Florida!

For one last hurrah before school started we went to St. Augustine the week leading up to Labor Day. We flew out of Philadelphia just as Hurricane Irene was heading north, and we landed in Jacksonville where we enjoyed clear albeit HOT days. At dinner the first night it was 101 degrees! Often when we visit Ken's parents we're not able to swim in the ocean because the water is too cold at Thanksgiving and Christmas. But the kids spent a lot of our time early in the trip boogie boarding.

There was the usual trip to the Alligator Farm where we drank "swamp water":
There was kite flying:

But the highlight of the trip was our trip to Marineland where Bryn and Luke spent 30 minutes in the pool with dolphins. They got to touch the dolphins, give them fish, and feel their blow holes. In deeper water, they led the dolphins in doing tricks: Bryn and Luke were also pulled around for a bit by a dolphin.

In anticipation of a private surf lesson, Bryn and Luke tested their moxie on a youth-sized surf board. Even before the lesson Bryn tried to come in to shore on her knees:

Luke, who wasn't at all fearful of the water, used the surf board like a big boogie board:


Mid-week we had an hour-long lesson with a surfer named Jennifer. She started by teaching us the parts of the surf board -- the nose, the tail, the deck (where you stand), the bottom, and the sides are called the rails. While on shore, Jennifer demonstrated how you lie on the surf board to paddle out, and how you jump to your feet. She wasted no time at all taking the kids out into the waves and encouraging them to get up. Lo and behold, Bryn stood up on her first and second runs!
Ken gave it a try, too, and he also had some success:Unfortunately, toward the end of the lesson, Bryn fell off the board and felt that she was under water for an uncomfortably long time. That wipe out understandably scared her, and to our disappointment, Bryn didn't venture back into the ocean during the remainder of our time in Florida. She did, however, go swimming at the YMCA where there's a water slide, so Ken and I are hopeful that by the time we get back to an ocean in warm weather she'll be willing to try again. Our remaining time on the beach was instead spent flying a kite and riding bikes. Luke had started to ride his bike at home without training wheels, but he really gained confidence and grew more comfortable on a two wheeler at the beach:[insert video where he's not yet biking independently]

What a big milestone!
Upon getting home, Ken took Luke out on a flat trail, and they came home with a big new bike! Luke still needs some help initiating a ride, and stopping, but otherwise he's balanced on his new bike. We got home two days before Bryn started first grade at a new school, and that's the topic of the next post.