Happy Vacation Birthday Robb

Last night we had a crazy storm—thunder, lightning, and a torrential downpour. No one slept very well, so we all ended up sleeping in a bit. It took us a while to get moving, but eventually Robb and I started getting things ready for the day and made a late brunch so we could head out and find something fun to do.

We decided to check out John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park since it was nearby and offers offshore snorkeling. When we arrived, we learned the snorkeling tours had been canceled for the day because of the heavy rain and poor visibility. We were a little disappointed, but we figured we’d still give snorkeling a try on our own.

The weather was cloudy, and after snorkeling in Hawaii, it’s hard not to compare—but we still saw a few interesting things. The snorkeling area was pretty small, though, so we didn’t stay long. We had heard there was a large statue underwater somewhere in the park, so we went in search of it. A very crabby volunteer informed us that it was too far offshore to reach from shore and could only be accessed by boat. That was a bit of a letdown, but we decided to explore the rest of the park instead.

We hiked a couple of trails and saw a bunch of small lizards along the way. After that, we headed over to Anne's Beach, a public snorkeling area. There wasn’t a ton of sea life, but we had fun searching for cool shells—well, everyone except Caleb. Shell hunting was definitely not his thing.

By the time we finished up there, it was getting late, so we headed back to the house to make fish tacos. Since it was Robb’s birthday and we had to cancel our planned boat day, we still wanted to make dinner feel special. We grilled shrimp, tuna, and snapper and made pineapple salsa and guacamole to go with it. Dinner turned out amazing.

After dinner, Abby and Emmy went swimming in the pool while Bryce and Caleb decided to try their luck fishing. Within minutes, Bryce caught a fish. It was a crazy-looking one, and of course we couldn’t find any pliers to remove the hook. Thankfully Caleb is fearless and managed to get the hook out while carefully avoiding those intimidating teeth. After looking it up later, I’m pretty sure it was a barracuda.

Just a few minutes later, Caleb caught a small stingray. Getting that one off the hook definitely wasn’t our finest moment. Armed with a fishing net and a tennis racket, we somehow managed to hold it still long enough to get the hook out. When it was time to release it, Robb gently volleyed it back into the water with the tennis racket.

It definitely wasn’t the day we had planned, but it still turned out to be a really great day.

Funny Things the Kids Said Today:

Bryce: “I made Caleb bait my hook because the shrimp scare me.”

Caleb: “Emmy is like an appetizer to an alligator. Like a fun-sized candy bar.”

Caleb: “Bryce’s room in the attic reminds me of Anne Frank.”

Emmy was a pro shell collector. 

Bryce caught a Barracuda fish. The teeth on this thing were brutal!

Caleb caught a sting ray.

Our supper was amazing!

While Norm didn't lie about how many rooms there were, it was questionable that you called the crawl space in the attic a room. Especially since it had to be accessed by a pull down staircase that you had to fold up at night to get our of the primary bedroom. Caleb said it felt like the Anne Frank room and he was not staying in it. He slept on the couch in the living room. Bryce was fine with it and owned the room that you had to crawl around on your hands and knees to get around in.