Beach Week #1

Gosh, when I think about the fact that we only go to the beach a few weeks out of the year, I sure get sad. When I lived in Brazil I was such a beach rat, well living a mile away helped of course. The one thing I still don't understand is that I would go to the beach at 8am and come home at 3 or 4pm. If I weren't bodyboarding I'd be playing frescobol(portuguese for much cooler paddle ball) all day! Now I go for a couple of hours and it's too much so I have to come back for most of the day only to return around 4pm. I'm getting old!!

We absolutely LOVE going to Florida. Pass a Grille has been home to my aunt for 11 years now and I've going to there since she moved. It's clean and quiet, and the ocean as you can see in the pictures is perfect for kids. I told Mike that going to her house has replaced going home to me. It represents everything that I used to know about Brazil, but since Natal is getting more touristy as the years go by and consequently with it comes crime, I really worry about going back there to visit with children.

So what did we do all week? We woke up had some breakfast and off we went. Bella couldn't get enough of the water. Isaac has finally conquered his fears and will go out to his shoulders(as long as an adult is with him). Bella isn't a fan of waves yet, they rock her too much and she loses footing a bit. They both love being in the water especially when the tide is out and there's a 25 ft sand bar in front of them. Our days consisted of playing in the sand, or swimming or going for walks on the beach and playing with shells.

Naps happened around noon for Bella and I took some time to do the same. Isaac and dad stayed at the beach a little longer. I love napping in a hammock, in fact I will throw down anyone who attempts at stealing a hammock from me while I'm there, good thing there are two of them. Beach living is so simple and so wonderful!

The best part of it all for us, is that both Mike and I have our annual "what are we doing with our lives?" talk when we're there. It's an annual Board Meeting for Vee Company(this isn't really a company, it's just what we call our family). We talk about what we're doing and how that is helping us get to our goals. We refine our goals, and get inspired, rested, and recharged to come home and keep at it. That's why I love going there so much. There's always a spirit of gratitude: 1. for God who has given us much and we've been able to take these trips, 2.for Tia Teia who is so welcoming (I ate her whole Bolo de Rolo while I was there all by myself), 3. for nature who can calm and sooth us and help us get in touch with ourselves. I was telling a friend when I got back that the ocean to us is like that tree in Avatar, Etwa I think? We plug in to the all living beings while were there, even our ancestors. I wish I had one of those tale thingys they had in Avatar.