Coral Camp and Key West Vacation - Summer 2017

Evan LOVES nature, animals, and the ocean, so Bonnie Mom and Grandpa knew the perfect gift to get him for Christmas and his birthday. Coral Camp! Evan flew to Key West with Bonnie Mom and got to spend almost a week at their beach house and at Coral Camp. While he was at camp, he got to go to so some really cool things, such as going to the aquarium and then going out on a boat to the reef and snorkeling! He also liked staying at Bonnie Mom and Grandpa's house. They treated him like a king and got to choose what to do each day after Coral Camp! He went snorkeling with Grandpa, ate at Geiger Key, went swimming and much more!

Evan, Preston and I joined Evan, Grandpa and Bonnie Mom in Key West on Friday morning. We were able to spend a few days together and had a great time swimming in both the pool and the ocean, snorkeling, eating out together, and exploring Geiger Key. The best part of the vacation was that Preston started to learn how to snorkel! Carl took him out and he was able to see a barracuda, a skate and a shark! He was thrilled! It was a short vacation, as we had to head back home on Tuesday, but we managed to fit in a lot of fun in a few days! 

Evan was really excited to go to Coral Camp. Here he is at the airport, ready to head to Key West with Bonnie Mom! 

Evan enjoyed Coral Camp. He is already asking to go back next summer! Here he is on his first day of camp.

Preston was excited to go to Key West too! He was excited to go on vacation, but I think he was more excited to see Evan!

We kept Preston from taking a nap, so that he would sleep on our late flight. He fooled us though and he stayed up!

Preston fell asleep as we drove from Fort Lauderdale to Florida City, where were going to sleep for the night. He was so tired that he did not even wake up when we took him in the hotel or got him in bed!

A little boy in a very big bed! 

 After staying up all day and a lot of the night, Preston slept most of the way to Key West.

As soon as we got to Key West, Preston was ready for some fun! He swam and went to the playground.

We picked up Evan from camp and went to the beach. The boys were excited to see each other. They were tired though, so even though we had some fun, they quickly became grouchy. 

We arrived on Daddy's birthday and Evan decorated. It looked great! We planned to celebrate by going out to dinner, but the grouchy boys made that impossible. We all had cake and then Bonnie Mom and Grandpa put the boys to bed a bit early, so that Carl and I could go to dinner.

We went to The Upper Deck at Louie's Backyard, which is one of our favorite places. The food is great and the view is even better!

On Saturday, we went to Higgs Beach to snorkel. Preston snorkeled for the first time!

Preston took a long nap, so Evan got to choose what to do. He chose to play in the pool and catch lizards!

We tried to rent kayaks at Geiger Key in the afternoon, but the kayak rental place was already closed. We decided to stay and explore Geiger Key instead. It is one of our favorite places and the boys has a blast.

We tried to go snorkeling on Sunday morning. We all had fun on the boat, but the snorkeling was a bust. We had to avoid the big reef, since the waves were too big. We tried an alternate spot, but the waves were fairly large there too and they were just too big for the boys. We did have fun on the boat though! We also had fun at Lagerhead's when we were done. We enjoyed snacks, drinks and a fun little beach.

Evan thought he got sea sick when he went out on a boat at Coral Camp. I gave him some medicine to help, but it just made him fall asleep!

Silly Boys 

Sweet Boys

We enjoyed walking along the harbor and seeing the boats and the fish.

Since Evan slept on the boat so much, he and Carl took a shopping trip on Duval street, while Preston and I took a nap. They went to the candy store, which is one of Evan's favorite places to go. In the evening, we all went to Salute.

We definitely made the most of our last day! We started off with Preston losing his first tooth! He was SO excited! We also ate brunch at Croissants de France, went to the beach at Fort Zachary Taylor, went swimming and went fishing! Carl and I even squeezed in a late dinner date at The Cafe!

HCCC Swim and Dive - Summer 2017

Preston decided to join Evan on the HCCC swim team this summer! Both boys had a great time with their coaches and friends and they both made lots of progress. Evan also continued to dive for the dive team and he continued to do very well in the sport.

This year was a bit unusual and we had the first swim meet after only getting to have 4 practices. Preston took over 2 minutes to swim his freestyle race. He was the very last one to finish, but he had EVERYONE cheering for him and got out of the pool with the biggest smile! He received a participation ribbon and he LOVED it! He called it his golden ribbon and he was so excited to get to take it home and place it in his room! 

As the summer went on, Preston continued to be excited for practices and he improved a lot. He was even asked to be on the HCCC 6 and under freestyle relay team for the city meet! His team did well and they ended up winning 7th place. He also earned the coaches' award from Coach Wyatt. Wyatt loved working with Preston and said he worked so hard all summer!

Evan had a big change for the swim team this year, as he moved up to the "big kid" practice. They work a lot harder and play less. It was hard at times and Evan would usually come home tired. He worked really hard and he improved his time and learned some new swim strokes. He really excelled in diving. He won a first or second place ribbon in each of the three meets that he participated in this summer. His biggest accomplishment was winning a third place medal in the city meet. This was pretty impressive, especially since he is 9 and was diving in the 10 and under group!

The boys were very excited about their first swim and dive meet of the summer!

Preston was so excited to get to go to the "races." I think he smiled the whole time!

Evan did so well at the swim and dive meet. After only practicing four times, he was able to win a first place ribbon in dive!

Our second meet was on Father's Day. Bonnie Mom and Grandpa came out to watch Evan dive.

Evan and Preston are so lucky to have a great dad that will spend his Father's Day cheering on his kids at a swim meet!

As usual, Preston was excited to race! He always had fun!

Evan placed second in dive and also did very well in his races!

Our last regular season meet was at HCCC. Evan placed first place in dive and had his highest score of the season! Grammy and Granddaddy also came to cheer for the boys, which made both boys very happy.

Carl and I were able to attend the diving portion of the city meet. We were so nervous for Evan, but he seemed relaxed! He was so proud of his third place win and so we were! Coach Abby said that he did a really great job!

It was REALLY early in the morning, but the boys were pumped for the swimming portion of the city meet!

Our team's theme was The Kentucky Derby this year! Evan and Preston had fun making Derby horses.

Evan and Jackson are still good buddies. We are lucky that Jackson is such a sweet friend!

HCCC 10 and Under Boys

HCCC 6 and Under Boys

These pictures were taken by one of the parents on the swim team. I am so glad he shared them with us. They are great!

Here is Preston swimming in the city meet. Look how happy he is!

This picture cracks me up! Preston kept looking back during his relay, to make sure that he was still in the lead! 

James David, Grant, Andrew and Preston - 7th Place Winners - Boys 6 and Under Freestyle Relay

We are very proud of Evan and Preston!

The boys enjoyed the swim and dive banquet. It is lots of fun to earn trophies for hard work!