With 700+ photos to go thru from our Florida vacation it is taking me longer than I planned to blog about our days. I still want to document how much fun we had so I have decided to keep making collages...I design them so they are easy to print as 5x7's and easy to show you ALL of our fun! :) But, you might be reading about Florida for the next month...
We started our first full day bright and early and got to the beach by 7:30 am. I found FREE surfing lessons from Island Water Sports and the kids were super excited to give it a try. The fun thing about this store is the shark that fell thru the ceiling...
They had hundreds of surf boards and skateboards lined up inside...which made for some great artistic photos...
Here is the gang ready for their lesson...which started right outside the store with learning how to carry the boards and take care of them...
And when we got to the beach a few blocks away the kids learned some basic techniques from a certified surfer from Hawaii. He is currently working with Bethany, the star of Soul Surfer and he shared a little bit about her life. He then taught them about safety, stances, techniques and their mantra of "Living To Surf Another Day"...once everyone practiced on dry land they moved on to the water...
It was a little chilly that day and the Floridian cousins were freezing but we all thought it was a welcome breeze compared to the weather we left behind in Kansas...
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| Eli, Autumn, Cousin Kyra and Noah are ready to surf... |
It turned out to be a beautiful morning at the beach...and quite a few people showed up for the lesson.
I love this photo but don't worry....no Dawson child was harmed in the making of this photo...
Each of the kids had a partner and a teacher in the water...actually Kinsey was too cold so Lucas ended up having his board all to himself but he was ok with the extra practice time. We were at the beach by 8 am and surfed for over 2 hours! It was great to see the kids try something new and be able to surf!
Here is Noah...somehow I missed his good surfing stance but I promise he made it for a few minutes.
Autumn and Kyra were surfing buddies and they had a great time together. Doesn't she look like a pro?
I saved Eli for last because surfing turned out to be HIS sport! He has never really gotten in to sports because honestly, he doesn't like to run. He is built like his daddy and is very "muscle-ly". This turned out to be the perfect sport for him because of the strength in his legs. We were soo excited to see him loving it! He surfed for 2 hours straight and I got some great photos of him. He LOVED it!
Here is the whole group (minus the photographer) who survived their surfing lesson. It was a great start to our vacation and the kids couldn't stop talking about it.
After a delicious brunch, time with Grandma & Papa, naps and more play time we headed to Margate to visit Uncle Mike at work...the Margate police department. We toured the whole place and even got to listen to a few 911 calls. The dispatchers were so calm! Then, Uncle Mike, the good detective that he is, was on the case of a criminal...he dusted for fingerprints, showed us how they do it and found the culprit....KINSEY! After being found guilty by her peers she was sentenced to 30 seconds in jail....and every one else joined in. They were mostly concerned with the toilet in the middle of the room...
On saturday night Scott and I took Eli back to the beach for one of his decade celebration things. (Yes, we are still trying to fit in his 10 things before he turns 11. Happened with Noah too. Oops.) We borrowed Kyra's board but after a few tries we realized it was a professional board and not suitable for a beginner. So, Eli made the best of his Mommy Daddy time and played in the Ocean and on the beach. He always makes us laugh and we had such a nice time together.
We stayed at the beach until the sun went down and then we met the rest of the family at Fox observatory at Markham park.
At the observatory we saw some of the most amazing things. The telescope was pointing at the moon and it really was one of the most amazing and beautiful things I have ever seen. I took some photos thru the pin hole in the eye piece but they don't do the view justice. It was just breathtaking!
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| I am sure Uncle Thai will appreciate the addition of his photo (bottom left) ...he always made a goofy face for me...so this is his punishment. hahahah |
We packed so much fun into Saturday that it was hard to keep up! I think we managed to fit in more things this year with lots and lots of cousin time. We love it that the kids get to reconnect with all their cousins on Scott's side of the family and the kids can't wait till they can see them year round. What fun!
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