Hurricane Karen

 

With Hurricane Karen looming out in the Gulf, we headed straight for the beach last Friday after school. We were prepared for a weekend full of rain and indoor activities so Friday was our last chance for some beach time.

It's so nice having Daddy here this Fall and going to the beach with two adults makes Mommy feel safer. I have this rule about not going into the water in the evenings because I've seen (from a helicopter) sharks swimming closer to the beach at "feeding time." I don't know how true my theory is but I figure that it's better to be safe than sorry. Mommy had to ignore her rule on this day. Daddy on the other hand, tossed the word "shark" out of his head and into the ocean he dove. We brought the boogie boards again and what fun they are. It didn't take long for the boys to figure out how to catch the tail end of the waves. Luckily, they were content being in shallow water zipping on the boards as the waves pushed them along. Daddy, he was determined to catch a real wave...a BIG HURRICANE KAREN wave!

It was the perfect evening, the storm was turning up some big beautiful waves. Definitely the biggest we have seen here without a double red flag (this day was only one red flag...eeks?!) Anyways, out to sea Daddy went and he had no problem catching some waves. He had a harder time keeping his family focused enough to watch him do it. :) Sorry Daddy, we know you caught some great ones because the good ones we did see, were awesome!

We played and played and had a blast. We did have to be super careful with the boys in the water. The rip tide was extremely strong and could easily suck them into deeper water quickly. We had a man-on-man plan accompanied by a hold hand law especially for Axel. The boys quickly realized that this was a perfect plan because getting sucked and tumbled in the waves was not so pleasant.

At one point, Daddy convinced Mommy to go try to catch a wave...HA! I timidly complied half wanting to run to the car but to be honest, he did make it look fun. I could totally see myself catching a wave or all of them, right?! Getting out far enough to "catch" a wave turned out to be my biggest challenge. The waves get super big right when they crest and cash into the sand bar. My swimsuit (bikini) was around my neck and ankles numerous times. Luckily, no one could tell because I got them back on as I was underwater getting pounded by the waves. Yeah, I wasn't too worried about sharks at this point! Well, I tried and tried to find the sweet spot and then a double wave put the big smack down on me, cleaned out my brain with some fresh saltwater and sent me back to the beach thankful to be alive. :) I'm definitely a mountain girl but you know what, I can see myself catching those waves as clear as can be! The brain, it's a wonderful thing...sometimes!


Here are a few photos I did manage to get later in the evening.

Lucas sitting right where the water rushes back to the ocean after the big waves wash ashore.

It was cool to watch this little river form and change with the tide and powerful waves.

You can see the sand ripples. This was a perfect spot for the boys to play without having to worry about the rip tide.

Look who snuck in the photo. :)

After catching his waves, Axel was determined to make a trench.

Here he is making sure Daddy is doing it correctly after precise instructions.

Very intense.

Thanks for smiling for me Axel.

Just one more! I think he was worried about how long this photo shoot would take. He had some managing to do...

Watching intently.

Daddy did great and then about two minutes later, a huge wave washed it all away and we had a full on meltdown. It was time to go eat some dinner!

A nice lesson in water erosion.

Happy sandy boy!

See those waves coming? Yep, that is what ended out beach time that evening. :)

Oh, so Hurricane Karen never really came. Saturday turned out to be just gorgeous so we took the boys on a bike ride that ended up being 7.5 miles long. Yes, Axel on his tiny little bike rode the entire way all by himself. We do real family pedaling now...no rides for these boys anymore. After the bike ride we headed to Destin for some mini golf and window shopping.

Sunday was a little cloudy, then a little rainy so we kept busy around the house thankful that Hurricane Karen didn't make it to land.