Karate

Karate is back in full swing after a break in July. 

Madison's Back to School Look

Madison got a haircut before school started. She is really enjoying the idea that she has some day over her hairstyle. She loves it really short. 

After that, her other big change was that she got her ears pierced! She has been asking for awhile, but between camp and the beach, it was just never the right time. She was really excited and has been doing a good job cleaning her ears. I have very, very sensitive ears and nickel earrings (most kinds) really bother me, so we will see if she has the same problem. We bought really good quality earrings to start.

The boys enjoyed watching.

The Exterminator

Who needs to hire a real exterminator?  I have Luke on the job (and his prices are fantastic!).

 

Love my Bug Guy!

Castillo de San Marcos and the Beach

Thursday morning, we all went to tour the old fort, Castillo de San Marcos.  It sits in the heart of downtown St. Augustine, right on the water, and it has been there for several hundred years.  It's a very cool fort to tour....cool, as in interesting. It was definitely NOT cool the day we visited. The day started off okay, and even though we arrived early in the morning, the Florida heat and humidity quickly made the temps miserable.  We still enjoyed our visit to the fort; the kids really enjoyed the cannons.

 

 The gang is ready to tour.

 Before we went inside the fort, Luke spotted a sea turtle right in the water!  The water was very shallow, only a foot or so deep, and because it was so clear, it was easy to see the sea turtle.  That was really cool! We all enjoyed watching the turtle swim around for a few minutes.

 Beautiful morning

 There's the turtle.

 I tried to get a few pictures with its head out of the water, but it was moving around too quickly.

 What a view!

 The guys

 The grandparents

Lookout window 

 Luke loved this pose.

 After our hot morning, we had a delicious seafood lunch, and then we ended up back at the pool.

 I don't know how they found the hot tub enjoyable.  It was so hot.

 Later that evening, we ended up back on the beach.

The beautiful evening on the beach was a great way to end our vacation. While it was a really fun time, it was definitely not the same without Edward.  I'm grateful my parents decided to join us for part of our summer adventures.  It was nice having other adults around, and the kids loved it. Thanks for meeting us, Mom and Dad. No trip, however, is the same without Edward. We missed you very much.