Beachin'

In true July fashion, we decided to take some time this weekend to celebrate Steven's birthday. A few weeks ago we thought that we would spend the Saturday after Steven's birthday at Jetty Park in Cape Canaveral. Jetty Park has quickly become one of our new favorites. One of these days I want to go there in the late afternoon so we can see the cruise ships leaving port. Steven's parents were going to be able to make the trip down to spend the day with us, as well. Unfortunately, my parents are a bit too far away to make the drive to the coast.

We woke up bright and early this morning, got the kids ready, and headed out towards the beach. We were smart and loaded the car the night before. Trust me, with two kids... any pre-work you can do is beneficial. The drive was nice and easy and we pulled into the park right around 8:45. It was still fairly early for most of the beach goers so we had our choice of parking and were able to pick up some prime beach real estate. Steven's parents were about 3 minutes behind us, so that worked out really well.

We have learned a few things at this point in our beach experiences. First and foremost... sunblock the kids BEFORE going onto the beach itself. Otherwise applying sunscreen is a bit like providing a full body exfoliation. The kids are not fans of that method so putting it on in the back of the car is preferable. Plus, we can corral Will in the back of the SUV while I apply Kenzie's sunscreen.

We picked a spot on the beach near the lifeguard stand and after setting up our tent, promptly headed for the water. The water turned out to be so cold! I think it was warmer when we were there in May. Kenzie wasn't into the cold water initially. Instead, she walked the beach with Grandma and Grandaddy learning the value of a seashell. This is the first time she has collected shells and she was so proud of all of them. Eventually we were able to convince her to put her feet into the cold water (and actually stay there). She then spent the next 30 or so minutes running back and forth between Grandma, Daddy, Will, and myself in the water (up to about our thighs) and Grandaddy at the tent. I wish I had her energy level. She was obsessed with getting water from the ocean into a hole about half way between us with her bucket. Then... it happened. She decided that it was time to break out the boogie board.

Once we had the board in the water, Steven tried to help her get on it to ride a wave in. Unfortunately, it was rough and he couldn't keep the board balanced alone. She isn't quite coordinated or strong enough to manage that on her own so she went over and under the water. Then, to our surprise, she popped up looked like she might break down, recovered, and told me excitedly that she went under the water. Sounds good to me, kid! We figured out after that, that it took two of us to hold the boogie board balanced and she rode about 10 waves in. She had a blast. Steven and I each had a go at the boogie board as well, but it was just too shallow and the waves were not big enough to carry us in. It was fun though! I ended up taking Will back to the tent and apparently she spent the next period of time letting the boogie board go, running after it towards shore, and then pulling it back into the water... then repeat. Again, if I could have her energy.

Will and I headed back to the water when we were told there was a submarine going out. I have never seen once actually leaving port. It was pretty cool. I thought something might have been going on when I saw the Coast Guard boat come out with a siren to block the fishing boats from crossing the path where the boats exit. Will even decided that sitting in the water was okay at some point. He was initially not excited about the cold water either. Apparently we spoiled these kids in the Keys and they think all the water should be warm now.

We stayed at the beach for about 2 hours and then packed up, cleaned up, and went towards the pier for lunch. We went to the Cocoa Beach Pier and this was our first time being there since it was revamped. It was NICE! I am very pleased with their updates. The restaurant we usually frequent is now called Pelicans and it was all redone inside. We enjoyed our lunch and then went out onto the pier for a bit. Kenzie was thrilled with the surfers. Give her a year and I think she will be riding that boogie board on her own. I wouldn't be surprised to see her give actual surfing a shot one of these days, too.

We had an awesome day today. I have mentioned numerous times that I LOVE living in Florida. We have beaches an hour from us. We have sunshine the majority of the year. We have Disney. I am so glad we elected to remain in Central Florida and raise our family here.

The rest of our weekend will consist of church, trying out our new smoker, and prepping for Kenzie's birthday party next weekend. This should be a busy, but exciting week. We have our backsplash being installed on Monday. So many good things at once. This July has been one for the books, so far. =)