KAYAKING

Vacations - 2007
2

Isn’t that BEAUTIFUL? The last time we were in FL, the kids and I (and Tim’s mom) were able to spend an hour or so kayaking through the mangroves. We LOVED it and wanted to do it again this time. There weren’t nearly as many mangroves clear down by Key West, but it was still a lot of fun. Very peaceful! Josh wanted to get out and swim, but decided against it at the last minute.

Above, sometimes we just floated along, quietly enjoying the scenes. We LOVE to soak in the warmth of the sun, listen to the water lapping against the side of the kayaks, dangle our feet and hands in the water, etc. We really savored every moment! Then.. there are times to really paddle and try to beat your siblings somewhere (LOL)!
This is the point where Josh was thinking about jumping in! We were all pretty wet by the time we got back. It was a very nice way to spend the afternoon before boarding our ship again to really head out to sea this time. At first, I wasn’t really that thrilled that one of our stops was in Key West. I originally thought it was kind of a waste of a port stop since, afterall, we wanted to get out of the country. But, it was a nice way to spend the day… not too many activities so we weren’t completely exhausted for our formal dinner and we really couldn’t afford to wear ourselves out completely on the first day since we were scuba diving on the second day and the scuba manual says you’re supposed to be well rested and hydrated before scuba diving! So… we rested today!! Really! This is a restful as it can get when you’re an on-the-go, fun-loving kind of family.

No picture of Emily and I since I had the camera… didn’t think to bring an underwater one nor the waterproof bag for my camera today. It was kind of a chore to even get these couple of pictures with al the water that was being splashed into the back of the kayak where I was sitting! Seems like that happened to me last time as well… next time I get the front and I’ll let this blog serve to remind everyone that I called it FIRST!

Cindy – I love how your family is so active on your vacations. You don’t just sit around and relax (which I know you do as well). You all try new things, go to fun places, and just enjoy the things offered. Hats off to you for providing all of these opportunities for your children. I think it’s so wonderful for them.

Do you plan all of these things ahead of time or do they just come up? I can’t imagine convincing my family to kayak and yet it’s so fun, your whole family went.

I’m challenged by you all to be more daring in what I think our family can do. Thank you!

Kathy,
We do like to be active… Yes, I plan everything ahead of time so we’re sure to be able to fit it all in. Everyone makes a list of the 2-3 MUST do things and then I make sure each person gets to do at least ONE thing on their must do list and most of the time several things overlap and then I try to make sure they each get to do something that they might be the only one that wants to do whatever it is… like the time we RAN to Build-A-Bear in the pouring rain only a hour before they closed because it was the only time we could fit it in and it was on one of the kids’ MUST do list and one of the kids want to do list. Anyway.. yes, I plan it all out ahead of time.

I don’t micromanage though… for example, we planned out the bigger DISNEY things like where to eat ont he 2nd night so we could get passes to the show without having to stand in line for an hour or more.. that way we could go ride more rides while everyone else was waiting in line (LOL). Things like that I plan, but then we just do whatever after we get there. Hope that makes sense.

We knew we wanted to kayak because we had tried it one other time while we were at a state park.. an unplanned kayak excursion while we were waiting for dh to come back from fishing… turned into one of our favorite things… most of the time things are planned though.

Project 365
LUGGAGE – DAY 62 of PROJECT 365

WHEW! This is definitely the last of our vacation pictures! The night before you arrive back in port, you leave all of your luggage out in the hallway. During the night the porters come through and deliver it *here* (LOL) and you have to dig through the piles of luggage …

Vacations - 2007
FAMILY AT SEA DAY 61 of PROJECT 365

Here’s our whole family on vacation! We LOVE cruising and can’t wait to go again! Here we are back in Fort Lauderdale already!

Vacations - 2007
CRUISE DINING

These are the last few pictures we have from dinners on the cruise.