Beach Fun and Bike Rides

Hello Everyone,

We arrived home on Saturday from just over a week in Florida with Olivia and Carina. Their cousins were already there when we arrived on Thursday the 22nd. We left Wednesday night and drove all night and arrived at 10:30am. The girls slept like expert travelers in the car and we ate breakfast at one of about one million Waffle Houses we went by.

The girls had a great time with their cousins and Olivia had 4 nights of sleep-overs in a row with them! They all played great together and Olivia and Carina were sad to see them go.

After they left, we saw a shark one day at the beach. Shhhh....don't tell my sister-in-law or we will NEVER get her back in the water. I was in the water right near the shore and came racing out. One of the new friends we made (an adult) was in the water and it swam between him and the shore. It was probably about 4 feet long and dark grey. Yikes!

Olivia advanced in the swimming department like crazy during the week. Most of her time at the pool was spent swimming about 4 feet between the steps and a grown-up. I think soon she'll be the world record breath-holder. She even went in the ocean - with one of us right next to her of course.

Carina wasn't interested in going out in the water, but had a great time in the sand and playing in the surf. She was into swimming in the pool too.

After their cousins left, the girls made a new friend. Emily is from central Illinois and the girls had a great time together. Emily's Dad was the one in the water when we saw the shark. He confessed to being a bit jumpy in the water the next day!

We were able to fit my bike in the car. On my first ride I experienced my first flat tire - 11.5 miles from the condo. I was unsuccessful in my attempt at the repair, so my Knight in a shining minivan had to come get me and take me to the bike shop. I got it repaired and had a lesson so hopefully (fingers crossed) I will be able to do it next time. I had three good rides after that for a total of about 88 miles (including the first "half" ride), so it was definitely worth bringing the bike along.

We left at 4a.m. on Saturday and got home at 8:30p.m. The troops did great on the way home as well. These pictures are from our final stretch in the car....

What a great week!!!!