The Dyes Go to the Beach

The kids asked to go to the beach. I wasn't too keen on the idea because I've never had a great beach experience. California was cold or crowded, New Hampshire was foggy. So if we were going to go to a beach, it would have to be a great one. Google said to go to Florida. 

Tuesday we flew to Tampa after a brief layover in Dallas.

Off we go! We had to get up at 4:30 to make our 7:45 flight.

After we landed in Tampa, we got our rental car, made a mega shopping stop at Costco and then got Italian food for dinner.

I was totally expecting to die from the heat and humidity as soon was we stepped outside like we did in Miami 18 years ago but it didn't happen. Not so bad.

Then it was time to drive away to our island retreat. I'll never get over the bridges.

We got to Anna Maria Island after dark and just in time to unload the car and go to bed. We stayed in the town of Holmes Beach.

Sunset #1 from the Skyway Bridge

Wednesday morning Justin and I went back to the mainland to hit up a Walmart to get the rest of the stuff we needed. After breakfast we loaded up a bunch of beach gear that we found in the garage (thank you previous vacationers for saving us money) and walked the 4 blocks to the beach.

Sarah had been to the beach but was too young to like it and Henry was too young to remember it so it was kind of the first time for them and definitely the first time for James and Erica.

I think they liked it.

Finding critters

Erica's critter collection

Chasing birds

Building sandcastles

Overall just playing

Once we were all beached out, we walked back to the house. The kids didn't even come inside the house but walked back to the pool. Then we were really worn out so we mostly just lounged around, ate dinner and then went to Bean Point, a beach at the north end of the island.

Such soft sand!


 




We even saw a dolphin! 

Sunset #2 Bean Point


Thursday morning, breakfast then to the beach again! Burying each other became more fun than building castles.

Thursday afternoon the kids didn't want to get out of the pool so we took lunch down to them.

Would you believe these pool tubes were 25 cents at Walmart? Best deal of the trip.

Thursday evening I booked a sailing excursion. It has been a dream of mine since like April to go on a sailboat.

Captain Ed from Wisconsin let us all steer the boat. Now that I think about it, we steered the entire time we weren't in the harbor. 

Sunset #3 on the water of Tampa Bay

Friday morning we went on a kayaking trip through the Robinson Preserve. We rented kayaks from a guy out of a bus on the side of the highway with a dirty shirt and bare feet. He gave us a illegible map and overexplained where to go with words like "agendify." It was a lot of words. "If you get to the ocean, you've gone too far and the current there is too strong even for me" and "Well, I think I explained things well enough."

Luckily Justin followed what he was saying better than I did. We hoped to see some manatees but I think we were too late in the season for that.

We saw tons of big birds and crazy jumping mullet fish. They were entertaining to watch but I was worried one would jump right into our kayak.

James was my kayaking buddy. He has good instincts and we only got stuck in the mangrove trees a few times.

After we reached the farthest point, we turned around and found a place to shore the kayaks and eat lunch. We found some lizards. So many lizards in Florida, even in the house.

Then we switched up the partners and I got Erica with me for the trip back.

We were out the for a few hours and I think it went by really fast. We all loved it except for Henry.  He only kind of liked it (that's what he says but I think he liked it more than he let on).

Friday afternoon more swimming.

Friday evening more sunset. We drove up into the next town of Anna Maria to see the beach there. It's all part of the same continuous beach so there isn't much difference between the shores. Bean Point at the northern tip has a riptide so it isn't popular for swimming but the sand seemed the softest. Anna Maria Beach seemed much less crowded too. 

Sunset #4 Anna Maria Beach

From there we walked the the Beach Hut for ice cream.



And back to the pool for a little night swimming.

Saturday morning Henry and Sarah took the trolley to downtown Anna Maria to wander around on their own so Justin and I took the littles to Manatee Beach to the south of us.

Inspired by the sand octopus they saw on the beach the night before, James and Erica made a sand spider.

I got a kick out of watching the birds. Big birds diving into the ocean to catch fish or these small sandpipers picking little critters to eat out of the sand.

We didn't stay as long because the littles got bored without the biggles and then a large family settled in next to us with very loud music so it was time to go.

We met the biggles back at the house and after getting cleaned up, we drove to the mainland for lunch. I love sandwiches and my favorite sandwich is a Cuban. The first time I had one was at Cheesecake Factory and then I've been making them at home for years from recipes I've found online. What does a real one made by a real Cuban restaurant taste like? Why not try one while in the sandwich's birthplace: Florida. I found a food truck online and fingers crossed we went!  

The truck was parked in front of a building where they had seating so we didn't have to eat on the curb or in the car.

Moment of truth. The bread was amazing. Much better than the bread I've made or bought. The meat was tender and sliced thin instead of shredded like I've done it but similar in flavor. Ham, just a few pickles and mayo.

I am happy to report I liked it and my efforts at home are not too far off.

I don't remember what Justin ordered but it was good too.

From there we drove to downtown Bradenton which is on the shore and got ice cream (we love ice cream).

Then we admired all the yachts in the fancy marina and each picked out one.

Sadly, these were the only manatees we saw the whole trip.

Sunset #5 Holmes Beach

Sunday we drove back into Bradenton to go to church. I checked on the app and it said that they met at 10:30 but when we arrived, the parking lot was empty. Justin checked on some website I didn't know about and saw that they had stake conference. Their stake center was another 28 minutes away.

While we decided what to do, a van pulled up behind us to ask if we knew where everyone was. We told them what we discovered. The wife, in a beautiful Jamaican accent said, "Oh well, the Lord loves effort." 

We drove down through Bradenton and through Sarasota. Then we crossed a bridge to get to Longboat Key which is the island south of Anna Maria Island. We drove through one of the fanciest neighborhoods I have ever seen and stopped at Lido Beach.

We drove up Longboat Key (super beautiful houses but couldn't see much of the ocean or beaches because of all the country clubs and condos) and then took the bridge to the south end of Anna Maria Island which we hadn't seen yet. This is Historic Bridge Street Pier in the city of Bradenton Beach.

We stood out a bit in our church clothes. The plan was to make this drive after church and changing our clothes but since we suddenly had a bunch of time on our hands, here we are, all dressed up.

These birds watch the fisherman on the pier so closely. When someone catches a fish, they harass the fisherman. We saw a bird steal a fish off a table as soon as the fish was dehooked.

Then we walked back past some of the shops and chocolate stores.

It's a very charming part of the island.

We played games most of the afternoon and I even too a nap! Sunday evening Justin and the littles and I walked to the beach for sunset because it had pretty much become the thing to do. I'm sad the biggles didn't come because it was my favorite sunset.

They discovered coquina shells, these little creatures that bury themselves back into the sand after every wave. 

Sunset #6 Holmes Beach

Beautiful colors all around.

Then we finished our game of hand and foot. Justin amazed us all with his cup and coaster trick.

Monday was our last day so we had to fit all the things we hadn't done plus all the things we wanted to do again.

This is at the Donut Experiment. You pick your frosting, topping, and drizzle and they custom make your doughnut for you.

Check out the order form. It took us a very long time to do because we take our doughnuts very seriously.

And then they got to work dipping.

Here's how they turned out.

It's a charming little shop on Pine Ave.

We all decided it was a fun thing to do but we've had better doughnuts.

Next stop was diner/bakery/gift shop where I stood in a very long line for a very big cinnamon roll.

I also surprised Justin with a slice of key lime pie but we didn't eat them until later because doughnuts. The cinnamon roll was fine. The bread was softer than it looked but I don't like thick sugary frosting like this. 5/10.

Next activity, the beach!

The kids could touch pretty well but had fun taking the boogie board and pool noodles out for floating. 

Henry is in my seat. Justin and I read between helping the kids bury each other and playing beach kickball.

There weren't great waves for boogie boarding but that didn't stop them from trying.

And then family swimming time. It turned into a game of tipping each other over on the tubes. It always turns into that.

And then jumping off the rocks.

We went back to the Beach Hut for another round of key lime pie ice cream.

It really was so good.

Sunset #7 Holmes Beach and feeling torn about not wanting the trip to end and also being ready to go home.

Here's the outside of our home for the week. Bye house.

That night Justin and I had a late dinner, just the two of us, at a fancy seafood restaurant. 

Fried green tomatoes.

Seafood is not my favorite but if any place could win me over, it would be a place like this. I ordered the scallops because they came with pork belly.

Justin's shrimp and grits. Sounds simple but it was anything but.

Tuesday we got up, packed and headed to the airport. We had a 3 hour layover in Dallas that went by pretty quickly since it took 25 minutes just to ride the train to our terminal. That airport is huge.

We weren't sitting together this time so here is Justin's view.

Scofield reservoir

And the view out my window. That's Utah County! I missed the mountains.

Salt Lake County

Downtown Salt Lake City

Sunset #8 Salt Lake International

Aside from having to call the cops on our very noisy neighbors at 11pm Saturday night, the trip went off without any troubles.

We asked the kids what they thought of the trip. They all said it was very fun. James said he loved it but when I asked him if he would like to go back, he shrugged and said, "I'd like to see what else is out there." And they said since they saw Alaska and Florida this year, that means we have to go to Hawaii and Maine next year. You know, to hit all the farthest corners of the country.

Church, football, football, church, scavenging, football

We had our primary program the last Sunday in September. Believe me when I say this ward gets super excited about the primary kids. I think it's because we don't have a big primary and our ward is mostly grandparents so the kids here get a lot of love. The sacrament meeting programs were designed by the kids and there were a lot of versions. I got one with Erica's drawing but not James's. After sacrament meeting I made him go through a stack of extras at the door until we found one with his drawing too.

Erica's first vision on the left. James's Jesus surrounded by children on the right.

Yes, that says "Brigham Young had a beard" 

October 3rd Justin and Erica went to the BYU game. Justin's aunt has season tickets and gifts him a game per year. It was Erica's turn to go. I was a little worried since the game started at her bedtime that she would be tired and bored.

I was wrong. She was all about it! They stayed the entire game!

They even got to see Henry and some of the youth and youth leaders in our ward running a concession stand. (BYU does this as a fundraiser for wards. It's hard work but the kids have fun and make a good amount in one night to pay for their camps.) 

Saturday after the morning session of general conference we went to Henry's last season game. It was pouring but Henry says he doesn't mind playing in the rain.

This is a large 9th grade team plus the 9th grade cheerleaders.

They found out officially the next day that they made the playoffs!

Back at home, conference was in full-swing. Cinnamon rolls, of course.

Speaker snacks, coloring pages, arts and crafts. I did non-food items for like 6 speakers this year. Henry was disappointed but I like us all eating less junk food. 

Conference was amazing, like always. My new calling is relief society instructor so I was listening to talks a little differently, like, how would I teach this? 

Sunday afternoon Justin and I drove up Hobble Creek canyon to check out the fall foliage. There are few things more pretty than fall colors topped with snow capped mountains.

We had a pretty slow week of football practice and whatnot. Then Friday night Justin and I joined our friends for a crazy big scavenger hunt all over Springville/Spanish Fork area. This is like the 7th year their sister puts it on for family and friends. We met in a parking lot, opened up the google form, they gave us the first clue and we were off. Once you find the next answer, we entered that in then got the next clue. I think there were like 8 locations we had to go to. Each of the place names had a puzzle in the google form to figure out first. Then at the locations we had to do something and either text picture evidence that we did it or the person running the stop cleared us and gave us the next code word. Then we got the next puzzle for the next location and we drove off.

One clue took us to the new Star Wars themed saber immersive experience place. We had to duel with gusto and intensity for 5 minutes before the owner gave us the code. Another stop was to a movie theater. The host made a video loop of videos and photos of her dead cat with a Sarah McLachlan singing in the background. Dispersed among the photos were 3 key words that we had to enter to check that one off. So hilarious.

We didn't win. I think we were like 2nd or 3rd to last actually. We didn't need extra shoes, headlamps, a shovel, or saw but it was still fun.

Saturday night Henry had his first playoff game. It was during a wild storm in Lehi. I stayed home sick with the littles but Justin braved the storm.

The wind was blowing all sorts of things across the field and then the lightning started up. They had to end the game at halftime and send everyone home.

They finished the game late tonight. Sadly, they didn't win. Its hard to end the season like that but overall Henry enjoyed the year.