For our 8th anniversary, Ethan bought me an Olympus Tough Underwater camera, which all the below photos were taken with. I'm pretty much in love with it since it's awesome for taking to the pool or the ocean and not having to worry about it being damaged by sand or water. It's also freeze and shock proof. It'll come in handy for all the time we spend around water and when we eventually introduce our children to skiing! No way would I expose my baby (my 60D) for the everyday shots of swimming and skiing.
We LOVED our vacation, and so did Lily. She loved it so much she didn't nap very much at all and just spend all of her time swimming in the ocean or the giant lagoon pool, and playing with sand. Busy, busy, busy. We all slept very well every night as a result. ;) We love going to Florida with kids for a few reasons: (1) the water is relatively calm and there are often sandbars so it's easy for kids to swim in unlike the rough waters of NC beaches. (2) The water is CLEAR so if your child falls and goes under, you can see exactly where they are, also unlike NC beaches, and (3) the weather even in July and August isn't as hot as you would think thanks to ocean breezes! We can't wait to return - not sure if we'll go next year or not at this point, and if we do it will likely be in the month of September.
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| Due to the time change (one hour behind), we were on the beach by 9 AM. |
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| Baby Ridge 2.0 |
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| ISR training at work! |
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Gene on the 6 hour deep sea fishing trip that Stephanie and I sent the guys on.
The trip was my anniversary gift to Ethan and Stephanie's birthday gift to Gene. |
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| 25+ lbs of fish! |
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| Ethan's fish... he's not smiling because lifting all those fish was tough! |
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| Our child who believes she is a mermaid |
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| Can't get enough of those squishy cheeks |
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| With Gene on the boat to Shell Island for our day trip |
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| Ghostlike sunscreen faces....but hey, we didn't burn! (Thank you, Blue Lizard Sunscreen, you have never failed us) |
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| Checking out the waves |
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The "kiddie pool" at St. Andrew's State Park.
Lily went Euro style thanks to her parents forgetting a swimsuit for her. |
On our last day it was pouring in the morning and most of the early afternoon but at 3:30 it suddenly cleared up, so we quickly threw on our suits and sunscreen and went to make the most of our last day!
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| By the end of the week, holding our hands in the water was old. |
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So, some guy sees a crab out while swimming and grabs it. Not what I would have done....
but Lily loves all animals and wildlife and was intrigued. |
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| All bundled up in her towel from Gramie |
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