I haven't posted in a while, I know. While life hasn't slowed down, this unrelenting cold winter has caused just about everything else to slow, including my metabolism and will to get out of bed in the morning.
Spring break arrived just in the knick of time.
Last Saturday, we rolled out waaaay before the sunrise to make our way to Florida and guaranteed sunshine. It was super gratifying to watch the thermometer on my dashboard creep higher and higher as we drove south. We were welcomed that afternoon by my parents and the hot sun. Bathing suits were dug out of luggage immediately and splashing in the pool commenced.
A collective sigh of relief and relaxation was shared.
We kept this vacation very low-key and yet kept ourselves and the boys very active. It was the perfect combination. My parents' house was an ideal home-base for all our fun, and the people in their community were generous and offered up a bike, kayaks, and a fishing boat to round out our vacation activities. We only experienced a couple hours of rain, during which we took in a screening of The Lego Movie at a local theater and then emerged from the darkness of the theater into sunshine and puffy clouds. Happy boys, good times with their grandparents, and I even read a book in the hours after the sun went down!
Our week kicked off with a chain-of-lakes tour on Grandpa's boat with a picnic-on-the-water lunch and watching the Legoland waterski show lake-side.
The boys love fishing, and this trip afforded us the opportunity to experiment with different baits, hooks, and locations. Apparently this heron thought we were more expert at it than we really were, as he lingered around way closer than nature says he should waiting for us to catch something for him. Hmmm…think someone has done that for him before??
Heron photobomb.
So, after this trip, I am obsessed with kayaking. I kayaked a lot and took anyone who would go along with me. One morning Merritt and I went down a canal and crossed paths with some otters, a turtle, minnows shooting out of the water with a big fish chasing behind, and a water moccasin. It was incredible! And when no one would go with me, I took my camera and a mug of coffee and paddled along the shoreline alone enjoying the absolute stillness and quiet it afforded. One night I even sat out in the lake in the almost-dark in my kayak, letting my other senses take over when I couldn't see much around me. Absolute bliss.
The pool was warm and the boys quickly re-grew their gills and fins.
David and the boys became very enthusiastic about catching fish, particularly bass. As the week progressed, so did their skills! One morning, I wandered out to the dock with my camera just in time to see the bobber drop into the water and watch David reel in this beauty!
As you can see, the boys were THRILLED!
Smile for the camera before we put you back in the water, Bass!
The gadgets and gear of fishing are just as appealing as any other sport, if not more! They spent just as much time talking about and sorting their lures and hooks as they did casting (which is saying a lot, because my boys LOVE casting - their patience level makes me think fly-fishing fits their personalities more than stare-at-the-bobber-quietly fishing!).
Another new favorite activity? Shuffleboard! I feel like I was on vacation with a bunch of little old men. Really competitive, active, little old men.
Here they are headed to the shuffleboard courts with Grandma for an intro to shuffleboard. HOURS of play later, along with sunburns for myself and David and some fiercely competitive family tournaments, and we are still plotting which retirement communities we can crash here in Durham so our competitions can continue!
A friend of my parents brought their little fishing boat over for us to borrow. One evening we took out Gav and Merritt to try a little fishing in a small cove across the lake. Ian opted to hang with Grandma and Grandpa, where he loved getting in that alone time with them and getting extra snacks, of course.
The boys caught another bass!
Proof that I was there…a back-of-the-boat selfie. I was sitting on the floor with my camera, trying to balance out the boat every time someone cast their line, praying it wouldn't tip because I had my camera with me! A very National Geographic photographer moment, don't you think?
Some other activities included skateboarding, frisbee, biking, going for long walks, playing board games, and watching movies at night, to name a few.
[photo courtesy of Merritt, by the way]
Grandma and Ian put in miles together on the three-wheeled bike!
Great weather, great memories, great week!
Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for hosting us this week and listening to your screen door slam about 1,237,000 times as we flitted about in our sunshine-induced euphoria!
We feel rejuvenated and reconnected as a family, and are ready to take on this spring and all its waiting activities!
...well…maybe after we take a good nap!
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