This was a FIRST for 9 of the 13!
Only Anna, Sarah, Emma and Ellie have been to the Florida beach!
Oh my, how they LOVED it!
Hubby was on business calls so I was in charge of 13 children... in their swimsuits...on the beach...
And I told them no one could go in the water...
They could get wet only up to their knees...
What on earth was I thinking!
I know, CRAZY!
Of course they were going to go into the water...
What was I thinking!
They did try to listen- everyone only was wet up to the waist!
(Dad will swim in the ocean with those that want to on another day!
Me? No thank you- I just LOVE to look at it and praise GOD!)
Ben was amazed at how the waves carried the shovel away!
He chased it all over!
Simple pleasures!
Everyone was into shelling!
Especially Luke!
Our sweet guy collected every broken shell on the beach!
Yep!
He won!
He had the most!
I tried to explain to the children that it would be best to collect unbroken shells but many of the children just didn't quite "get"the difference between an unbroken shell verses a broken shell...
Oh well!
Once again it was lunch at poolside and then swimming!
Why mess with perfection!
Anna was giving Madeline swimming lessons!
That works for me!
It is just such a wonderful sight!
Playing together and...
learning to swim together!
We can already see improvement in their swimming skills!
Joey- home only 2.5 months and doing well!
Lot's to work on BUT still doing well!
Daddy and Mommy with 13 treasures!
Joey definitely has a mind of his own and often a different agenda!
Who could resist kicking around a bit of sand!
Family picture?
What family picture?
Another pic by Ellie!
Thanks Honey!
They love decorating their hair with flowers!
We made a stop at the local Island Library for some books!
35 books and one ocean learning bag later and we are good to go!
We are not doing formal school but we did bring journals and our school reading books.
However, we are having a bit too much fun to do a lot of school work!
The extra library books are great for our non fluent readers and for everyone- they are out on our coffee table and available to the children.
We have such a variety- some just gobble up books while others would chose to do anything else before reading.
Luke is actually doing such a great job at phonics and beginning reading- we are happily surprised!
BUT,
while at the library he and Joey chose the kitchenette instead!
Another GREAT day!
10 comments:
The beach pictures are beautiful. You all look like you should be a permanent Florida family. Can you say where you are? Must be the Gulf side since the sand looks so white. Wishing you many more days filled with sunshine and fun!
I'm with Shelia...must be the Gulf. Marco, maybe?
Looks fabulous! So happy you were able to escape the cold and snow for a break! Enjoy!
beautiful pics of your beautiful family. I am more than a little envious!
I was really touched by this part of your post, seems like a metaphor is hidden in there somewhere:
I tried to explain to the children that it would be best to collect unbroken shells but many of the children just didn't quite "get"the difference between an unbroken shell verses a broken shell...Oh well!
Beach, seashells, books, flowers in hair - making beautiful memories. When my children and grandchildren were young, my most favorite thing in the world was to be outside with them as they explored. It is just the best! Thank you for the wonderful pictures. It warms my heart so much to watch your children experience the beauty and treasures God has given us. Seeing the smiles and expressions of wonder on their precious faces is priceless. Such fun :)))
I'm impressed that you took them all to the beach by yourself. But, it sure looks like they had fun! What a great vacation.
Thank you for bringing a part of the Florida weather into our homes, albeit via a blog. Vicariously enjoying the balmy Florida breezes and warm sand. [That little rodent from Punxsutawney needs to be reminded that winter needs to be on its merry way].
Here is a link to identifying our Florida shells. http://www.iloveshelling.com/blog/seashell-identification/
When I was homeschooling mine at this age, we liked to identify them and made a display. Enjoy!
Jean,
I daily check your blog and I am always so encouraged after reading it. We live on the SC coast and this is what we have tried for smelly shells. Boil in a large pot of water for a few minutes, then wash in a bleach/ water solution, rinse with dish detergent, and finally place them in the sun for several hours. This always seems to help get rid of the smell. Have fun at the beach!
A nice bleach soak does the trick with the shells. We flew down last month so I zip locked all the shells and soaked them at home. Rinsed and dried on the counter since it's still winter here and they are great! We fixed mason jars full of shells and paper tags with the beach and year. I have several from various trips and even lake erie and lake huron! Makes a nice keepsake!
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