Jumping Waves and Hunting Crabs...

Erin and Luke again. Hunting crabs and jumping waves.

We’re Jumping Waves…

 

Erin has never been afraid of the water.  She is truly a water baby.  If I was into Astrology I would guess that being a Cancer (crab) is part of the reason!!!  She is like a little mermaid. 

We’re made her put her floaty on in the Gulf but let her go without it in the pool.  Yesterday was the calmest the water has been.  Luke and Erin went out beyond the wave break and were jumping the waves and racing.  I put on a mask and went hunting for Hermit crabs.  The more the better.  They really liked the ones I grabbed that were very active.  They liked it when they were out of the shell and they could see them.  They were manhandling all of them and couldn’t imagine why the crabs weren’t coming out!! 

While we were out there, the kids had a great time jumping over the big waves.  Neither of them likes the saltwater in their eyes.  So, I had the idea of bringing a rag out there with us.  Before they kept going back up on shore to wipe their eyes and then coming back out.  The problem with that plan is that they had to have an adult go in and out with them because of the rough wave break.  I thought that if we had a rag out there they might not have to go back in.  It worked.  Tommy put it in his pocket and would wring it out when they needed it.  I’m not sure it did any good what so ever, but they felt better.

I caught this video while we were out there.

 

 

The mask was a little too tight so I ended up looking like the Joker out of Batman!

Pirate Adventure…Literally…

 

We took the kids on a pirate ship yesterday.  It leaves out of the Destin Harbor and cruises around a little bit out in the open and then comes back to port.  It was about 2 hours. 

Luke showed no fear and got in the circle when the pirates called all the kids down.  Erin wanted me to go with her so I had to walk down there.  Jake stayed on the deck above watching everyone.  The pirates taught them a pirate dance and played with them. 

It wasn’t until they brought out the water guns that Jake decided to join the fun.  They let them squirt each other in a big gun fight for about 15 minutes.  The kids loved it.  They separated the girls and boys and the girls went to have their faces painted while the boys had a sword fight.  When the girls were done, they had the boys in for face painting and the girls did hula hoops. 

Something was wrong with my brave child yesterday!!!  She wouldn’t go anywhere on that ship without me.  The pirates talked to her and she hid.  She was so super shy.  I think Luke is the only one who participated from beginning to end.  He took a little coaxing at first but from them on he was fine.  Jake and Erin hung back on certain parts and then really go in to the others.

The real adventure came in the parking lot.  It was packed with people.  I would literally hate to see it in the peak of summer.  There were people and cars everywhere.  Anyway, we were already 15 minutes late and the ship was getting ready to leave.  The boys let us out at the pier and we took the kids to get their tickets.  Tommy and Mark went to park the cars.  Mark lucked into a spot but Tommy had to use the parking garage next to the parking lot.  He ran in flip flops but he was still too late.  We had to board the ship without him and he literally missed the boat.  Mark stayed on shore with him and they went into the Margaritaville right there and had a couple of drinks while we were gone.  To say that Tommy was mad is an understatement.  He was super ticked. 

I’m not sure we would ever do it again, but it was a lot of fun when we did.  I think they had a great time.  It was truly an adventure!!

 

Going on a Crab Hunt…

 

Just when I didn’t think we could have anymore fun…Aunt Steph has a brilliant idea.  We’ll wait until it’s dark and go on a crab hunt.

There are tons of these little white sand crabs that come out at night.  They are tiny and hard to see.  And the move like lightning. 

We were armed with nets and flashlights and the kids were so excited they talked about it all day.  As an adult, Tommy wasn’t interested in going.  Once we got down there and he saw what kind of crabs we were talking about and how excited the kids were he got into it too.  He was finding them and catching them with his hands. 

Erin was not scared of them at all and by the end of the trip, she was catching them with her bare hands too.  That’s my brave little girl!

Here’s a video of the build up and then some pictures from the beach.  It really was great!

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Action Shots…