves Matty bear.

For dinner we all went to the Waterfront Restaurant.  7 children and 7 adults.  Afterwards, we went over to the beach to feed the seagulls and watch the sunset.

My favorite house on the island.  :O)

Sand Angels…

At 8:30 we drove back to Brandie’s house to drop them off, we hopped back on the golf cart, and it wouldn’t start.  So funny…  so we left it there and walked back home to put the boys to bed.  You can see how tired & wet they are… :O)  I love being on vacation.

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September 20, 2010 · 1:13 am

Canaveral National Seashore, New Symrna Beach

So it is Thursday morning, and I get a text from Andy that says…”I know what we are doing on Saturday, it’s a surprise, date day…but you have to be ready bright and early…and I’ll take care of everything!”  I was so excited!  We love having our weekends planned and not wasted.  We love taking the boys to new places and doing new things.

Andy decided that he wanted to take the boys to see the ocean, Matty’s first trip to the ocean.  There are so many beaches that we haven’t been too, so he decided on New Symrna Beach.  He packed the car for us, got us up nice and early, stopped for donuts on the way out, and we were off.  The drive didn’t take us long at all, and actually when we got there it was sprinkling a little bit (a typical summer shower that passes in 15 minutes) so we decided to just go for a drive.  And low and behold…what did we find???  Canaveral National Seashore.  Now if you know us, then you know that we LOVE National Parks.

Canaveral National Seashore is located on a barrier island off the east coast of Florida and NASA holds the title to the land, but not all of it is used for the operation of Kennedy Space Center. 

Here’s a little information that I found on the National Parks website.  The earliest evidence of man at Canaveral is found in the numerous mounds and middens within its boundaries.  More than 14,000 years ago, small nomadic bands of Indians entered Florida.  As time passed, regional cultures evolved in response to local environmental conditions. By the time the Europeans came various distinct Indian groups were distributed throughout Florida and southeast Georgia. Living in the vicinity of Turtle Mound were the Timucuan people, the first known inhabitants.  In their 2,000 years of occupation along the coast, the Timucuans did little to alter the natural landscape.  Their few remaining burial mounds and shell middens (Castle Windy) are like an unwritten book about the people who lived here.  By protecting it, we are assuring that future generations will learn of the Timucuan people. The large shell mounds hold undisclosed information to their way of life. From 800 to 1400 A.D., generation after generation left evidence behind to tell of their lifestyle at Turtle Mound.

The NPS has provided a nice boardwalk so visitors can walk up the 50 foot high mound to see the gorgeous views of the Atlantic Ocean and Mosquito Lagoon.  What surprised us the most…were the Banana Spriders…  EEKKK!!!!  They were everywhere!!!

For lunch we stopped at a hole in the wall place off of the side of the road called J Bs Fish Camp and Restaurant.  The weather was so gorgeous today that we sat outside and enjoyed some of the best peel-n-eat shrimp we have ever had.  Andy also ordered some blackened gator bites and we bought a container of the shrimp spice to take home…. Yum Yum! 

All in all we had a wonderful day.  After lunch we headed back to the beach for a little while longer.  The boys went for a walk and then we packed up for the drive home.  We were home by dinner, the boys swam in the pool, and we were grateful for the beautiful day.

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August 16, 2010 · 8:30 pm

Seabreeze Kite Flying

Most of time when you head down to the beach at night it is really windy, so knowing this Kelly went out and bought a bunch of kites for our vacation.  We went out two different nights to fly kites, the first night the breeze was slight and there were a lot of gnats so we went in early and then the second night it was perfect.  Davy, Colin, and Connor each had their own kite and then Emma and Matty shared one.  The kids just had a ball running up and down the beach watching the kites soar into the sky.  Davy kept saying that he wanted his to go higher and higher and Matty kept asking to hold and try.  We only had to untangle the lines a few times.  The weather was nice and we also got to watch a beautiful sunset.  Life is good.

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August 16, 2010 · 6:41 pm

Dancing in the Rain

After what felt like days and days and hours and hours of rain…with no end in sight Kelly says, “Well when life gives you lemons, you just have to make lemonade!”  So that’s what we did.  As long as there isn’t any thunder who cares if there is sunshine or rain? 

 

We had been watching the radar on the The Weather Channel and it didn’t seem as if the rain was ever going to stop and the children just needed to get out and run…so they did!  They danced in the rain, played chase and tag, made new friends who came out to join them, and gathered up buckets to have a water fight.

After dinner, we rallied and did it all over again on the beach in their pj’s.  This time instead of having water fights, they had mud fights.  They laughed, and squealed, and ran…Kelly and I of course got soaked, but to watch the sheer happiness on their faces was priceless.  Andy said to me afterwards that he needed to remind himself to live in the moments and have more fun more often no matter with situation.

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August 16, 2010 · 5:26 pm

Fun on the Beach

There’s nothing better than being on vacation and watching your children just have a wonderful time.  Playing on the beach means running, swimming, laughing, treasure hunting, digging, building, chasing Seagulls, growing and so much more.  We love going to the beach!… so here are a few of the pictures that we took during the week.

Here Davy and Connor are walking from the condo over to the boardwalk that leads out onto the beach…

There are over 100 sea turtle nests on the island and there are 4 rare green sea turtle nests.  We were hoping that we would have enough energy to get up around midnight and take the older boys out to see if we could see any eggs hatching…but we were to tired after long fun days of playing…next summer!

Davy, Colin, and Connor loved riding their Boogie Boards!  They rode them for hours.  The only problem that we had was after riding the waves onto shore they were to far down the beach and we would have to call them back…

I couldn’t help but take a picture of this perfect beach dog.  Every morning that we were out we saw it lazily walk the beach with its owners.  For a dog, it can’t get much better than this…

Davy and Connor were making sand angels…

The kids loved having the wagons on the beach.  Davy and Connor were always wanting to help us pull the wagons, but in the loose sand with the babies in them they were kind of heavy, so this way they all got to climb in and out and take turns dragging it around…

After each trip to the beach we found it to be easiest if once we got to the condo they stripped down, were hosed off, and then headed inside “mostly” sand free…

Ahhh, how could watching six kids at the beach not be fun!!!!…..

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