My teensy best buddy and I played hooky for a day and headed down to Booper's Beach this past weekend for a little fun in the sun. This was the by far the coolest beach trip we've ever been on! Our first day down was magical. I know that's corny, but there's no other way to put it! I'm not sure what was happening, but the ocean was ALIVE on Friday and we spent the day marveling at all she had to offer!
We had the great pleasure of sitting beside two gals... one who was an elementary school teacher. She reminded me of Mrs. Frizzle from The Magic School Bus because she spent the day spotting these amazing things in the ocean then pointing them out for London to go hunt down and explore. She said her years of teaching taught her that kids learn better when they can touch, feel, and experience things rather than just read in books. London and I spent the weekend happily under her tutelage and I'm so thankful for all that she shared with us!
On Friday, the beach was totally covered over in seashells. The water was crystal clear so London and I goggled up and spent the entire day underwater. We found bags full of beautiful shells and "Professor Marine Biologist'" (our friend) even gave us this super cool star fish that she found that was black and white striped like a zebra! While we were hunting, London dove down to grab this beautiful shell. She pulled it up and immediately started screaming like a banshee and said IT'S LEGS ARE GETTING ME! I dove down to see what was going on and she had picked up a hermit crab! We kept him as a pet for a few hours then sent him back home! (I could've picked a better picture but let's just be thankful I've got a minute to write... so no additional hermit pics! :0) We found a few sand dollars too!
A bit later, our friend rushed into the surf and started calling for us to get out and look. She spotted a sea turtle lazily swimming right in the shallows! London was SO PUMPED and kept screaming at me to catch it so we watched it for a few minutes then ran up ahead to see if we could head it off and get a good look. We chased him down for a bit but eventually got within 3 or 4 feet of him and just watched him swim all around us! It was INCREDIBLE!! He wasn't very big... about the size of a basketball, but he was beautiful! Here's a picture of his head... not a good shot but I was trying to actually SEE him, not miss the experience because I was fooling with my phone!
Shortly thereafter, our friend pointed out a group of dolphins swimming by. There was a baby dolphin swimming with the group that was putting on a 'sea world' worthy flips show right in front of us! Back flips, spin flips, high jumps, the whole shebang! It was awesome! We probably saw 20-25 dolphins over the course of the day!
The rest of the day, London and I snorkeled a bit further out because there were a bunch of tropical looking fish swimming around. You see a lot of fish normally, but they are just white colored and not much to look at. (Bad grammar alert) Whatever we saw had clear bodies and neon yellow tail and under the belly fins. They would swim all around you and right into your face and body! It was SO COOL to be in that beautiful water, floating with my girl. It was incredibly special to be searching, see an amazing fish then look over and make eye contact with Lu right as she would see it too... both of our faces totally lit up with the excitement of it all! I don't think I'll ever forget the look on her face and the sparkle of her eyes. It was a thrilling day... one of the best of my life!
The next two days were breathtakingly beautiful, but I joked that it was like Jesus Fish had come and raptured all the wild life! The shells were mostly gone and we didn't see a single dolphin or any other wild animal out in the sea. It was beautiful but quiet as a mouse! No complaints from us though! We still soaked up every second of this view!
Performing for Professor Marine Biologist
(No, sadly, we didn't paddle board, but we pretended to!)
Most of the time, her courage scares me to death, but I was super proud of how well London did in the ocean. She figured out that if you would dive into a wave, it wouldn't flip you and she would sink down under the big waves while snorkeling. As she bemoaned our vacation ending, she kept saying, "I'm just a beach girl, momma." And I agree. Clearly, she is. She'll be surfing in no time!
Best picture so far! I now have an Assistant Crap Carrier! YESSSSSSSSSS! You pay to play, princess.... You pay to play.
Serenity was in town with her mom and some friends and she texted asking if we could see each other! We LOVED that idea so her mom brought her by for a visit! It's been a long time since Renny's been on the blog, but let me assure you, she is still the tender hearted, sweetest chid that she always was. Renny is a pearl of a girl and I was ecstatic to squeeze her big and tell her we love her so much! Also, she's GORGEOUS!
My friend asked if London and I wanted some pictures together so I let her grab a few of us. None of them particularly cute because I've forgotten how to take pretty pictures. Seriously- you know how to take great pictures in college then somewhere along the line you get out of practice and they all turn out horrible! So, i opted for action shots! London's got enough pretty for both of us!
These made me laugh. We were going for the impressive jump shot.
Biiiiiig build up.....
(sad trombone sound....)
And victory!!! At 2 inches off the ground and total crazy face! Oh well, we tried! :)
Her ritual of Little Mermaid Tail (the goggles doubled as sun glasses. I could not get her to take them off!)
Then her first full body burial in which she was dying laughing the whole time so her sand encasement kept cracking open! :)
I guess this is a bit of a mom brag, but my favorite part of the whole trip.. I was out in the waves and London ran up to the shore, stopped my girlfriend and said, "MY momma swims with me!" I was so proud of us in that moment. I adore her. We have a great life. I hope I always remember that I might look like a train wreck at the end of our days together, but man, was it worth it! We rolled in every evening with hair matted down with sand and salt water. Bathing suits filled with ocean debris and hidden sea shells. No make up... and I'm not one of those girls that can pull that off. But, my baby was proud that I was her momma this weekend because we were in it together. Right in that moment, I've never been more proud. Let's live a big life, baby. You're the most awesome thrill I've ever known!
