The Beach

We decided to spend one day at the beach. We had been running around for the last week and we let the kids decide what to do and they decided to go to the beach. It was about an hours drive from Give Kids the World to the beach. It was strange driving on the highway and not knowing which directions we were going. There was no point of reference for me since the mountains were not there. We headed to the East Coast of Florida to spend a few hours on the beach.

We drove to the A1A "beach front avenue..." (if you can sing that song and tell me the artist then you get a prize!). We found a parking spot right by an entrance to the beach around 11:30. They were having a surfing contest that day on a portion of the beach but that didn't stop us. It was really windy, but the sun was shining and it was nice. The sand was hot when we walked on it, but it felt really nice.

I was really worried at first that the kids would get swept up and end up out in the middle of the ocean, but I calmed down after a little bit but still kept a watchful eye on them. Kayden LOVED it. Out of all the kids he was having the best time ever. He loved to go and jump into the waves and just loved the water. Koy was a little nervous at first, but he ended up having fun. Lexi had fun, she was nervous but then she too enjoyed it. All the kids loved the sand and playing in the sand. Lexi loved looking for shells and Koy loved being with Lexi.

We spent a few hours at the beach (we lathered on sunscreen and still got burnt) and then went to eat dinner. After dinner we headed home and on our way home we passed a place that offered Air Boat rides on the river. Josh wanted to go on a boat ride and got us to stop. He was able to get Kayden in free because of why we were there and the rest of us in on a discounted rate. We went on an air boat ride on the St. Johns river. They took us for a whole hour when the normal time for the rides are 1/2 hour. We saw a lot of alligators and it was really cool. Kayden was nervous and he sat on the bench with me but he loved seeing the gators. The guide of the boat was really cool and explained a lot of interesting facts to us. He has been hunting in that area all of his life. He hunts gators, wild turkeys, and white tail deer. The ride was awesome and beautiful. It was the end of a great day.

Our vacation was wonderful and it is something that we will remember forever. We had so much fun and it was wonderful to go and spend time as a family and not worry about money. Thank you Make A Wish and thank you Give Kids The World!