As I woke up this morning and opened my eyes... I knew today was different already. THE SUN WAS SHINING! Wow! There was an extra skip in my step as we got dressed and ready to start the day. We decided to head out mini-golfing. Tyler requested the dinosaur course. The flood waters have receded enough that the main roads are all clear and most businesses have reopened.
During the game, we saw a very large turtle warming himself in the sun...
It was a great game! I lost my ball in a water hole (black balls are crazy-hard to find). Tyler won by 3 strokes! Afterwards, we decided to hit Red Lobster for lunch.
Right away, Sammy asked to feel a lobster. Heck, why do we pay admission to the aquarium when we have the friendly staff of our local Red Lobster to help?
During the meal, our waitress accommodated Sammy's request for Elsa to have a meal with us... that's a main dish, side item, and beverage in doll-size containers. And the kicker is, Elsa ordered something DIFFERENT than Sammy! Sammy was so excited and Elsa thanked the waitress repeatedly! I'm sure our waitress knew she was helping a young girl play dolls... but I'm not sure she understood the full impact it has on Sammy when people go out of their way to participate in her inner world of play. We all left with full tummies and smiles on our faces.
Then it was finally time. 6 long days of no sun, no waves, no swimming... We headed out to the beach!
While Mary and I relaxed in the sun, Tyler gave us lessons on how best to boogey board and Sammy dug holes in the sand and made drip castles.
We did it all - played in the sand, boogey boards, jumped the waves, and even spent some time down at the sand dune again... it sure is fun! We even saw a little turtle heading into the surf... not much bigger than a ping-pong ball, he was fun to watch!
It was 6:00 pm when we walked back into the condo. I couldn't believe it! We took showers as quick as we could and then headed out for dinner. In the end, the kids got McDonalds and the adults picked up some dinner from Mythos to give Mary a chance to try Greek food. It was delicious again!
On the way home, we stopped by the Kroeger parking lot to admire this gigantic tree all lit up! We sent a picture to Grandma Bev since she missed it last week because of all the rain.
It was a busy day... it was a beautiful day... we are all pretty tired. So we decided on a family movie night. The kids both snuggled in on the couch and we watched the Prince of Egypt. It was so interesting to me to hear their comments and favorite parts. We pointed out things that were different and the same as our Bible study these last few weeks. It warmed my heart. There's no place I'd rather be than snuggled on the couch with these two!
