Fifevergnügen 2010

The week before school started we drove down to Destin, FL, to meet the rest of the Fifes for a family reunion. We rented a large house just across the street from the beach and had a great time enjoying the gulf together.

Here are the the best bits of the trip:

Bryce's favorite part was rounding up tiny clams on the beach. One day we caught a whole bunch and made a little habitat for them in a bucket. It was so fun to watch them wiggle themselves down into the sand. But, much to Bryce's dismay, I did not let him take the bucket of clams back to the house. The day before, we had caught several hermit crabs and other marine life which died out on the patio after being brought home as pets. The water temperature in the bucket probably got too hot sitting in the sun and cooked the poor critters--it was extremely hot!

Brandon got to go deep sea fishing with the men of the family and that was his favorite part of the reunion. They saw dolphins, flying fish, and even a sea turtle. Brandon was really excited to watch the dolphins swim right up to the boat, until it was time to fish. Then they became quite a nuisance. Those pesky dolphins would eat the fish right off of the fishing lines! After about 5 hours of feeding the dolphins, the boys headed home. They did succeed in sneaking a few fish past the dolphins which we all enjoyed with our dinner.

Emily loved taking pictures. Not the family ones where we all had to dress up and smile pretty, but the ones in the pool. Grandpa and Aunt Laynie both had underwater digital cameras and we had a fun time taking pictures of each other under the water. The house had a small pool in the back yard and I think we got at least 100 silly underwater photos.

Natalie loved the nice green June grass coating the beaches. Just kidding. She hated it. In fact I would go so far as to say she was repulsed by it. I found some in the washing machine after we got home and made her squeal by throwing it at her. June grass is a slimy algae-like plant that grows in the warm water of the gulf and it was pretty bad this year. Luckily, it was only thick right along the shore, so after wading through about 20 yards of gross green slime, you got out to the beautiful crystal clear water. On Friday we had some pretty good surf, and Natalie's favorite part of the trip was jumping the waves and boogie boarding.

I enjoyed just hanging out with the family--chatting, shopping, eating, and the fun activity nights that Aunt Heather planned for us.

Mark was glad that there was NO OIL. After the media coverage describing the apocalyptic conditions in the gulf, we were worried whether the whole vacation was going to be a bust, but all I can say is "don't believe everything you see on TV!" The only evidence of the oil spill we saw were the very 'helpful' warning signs and the pitiful government sponsored clean-up crews who patrolled the beaches looking for those elusive tar balls.

We all had so much fun. It was quite a shock to come home and have to go right back to school. What a sad end to such an amazing week.