Florida part 2

Friday morning, we packed up all our stuff and drove from Orlando to Cocoa Beach (Cape Canaveral). We couldn't get into our rooms immediately, so we all walked down to the beach which was just down the road a little bit. That was probably one of the most fun parts of the trip for me, showing the kids the beach for the first time. None of us had swimsuits on, I had hoped to keep the kids somewhat dry, but they were all pretty wet by the time we left, but who could blame them? Lexi just wanted to throw sand into the water. Tyler loved running in the water, and Bryce loved digging in the sand & running around with his cousins. We didn't get to spend nearly enough time playing.

Deb, Nikki & I had to leave to go to a surprise bridal shower for Robin. It was about 30 minutes away from the hotel we were staying in....and when we showed up, we found out that the bride was at home searching for her lost cat and not coming any time soon. Great. None of were particularly excited to be there anyway, and we had no choice but to sit there and smile pleasantly at a room full of strangers. Someone finally convinced the bride to get dressed and come to lunch at the restaurant, but as soon as she came inside and saw all of us waiting for her, she turned around and left. After her sister, cousin, mother, and who knows who else tried in vain to get her to come in, she slammed her aunt's knee in the car door, cursing at her and drove off. Good grief. All the relatives came inside crying and all upset. I think they were mainly embarrassed by her behavior, but it was AWKWARD to say the least. Maybe 45 minutes later Robin finally came in. Sunglasses on, refusing to have any pictures. I guess she was pretty devastated about the cat, but nothing that a glass of wine couldn't fix.

While all of this was going on, Marc, his dad, his two brothers, and all the kids were enlisted in the hunt for "Frosty" at Patrick Air Force Base....so much for a fun day at the beach with cousins. They left the base about the same time we left the restaurant, and we finally got back to the hotel about 4:30. We all threw our swimsuits on as fast as we could and tried to leave the drama behind us at the beach.

Ahhh, the beach. The rhythmic sound of the waves slapping against the sand. The serenity in an endless horizon of water and sky. Birds calling in the air, the joy in my children's eyes as they got to do whatever they wanted, the feel of sand between your toes, and a gentle breeze with the smell of salt, seaweed and a hint of fishiness. I'm totally relaxed just thinking about it. The beach was the highlight of our trip for the most part. Forgive me for posting so many pictures. I just wanted to focus on this when I remember our trip.
Bryce and Grandma checking out the ocean:
Marc & I:
Tyler loving every second of being in the water:
A decent family picture:
Everyone working to bury mommy:
"our" mermaid fins:
These two were so much fun to watch out in the water:
The rest of the clan joined us and we all buried Joe up to his chin:
The Glutz cousins: Jacob, Kayte, Lexi, Jared, Tyler & Bryce
You cannot adequately see how covered in sand this little girl was. Every inch of her body was caked in it.
Bryce "digging holes to china" with his cousins:
A game of "catch" in the ocean

We stayed as long as we possibly could. The sun was starting to go down, we were all hungry but didn't want to leave. Eventually, the thought of how awful our kids would be the next day at the wedding if we didn't get them fed and in bed soon brought us back to reality, and with much melancholy we said goodbye to the ocean. Everyone (us, Chris' family, Joe's family) hurried to shower and dress and we found a hopping little "river side" restaurant to eat at. We enjoyed talking with everyone & trying to laugh off the drama of the day. Although we were disappointed that we didn't have as much time as we wanted to just play together, we still enjoyed what time we did have together. To say the least, we were WIPED OUT by the end of the night.....and then didn't get good sleep to top it off.