Vitamin Sea

notice the seashell Mickey Mouse

On Saturday Braeden asked:  Are we going to swim in the ocean tomorrow?  Because I want to wrestle a shark.

(He didn't really want to wrestle a shark.)

(But he did really want to swim in the ocean.)

They all did.

Sunday, after sleeping much better (at least I did), we went to church.  We were immediately welcomed and it felt really good to be there and feel like we belonged.  It was the most culturally diverse ward I've ever been to.  We've always sat on the front row during sacrament meeting.  When we moved to Pleasant Grove and were going to church for the first time, I told the kids not to sit on the front row.  I preferred to slink in the back and get the lay of the land.  Our boys are fast walkers with long strides and impossible to keep up with.  They walked right to the front row.

Sunday morning in Orlando I said, "We are not sitting on the front row.  This time for real."

We sat in the back.  And it's a good thing we usually sit in the front because I get really distracted watching people.  There was the cutest little boy in America sitting right in front of us.  He was also super mischievous with an older brother who slyly knew how to get him riled up.

What?  I listened to the speakers too.

After that and lunch at Wawa (an East Coast convenience store/sandwich shop Braeden frequented on his mission--it was good!) we hit the road for St. Augustine.

When we got the rental, Mark had ideas about which car he wanted (of course he did) but we vetoed him and got a minivan.  It was a good call because everyone had plenty of space for the drive to St. Augustine.

By the time we got there, I decided we didn't have enough time for a lot of sightseeing and also swimming so I voted we go to the beach first.  I know these people.

The boys headed straight into the surf.

Water has an irresistible pull to them.

But not just them.

Adam watched them and said, "I want to go out there too.  But I don't want to get sand everywhere and there's no shower.  I don't have another shirt to wear.  I am not going to go."

Then after a few minutes he went.

Sorry you have to squint to see them but I was standing here:

Emma stood next to me and watched Adam and the boys play.

She said, "I want to go out there but I don't want to get my hair wet or lose my hat.  I'm not going to go."

I told her she sounded exactly like her dad.

She said, "But I'm definitely not going."

Then after a few minutes she went.

They can't resist.  And I know that so I had packed a small towel to wipe sand off of feet.

Even though I'm immune to the siren call of the ocean, it makes me happy to see them happy.

There was still a little daylight left for seeing St. Augustine.  It's a beautiful little place and I'd love to spend more time there sometime.

Emma posed for this picture to send to her friend Omar (Elder Castillo) on his mission.

It was all fun and games until the drive home.  It happened to be the same day as the Daytona 500.  We took some mysterious backroads to avoid traffic and here's a tip:  if you're ever driving in central Florida on some backroads through towns that seem big enough to have restaurants, don't count on it.

Don't plan on eating.

We finally, finally, after exhausting every snack in my arsenal, found a Wendy's.

The painfully slow and inefficient service was only matched by our famished impatience.

I'm telling you.  Central Florida = don't plan on eating.