I keep telling everyone that Ruston is growing so fast. Now I have proof. We went for his checkup on Monday, 7/31. 
This was Ani's favorite, dancing with the dolphin. We had to put our hands down to our sides and turn around. Duffy followed by spinning around next to us. Ani laughed so hard, it was worth every penny. The next day I asked her what we did and she exlaimed, Danced with Dolphins!
Ani had to sit this one out! She definately didn't want anything to do with getting a dolphin hug. Fortunately, Aunt Stacee was there to rescue her.
Ani was perfectly o.k. with Mom getting a dolphin kiss, but she was not about to stick her face over there! These animals are amazing. So strong yet so gentle.
Sunday was finally here. We made our way back to the Theater of the Sea for Syrina's big surprise. We Waded with the Dolphins, Stormy and Duffy! It was so much fun. I was worried that Ani would be too afraid, but she did really well. Syrina was so excited. The first thing was to have the dolphins swim by us and let us pet them. It took Ani a couple of passes before she touched them, but she did it! We were able to do a couple of tricks with them, get a dolphin kiss, and hug them. All of the activities were done from a platform area. It is set up for those that can't swim or are too young to swim with the dolphins. Syrina couldn't touch bottom so she had to wear a life jacket and have Stacee help her. Ani hung on to me like glue. We had a great time. We left the park at 6 pm and we were all exhausted!
Out on the reef. Ani finally gave up and went to sleep. Apparently, brother makes a good pillow. She never said she felt bad, but I am sure she did. Ruston just slept the entire time. Look out the windows behind me in this picture. You can see just how much the boat was rolling! The air conditioner had a tough time keeping the cabin cool, which didn't help any of us feel better.
Since we have purchased our boat Virgel and I have been listening to the boater's forcast. Some days it is calm to moderate chop, some days it is 1 - 2 foot seas, Saturday it was 3-5 foot seas. We were pretty sure we didn't want to take the boat out in that rough of water, but it would be o.k. on a bigger boat. So we packed up the kids and headed South 2 miles to John Pennenkamp state park. It is the only underwater state park in the country, which protects the only coral reef in the US. We hopped on the Spirit of Pennenkamp the glass bottom boat and headed out to the reef, Molassas reef to be specific. We we made it to open water Virgel and I thought, well this isn't too bad. Unfortunately we were not really in open water just yet. The ride out was beautiful. Stacee and the kids were loving the ride. Ruston and I stayed in the cab and everyone else went outside to enjoy the beautiful views. Before we made it to the reef Ani asked if I would make the boat stop "Jumping". Uh-oh. The real trouble didn't start until we slowed down at the reef. That is when you really understand what 3-5 foot seas really mean. We of course did not take any motion sickness medicine. We all spent a few minutes looking down onto to reef. It is magnificant. I was lucky enough to see one of the largest brain coral, which they said took several hundred years to grow. Saddly, it was damaged due to an anchor being dropped on it. They now have tie off bouys so you are not allowed to anchor at all. Stacee and her kids ended up on top, the captain indicated that was the best place if you were feeling bad. I was inside with Ruston and Ani asleep in my lap. Virgel and I did pretty well with a couple of pepermints. Out of about 60 people on the boat only 5-6 were left looking at the reef before we left. Everyone else was trying not to use the pretty gray bags! Once we headed back everyone started to feel better. Stacee and her kids did get to sea the open ocean and the beautiful color of the water here, they just didn't see too many coral reef fish!
My sister, Stacee and her two children, Syrina and Tobias, came down for a short visit. Unfortunately, her husband could not join them on the trip because he just started a new job. Both of the kids have grown so much since the last time we saw them. Syrina was really excited because mom was teasing her with a big surprise! The highlight of the first day was giving Ani's turtle, Kizzy, a bath. After she gets a bath we put a little turtle wax on her shell.
