Monday, March 21, 2005
Our First Day
Monday, March 21, 2005
I had thought the kids would sleep in after being exhausted from the trip down – I was wrong. They were up at 8:15. So we got up and watched cartoons and had breakfast. Then we went down to the beach for an hour. It was so much fun. We added another body of water to our experiences – I didn’t think I’d ever really be somewhere to see the Gulf, so that was cool. The sand on the beach is really just very very crunched up seashells. It had rained last night, so the sand was a bit heavier, which I was glad for. It was an overcast morning, and was a little chilly at first – around 55-ish, but it warmed up rather quickly. Having it be not windy and overcast was great for picture taking. I took 180 pictures today LOL. A lot of them were just messing around with different settings, I’ve pared them down somewhat – my total count for the day is 119. The kids loved building sandcastles, and they both loved the water. Aiden just wanted to see the water, getting as close as he could, but would run away when the waves came up to him. As he got braver and braver and more used to the temperature, he started staying in the water, and eventually it started knocking him down. He didn’t even know how to react to it LOL. We had fun gathering some seashells, and a lot of them have holes naturally in them, making them perfect to string for necklaces. Alysa wants us to buy some string for her tomorrow so she can play with them.
After the beach, the kids came in and were supposed to take a nap – they just watched cartoons and read books on the bed instead. But Brennen slept for an hour or so. Then we got up, and decided to go to the Florida Aquarium, since it was raining outside and was supposed to keep storming. I looked it up, and they close at 5:00!!! What the heck? I thought places like that stayed open until like 8. It was already 2, so there was no way we’d have enough time. So then we thought about the Museum of Science and Industry. They close at 5:30.
We ended up going to the Pier in St. Petersburg. That was fun. It was originally on our list of things to do, but had gotten cut as the list was made more reasonable. The kids liked riding the trolley from the parking lot to the Pier. We were going to go to a huge children’s museum……but apparently they have either moved or something, because it wasn’t there. So we went to this rinky-dink aquarium at the Pier and saw Dory and Nemo. The kids liked that. Then we went out on the observation deck on the 5th floor, and saw a cool seabird up close – got some cool shots of him with my super-cool new lens for my camera.
Then we saw that there was a pelican feeding thing outside the Pier. So we went down and watched for awhile, and Alysa and Brennen went up and fed the pelicans. That was really cool. I got some cool pictures….that was fun taking pictures of. Of course, I couldn’t get any good ones of Brennen and Alysa b/c I was holding Aiden. Oh well. Once again, thanks to Pixar for Finding Nemo and the pelicans LOL. Aiden kept laughing so loudly at the pelicans – the whole crowd was amused by him LOL.
Then we went shopping at Publix and got some food, and came home just in time to catch the sunset. Very gorgeous. Now, we’ve been trying to put the kids to bed for an hour. Now, I know why people hire baby-sitters to take with them on vacation. I need a vacation from my vacation LOL. They are so tired – sleep already!!
I had thought the kids would sleep in after being exhausted from the trip down – I was wrong. They were up at 8:15. So we got up and watched cartoons and had breakfast. Then we went down to the beach for an hour. It was so much fun. We added another body of water to our experiences – I didn’t think I’d ever really be somewhere to see the Gulf, so that was cool. The sand on the beach is really just very very crunched up seashells. It had rained last night, so the sand was a bit heavier, which I was glad for. It was an overcast morning, and was a little chilly at first – around 55-ish, but it warmed up rather quickly. Having it be not windy and overcast was great for picture taking. I took 180 pictures today LOL. A lot of them were just messing around with different settings, I’ve pared them down somewhat – my total count for the day is 119. The kids loved building sandcastles, and they both loved the water. Aiden just wanted to see the water, getting as close as he could, but would run away when the waves came up to him. As he got braver and braver and more used to the temperature, he started staying in the water, and eventually it started knocking him down. He didn’t even know how to react to it LOL. We had fun gathering some seashells, and a lot of them have holes naturally in them, making them perfect to string for necklaces. Alysa wants us to buy some string for her tomorrow so she can play with them.
After the beach, the kids came in and were supposed to take a nap – they just watched cartoons and read books on the bed instead. But Brennen slept for an hour or so. Then we got up, and decided to go to the Florida Aquarium, since it was raining outside and was supposed to keep storming. I looked it up, and they close at 5:00!!! What the heck? I thought places like that stayed open until like 8. It was already 2, so there was no way we’d have enough time. So then we thought about the Museum of Science and Industry. They close at 5:30.
We ended up going to the Pier in St. Petersburg. That was fun. It was originally on our list of things to do, but had gotten cut as the list was made more reasonable. The kids liked riding the trolley from the parking lot to the Pier. We were going to go to a huge children’s museum……but apparently they have either moved or something, because it wasn’t there. So we went to this rinky-dink aquarium at the Pier and saw Dory and Nemo. The kids liked that. Then we went out on the observation deck on the 5th floor, and saw a cool seabird up close – got some cool shots of him with my super-cool new lens for my camera.
Then we saw that there was a pelican feeding thing outside the Pier. So we went down and watched for awhile, and Alysa and Brennen went up and fed the pelicans. That was really cool. I got some cool pictures….that was fun taking pictures of. Of course, I couldn’t get any good ones of Brennen and Alysa b/c I was holding Aiden. Oh well. Once again, thanks to Pixar for Finding Nemo and the pelicans LOL. Aiden kept laughing so loudly at the pelicans – the whole crowd was amused by him LOL.
Then we went shopping at Publix and got some food, and came home just in time to catch the sunset. Very gorgeous. Now, we’ve been trying to put the kids to bed for an hour. Now, I know why people hire baby-sitters to take with them on vacation. I need a vacation from my vacation LOL. They are so tired – sleep already!!
