Sunsets on the Beach

We experienced some amazing sunsets on the beach on this trip. They were incredible and I had to take a lot of pictures. So sorry for all the picture overload, but this is where I put everything for myself to look back on later. I just couldn't decided which to leave out so there are a lot here.

Feeding Seagulls

Beach seagulls can see food from miles away and we had some fun feeding them a loaf of bread one day. The kids got brave and would put a piece on top of their heads. Some of the birds would actually come down and snatch it away too.

If you zoom in on this picture Ethen is making the funniest face! There were so many birds

Thankfully, the only shark we saw. A little playground by the pier

One of the beautiful sunsets we enjoyed. If you look really close you can see a sliver of a moon in the middle of this pic and one shinning star.

Digging a Sand Pit

Ethen was on a mission to dig a sand pit that was deep. At first he thought going up to his waist would be good, but as he kept digging down he wanted it to be over his head. After a lot of hours digging and playing he did manage to dig deep enough to cover his head. He had to even put a step in the side wall so that he could get out. Each of the kids had fun taking turns getting in and being stranded for a bit. I just love how the simplest things at the beach bring so much joy.

Digging Deeper

Sand Sculptures and a Day with Wild Dolphins

We had a lot of fun digging in the sand in Fort Walton, Florida for Thanksgiving break. Here are some of the masterpieces we created.

Luke is a crab and thought it was funny to be in sand up to his neck

Paisley is our little mermaid. She liked it so much she stayed there for a really long time and kept smoothing out her tail fin.

We started to just bury Ethen deep and then decided he would look so funny as a mermaid as well. The sun was right in his eyes

so Dad's shades completed the look.

Phoebe formed a starfish and dolphin, but I didn't get a picture of the dolphin.

This turtle was made by someone else and was what got our creative juices flowing. Eventually the turtle became a cake after a few days.

We were pleasantly surprised, on our first day at the beach, to have a pod of dolphins hang out with us for most of the day. My battery died on the camera so I didn't get any pictures except for this one. There were probably a total of about 12-14 swimming right off shore from us. They were having a good time playing in the water and Ethen and Phoebe even got to swim right by them. They were floating out on the boogie boards and came within 3 to 5 yards of them. It was so amazing and cool to watch. After that day we didn't see them the rest of the week, so we felt pretty lucky to have had such a great day with them.

Thanksgiving Preschool Feast

Paisley's preschool had thier Thanksgiving feast yesterday. She made a drum and her own indian costume at school. Since she is our 4th child to attend the same fantastic school, we have heard these songs for many years and I never grow tired of them. They are so cute singing and happy and all dressed up like little Indians. Paisley was very happy to beat on her drum really loud and do all the hand motions that went with the song. Can't believe this will be our last preschool Thanksgiving feast! Over the years the school has learned that the little kids prefer chicken nuggets over a real turkey and tatter tots instead of mashed potatoes. Not the healthiest of meals, but a small feast non-the-less.

Last game

Last night was Ethen's final football game of the year. A storm rolled in an it only lasted about 6 minutes, but in that time both teams scored. Happily we came out with the win 8-6. These are the only pictures Ethen would let me get of him off of the field, but I know that someday he will be glad I made him take them. It was a great football season and so fun to watch Ethen on the field.

Proud Dad

1st Banditz gig

Phoebe's band The Banditz had their 1st official gig this past weekend. We had some sound/technical difficulties in the beggining, but they performed great. I mostly took video so I don't have very many pictures. They all did such a great job and lots of people come out to support them. It was a great night with yummy food at Petra Mexican Restaurant.