We returned from a fun family vacation about 2 weeks ago. Having my wonderful husband off from work and to spend a whole week with us was priceless! He is loved more than he will ever know :). The kids were so excited for this trip and for the chance to spend it with even more family at our destination. I love to remember our special family times and I find when I blog about them with pictures it is the easiest to do. So here we go...
This photo below was taken at the airport while we were greatly anticipating our flight from MN. And thank goodness for the wonderful playground that was close to our gate. That was amazing!
The kiddos loved playing there and even met some lil friends.
Happy to reunite with my sweet Dad.
Love him so much!!
So, shortly after we arrived to Florida Austin started getting fevers and was coughing some. Poor boy. He was feeling better and really wanted to go fishing.
I asked him if he was feeling better while he was fishing and his reply??
"I've got a fishin pole in my hand so I'm feeling great!"
That boy and his love for fishing. He is so cute!!
And what a HUGE pole, huh?!
And this little sweetie got to hang out with some friends that we had met last time we were in Florida.
Here we are on our way to the big boat. Seeing the huge assortment of boats was so cool at the dock.
And these birds were pretty awesome.
3 of my favorite men!
Boating was so much fun! The pretty lady on the right is my Mom and the pretty lady on the left is my Auntie Karen. How beautiful are they!
Here we are with the captain of the boat: My Uncle. He is an amazing host and captain! :)
Austin got to drive. And he did a remarkably well job, even though I was a little bit worried.
One happy guy.
Nice selfie, hunny! I'm making a point to get more pictures of the 2 of us. Because if you are like me, I have tons of the kiddos and not many of just the 2 of us. It's a work in progress ;).
Troy is one of the cuties who loved driving that little 4 wheeler around.
Teaching Troy how to fish. He really does like fishing but he is a little more interested in exploring and such. We met a super nice guy with his wife and son while fishing. After sharing some about our lives we find out he is a Baptist Pastor and his son is adopted. Him and his son will be coming to MN this summer to do some fishing. And his son was 10 yrs old I think and he caught a big crab. He showed us how he takes the pinchers off and turns it into bait. Such a brave boy! A & T were so amazed.
Out to eat at my Dad's favorite restaurant "The Oasis." And it was really good! Good music and delicious food!
2 happy boys below!
Such a stunning view that was!
We were on our way to our deep fishing destination. We went through the "Sea Love Charters" in St. Augustine and they were exceptional!
Honestly, if you want to go deep sea fishing check them out
HERE. It was one of the coolest experiences we have ever done.
Out we go!
It was on "April Fool's Day" and Austin and I had some amazing plans! However, since this was the day we decided to go fishing (had to be at the boat at 7:15 am) and for some other reasons we didn't do them. Let's just say that next year will be epic ;).
But it sure was fun talking about our plans on the airplane. He loves to joke!!
This was at the center of the boat. And with all the excitement of going I didn't even get a photo of the outside of the boat. This guy was cutting up squid to use as bait at this time. Which was pretty slimy and gross. But after the joy of catching fish and getting a bite on your hook sets in...you could care less. I started wiping my hands on my coat. Austin was a true fisherman putting his own bait on his hook!
And of all the people we could sit by and meet, we met neighbors to where we were staying. And such nice people, too!
Once we got to our destination which was 17 miles from shore everyone quickly put their lines in the water.
Someone at the back of the boat caught this shark. It was pretty cool to go and see. Austin was shocked! He actually told some family members and friends at school that he caught a shark. Silly boy!
This was a pin fish which were a very common fish to catch during this trip. And their fins are so sharp a glove needs to be used to take them off the hook. Apparently they are called "pin fish" because of their pin-sharp fins. And a really amazing thing with this trip was that the awesome workers on the boat took off all the fish for us. And also they help if lines get tangled.
My first fish I caught!
We had a pretty full boat of people. So this is how close our poles were in the water. We didn't get tangled that much considering the close proximity. It was so much fun!
That is one happy camo boy!
Reeling in his very first fish of the trip. Daddy was so sweet in letting him reel in all his fish he caught. But, Austin was hoping for his own fish on his own line to reel in. And he got it!
Here he is with his big fish.
And meet "Captain Gary Z."
One of the most interesting people I've ever met with such enthusiasm when he speaks. He was such a blast!! He had a cool accent and told us about his huge passion for always wanting to be a Captain. Ever since he was little he told us that his Mom knew he'd be a captain. And he is an amazing one at that! He was constantly asking if we needed any help and making sure all were well taken care of. He said he gets to do what he loves every single day. And I believe him!
That's my boy, Austin!! So proud of him. Seeing such a love for fishing in this boy is super cool! He instantly brightens up when fishing.
The 3 of us :).
The nice man who was actually the one who caught all those fish let Austin take a photo with all his catches. He said "You can tell your friends you caught all of 'em." Austin looks very proud.
There's that shark, again. What an experience!
And here are the fish we all caught. I think a total of 5 or 6.
So happy!
We had such a fun time together in Florida!
And what beautiful weather we've been having at home now. So much to be grateful for.
Jamie :)
