Florida! Part 2

(originally published January 8th, 2016)

The beach isn't just for playing in the sand and water, of course, it's also for fishing.  In fact, there is at least one member of the family who would say that fishing is the very BEST thing about the beach.  I'll let you guess who that is.  The kids enjoyed fishing with their dads and Papa and the men were great sports about including the young'uns.  Jack was hoping someone would catch a shark for him, but instead of a shark, the unwanted fish that the kids got to see up close was a sting ray.  Still very cool though.

Sometimes Jack wasn't as lucky with fishing as he wanted to be.
That's the way it goes, my boy.

Cat fishing.

Cat taking a break from fishing.
(As seen from the balcony of our beach house)

Perhaps the most memorable thing that happened the whole week was that Shilom caughta starfish one evening.
It wrapped itself around the plastic (toy) lure on Shilom's little rod.

As has become customary, Tim brought his family to the beach for a day toward the end of the week.  We had fun with them that day and were happy to have them stay for the fish fry.  Of course the kids loved having more kids to play with too.

Jack and his Beloved

To make the trip to Florida complete, we tried to get plenty of pool time in.  (The outdoor pools in Utah are still too cold for us.)  Oh, we loved it.

We had one day designated as our Out day.  We drove to Apalachicola and did a little shopping, including a stop at this cool shop with fun souvenirs and trinkets. 

Then we went to the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve where we learned more about the wildlife in the area and saw plants and animals up close.

Then, after Mema and Papa took us to their favorite burger dive, which was quite yummy, we went back to the island and explored around the St. George Island Lighthouse. 

It's hard to sum up such a great week, even with the help of lots of pictures.  We loved being back in Florida, enjoying the sights and smells and feels of the beach.  But getting to share that with Ben's family made it truly special.  They all live in Florida and we just don't get to see them very much so it was lovely to have concentrated family time.  We are so so grateful for that opportunity.