Stephens' Stories: Anna Maria Island

From June 27-July 2, the boys and I, along with MiMi and Big Deal, went to Anna Maria Island in Florida. We met Ellen, Davy, Ben and Summer there for 5 days of beach life. David was not able to go with us (boo!) but hopefully he will next time. The boys sure missed Daddy, especially Austin. The flight was "ok". Austin did great, thanks to technology and Campbell only screamed a few times. MiMi and I passed him back and forth and traded entertaining him with just about everything. AMI is thankfully only a short 1 hour drive from the Tampa airport because the boys were ready to run on the beach after being restrained in an airplane and car. The house we rented had its own pool that we all enjoyed, especially Austin, who has really become a great swimmer!! I am so proud of him! The first day, we headed down to the beach after unpacking. Campbell LOVED running around in the sand, chasing the seagulls, sitting in holes dug by Ben and Summer. Austin, my more cautious one, had to warm up to the gritty sand, salty water, strong sun, and thought that there are fish and sharks in the water. But he did, eventually. After he saw Ben and Summer swimming, digging holes, fishing, boogie boarding, etc, he was ready to join them. He will tell you though that he liked "swimming in the pool at the house, not swimming in the beach". I am with you there, bud. The house was only about 4 blocks from the beach, so we were able to walk there each day. We would swim in the pool afterwards to get the "beach" off of us, which was refreshing. One morning, we drove to Sarasota to go to Mote Aquarium. There we were greeted by Nemo and Dori, in the first tank. There were seahorses, crabs, jellyfish, sharks, manatees, giant sea turtles, and more. We at at the Old Salty Dog afterwards for lunch. It was a fun outing! Another morning, MiMi, the boys and I road the free trolley to a little breakfast spot down the road. Austin enjoyed HALF (much to his dismay) of a giant cinnamon roll. Yummy! I was also able to fit in a few runs, one of which I ran on the beach in the sand for 1 mile - beautiful, but so hard in the thick sand. The other runs were early before sunrise and I got to see the sunrise over the bay. So pretty! One morning, everyone else went on a guided fishing trip on a boat about 4 miles from the shore. I toke the boys to get coffee with me, the fishing pier, the playground, and we swam in the pool. I heard the fishing trip was very hot; I believe it. I was dripping in sweat after 20 minutes at the playground. Austin napped every day so he was lucky and got to stay up until 10pm almost every night with his big cousins. They swam in the dark, watched movies, and ate ice cream. It must be summer! The trip back was as painless as it could be - no travel delays, no lost bags, just one toddler who likes to scream when he doesn't get his way. I'll leave the rest to the pictures.....