It's officially that time of the year! Time for pools, beaches, and a whole lot of family fun! Florida is seriously my favorite place. I am so thankful that 17 or so years ago my mom elected to move us from Mississippi to sunny South Florida. Not only did I meet and eventually marry my other other half, but we had two amazing little kiddos and we get to spend our summers (and the entire year) in the place that so many other people vacation in. I live where others vacation. Seriously. Awesome.
After dealing with some weird sickness this last week... we were ready for a fun weekend. Will abruptly came down with a really high virus on Wednesday. It hung out a couple of days and then disappeared as abruptly as it showed up. Now, a few days later we are dealing with a bit of a rash. We were initially fairly certain it was Roseola. At least, based on what the doctor said when we first went in. Today we finally had Will's 6 month check up and now, we think it is strep. Strangest case of strep ever. Other than a fever... nothing happened. We lived our lives like normal and like nothing was going on. So weird. We are waiting to see what the culture says to tell us if it is definitely strep. In the mean time we also learned that we need to see a neurosurgeon about the possibility of him requiring a helmet for a short period of time because of a flat spot that has developed on the back of his head. Always something with these kiddos. Regardless, that means that it was a rough couple of days with him. Once the fever broke though he was better. The rash doesn't hurt or anything so that is good. Anyway...
This weekend we had a blast. Last week we bought Kenzie and Will a kiddie pool to use at home. Yes,our neighborhood has an actual pool, but sometimes between Will's naps and getting two kids ready to go to the pool, it is just easier to have a way to take a dip at home. We have a water table that Kenzie loves but we were looking for something to add to our fun, summer repertoire. We ended up getting a pool that is between 4 and 5 feet in diameter. This thing is huge... I honestly do not know where we will store it once summer is over (or here in Florida... once October arrives.) It's so big that I don't know that it's feasible, but I would love to fill it with those plastic balls on the back porch once it cools down. Anyway, for now we are using it as it is intended. Kenzie took her first dip on Saturday. We have had the pool for a week, but between dealing with Will and his strange virus or whatever it was and just life in general, we didn't have a chance to break it out before this weekend.
So, on Saturday we decided to live it up, redneck style. Our neighbors driving by were giving us strange looks... but that doesn't matter because the kids loved it. It was initially a bit cold so it took some getting used to. Will sat on my lap in the water until he became accustomed to it. Then I sat him in front of me so that he could play with the water. Kenzie initially wouldn't sit down. Eventually, we were able to get her to sit and then she had a blast "swimming." Will thought splashing the water was the funniest thing ever. I am so glad we have two little water babies.
Sunday we had our first beach day of the season. We were so excited to venture over to the coast for a sunny, fun-filled day by the water. We set out pretty early with our neighbors to Jetty Park. We haven't actually been to Jetty Park before and were pleasantly surprised. Other than the high entrance fee ($15 for non-Brevard residents... Holy cow!), it was great! The sand (which I'm fairly certain must have been pumped in because it isn't typical of an East coast beach) was powdery white and the water had just a bit of a wave to it, but it wasn't as bad as we have seen before. In addition to our neighbors, Ryan and Jen came over with us. Between the three couples/families we had three tents set up. It was like a regular tent city. Kenzie did her typical early beach thing and tried to avoid the sand. We do this at the start of the summer apparently until she is sure that she won't get hurt walking on it. Once she was okay with the sand, she was set. The water was another thing. We believe that it was a bit rough for her and all the other children around screaming (in delight) startled her. We were able to get her into the water periodically and for short periods of time, but she really enjoyed playing in the sand by our tents. Will took his first dip in the ocean, but he wasn't super excited. The water temp was a bit cool so I think that was our issue. I am so excited to take the kids to the West coast and the Keys later this summer where there is calmer (and warmer) water. I think they are going to love that.
We had lunch on the beach picnic style so that was fun. Usually we go over to the pier and eat there, but it is nice to set up shop on the beach and eat there too. After lunch I somehow convinced Will to take a nap. I have no idea how that happened... but it was GREAT. Kenzie also decided to use the neighbor's boogie board after lunch. She thought she was so cool. It was hard to break it to her that she was on (mostly) dry land. We have a boogie board too but didn't bring it because we thought she wouldn't like it. We were wrong. We will definitely bring it next time and will likely be investing in a new one soon because ours is very old. We will also be looking for some sort of canopy type tent baby thing (I've seen them in Buy Buy Baby before) to allow Will to nap on the beach or at least have his own little area with a cover. After we had a bit more fun in the water, we packed everything, which is a feat in itself, cleaned up the kiddos, and went over to Cocoa Beach Surf Company. We try to make a stop there any time we are in Cocoa Beach. Once we were done browsing we got into the car to head home... and less than 5 minutes in... the kids were both OUT. I would call that a successful beach day. They both napped all the way home.
When we got home we cleaned out the car and started dinner. Imagine our happiness that we beat the storm home. Yeah... until our power went out. Good thing we were already starting dinner on the grill because our power was out for the next couple of hours. When it came back on, it went back out 5 minutes later. Eventually it returned to go out again for a minute or two around 9:30. It's been back on since then, though. We ended up eating dinner by candlelight and rushing to get two very tired (and sunblock smelling) kiddos in baths before our hot water ran out. A power outage is not the best thing after a long day at the beach, but we made it. The storm was pretty bad. We have quite a few limbs (though none are huge) down in the backyard.
Despite that hiccup, we had an amazing weekend. It was tiring, but so much fun! Next week is our first family Disney trip. I am so excited to see Kenzie's reaction to all that Disney has to offer. Stay tuned for a Disney, Mickey Mouse filled, princess themed post after next weekend.
After dealing with some weird sickness this last week... we were ready for a fun weekend. Will abruptly came down with a really high virus on Wednesday. It hung out a couple of days and then disappeared as abruptly as it showed up. Now, a few days later we are dealing with a bit of a rash. We were initially fairly certain it was Roseola. At least, based on what the doctor said when we first went in. Today we finally had Will's 6 month check up and now, we think it is strep. Strangest case of strep ever. Other than a fever... nothing happened. We lived our lives like normal and like nothing was going on. So weird. We are waiting to see what the culture says to tell us if it is definitely strep. In the mean time we also learned that we need to see a neurosurgeon about the possibility of him requiring a helmet for a short period of time because of a flat spot that has developed on the back of his head. Always something with these kiddos. Regardless, that means that it was a rough couple of days with him. Once the fever broke though he was better. The rash doesn't hurt or anything so that is good. Anyway...
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| These two melt my heart! |
So, on Saturday we decided to live it up, redneck style. Our neighbors driving by were giving us strange looks... but that doesn't matter because the kids loved it. It was initially a bit cold so it took some getting used to. Will sat on my lap in the water until he became accustomed to it. Then I sat him in front of me so that he could play with the water. Kenzie initially wouldn't sit down. Eventually, we were able to get her to sit and then she had a blast "swimming." Will thought splashing the water was the funniest thing ever. I am so glad we have two little water babies.
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| Our lifeguard was drinking on the job. =) |
We had lunch on the beach picnic style so that was fun. Usually we go over to the pier and eat there, but it is nice to set up shop on the beach and eat there too. After lunch I somehow convinced Will to take a nap. I have no idea how that happened... but it was GREAT. Kenzie also decided to use the neighbor's boogie board after lunch. She thought she was so cool. It was hard to break it to her that she was on (mostly) dry land. We have a boogie board too but didn't bring it because we thought she wouldn't like it. We were wrong. We will definitely bring it next time and will likely be investing in a new one soon because ours is very old. We will also be looking for some sort of canopy type tent baby thing (I've seen them in Buy Buy Baby before) to allow Will to nap on the beach or at least have his own little area with a cover. After we had a bit more fun in the water, we packed everything, which is a feat in itself, cleaned up the kiddos, and went over to Cocoa Beach Surf Company. We try to make a stop there any time we are in Cocoa Beach. Once we were done browsing we got into the car to head home... and less than 5 minutes in... the kids were both OUT. I would call that a successful beach day. They both napped all the way home.
When we got home we cleaned out the car and started dinner. Imagine our happiness that we beat the storm home. Yeah... until our power went out. Good thing we were already starting dinner on the grill because our power was out for the next couple of hours. When it came back on, it went back out 5 minutes later. Eventually it returned to go out again for a minute or two around 9:30. It's been back on since then, though. We ended up eating dinner by candlelight and rushing to get two very tired (and sunblock smelling) kiddos in baths before our hot water ran out. A power outage is not the best thing after a long day at the beach, but we made it. The storm was pretty bad. We have quite a few limbs (though none are huge) down in the backyard.
Despite that hiccup, we had an amazing weekend. It was tiring, but so much fun! Next week is our first family Disney trip. I am so excited to see Kenzie's reaction to all that Disney has to offer. Stay tuned for a Disney, Mickey Mouse filled, princess themed post after next weekend.
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