{pretty, happy, funny, real} - Florida Edition

Linking up with Auntie Leila at Like Mother, Like Daughter for some contentment!

{pretty}

 Evie loved, loved, loved the beach. She ate lots of sand, and had fun in the pool. All of us came back with a nice little tan, which was desperately needed after that long, cold winter.

My mother-in-law printed and framed this photo for me as a birthday gift. It makes me so happy. I love it.

{happy}

 For the first time since our honeymoon, Zach was able to go kiteboarding. One day we drove him down to a beach 8 miles from his parents house, and he surfed all the way up to their beach. I don't know how he did it, because just the thought of it makes me tired, but he had a great time.

 
{funny}

 Evie's little head and legs in this picture make me laugh. Turtle baby. Speaking of turtles, a leatherback turtle came up onto our beach one night and laid eggs! We didn't see it, but the marks were left in the sand and the nest was marked off the next morning.

 Before we went to Florida, Grandma D sent Tony a book - Penguin on Vacation. It's a cute story about a Penguin who sails to the beach on a raft made of ice and meets a little crab, who in turn visits Penguin's chilly home. Zach found this toy penguin and built a boat for him to sail around the pool. It was so much fun.

{real}

 I don't have photo proof (yet), but on our last morning, Zach convinced me to take the kayak out in the ocean. Despite the fact that I am not a very good swimmer, and I am terrified of the ocean (it's so big! And you can't control it!), I agreed - provided that he sat with me. Everything was calm when we went out. Underneath of the terror I was feeling sitting on top of a kayak on the ocean, I was enjoying myself. The enjoyment lasted about 2 minutes, as seeing baby waves made me want my feet back on the sand STAT.

Zach saw the waves coming, so he had me get out of the boat and start swimming back (did I mention I'm not a good swimmer?). My feet were on the ground and the water was only chest-high, but I was too slow...Zach was just a few feet away and told me to just go under the wave, realizing too late that I don't know how. Crash! The wave took me under, and unbeknownst to me, it pulled my bathing suit skirt off of one leg. I was trying to move forward in shallower water when I realized that unfortunate fact, and saw my in-laws watching us from the shore. So, as I'm struggling to get my leg back in (never swim in the ocean in a skirted bottom! And if you do, make sure that it isn't even the tiniest bit too big, like mine was), Zach comes over to help, and then we see another wave. As it pulled me down, I thought I was going to die. I hit the bottom, and then I bumped Zach's knee, and thought it was over. I am so lucky that Zach is strong, and a fantastic swimmer, and not scared of the ocean, because he pulled me up and dragged me a little closer to the shore, trying to preserve my modesty through it all.

In the end, I managed to pull my skirt on enough to get out of the sea's mighty grasp, and I don't think anyone was the wiser. Needless to say, I don't think I will ever be venturing out on the ocean in a kayak. Or any other small vessel that could be overturned or give me reason to try swimming to shore.