Biking in Cedar Key

Our typical day in CK

This should have been at the end of the post, but I guess my editing skills are lacking as after 4 or 5 tries to cut, paste, move, etc... it wouldn't work for me. Anyhow this was the oyster gash and he took his hydrogen peroxide like a man! Probably better than I would have at 25...

This is a shot of the boys and I riding through the City Park where we go on a daily basis to swim in the Gulf or play on the new playground equipment and sometimes both! A reporter here in town took this photo during the Clamerica Celebration on the 4th of July. Cedar Key is the Nations #1 producer of farm raised clams, hence the name "Clamerica."

Saia and Lani love riding in the tow stroller and pretending they are fishing. Big thanks to www.craigslist.com for the stroller/trailer as it has been a great $50 investment... maybe the best ever!? The boys think so!
Obviously no real waves here, so it is pretty safe with the boys swimming in the shallow swimming area. They love the water and Saia is my fish as he is fearless and will swim anywhere with his life vest on. Keilani is a bit more careful around the water, which is good for me. I don't know if I could keep up with them if they were both as carefree as Saia is in the water.
They are both super coordinated and love to play ball, of any kind. I think Lani will be the basketball player though and Saia who knows. He loves it all, from volleyball like his mommy, to baseball and soccer. Just NO RUGBY... sorry Papa Tonga.
I didn't realize as I was desperately trying to get Saia to look at me that he had a gash in his leg and that's why he wasn't looking. He managed this much of a pose before I came to him and saw the blood. He must have landed on an oyster shell! They are both extremely tough little boys!!

Late June "Shark Hunt"

My nephew was visiting from TN for a few weeks and was fishing everyday he was here rain or shine. This made him very popular with both Siosaia and Keilani as he was constantly bringing home fish or crabs in a bucket for them to see. We did a fishing trip or two with all the boys, Dad, myself, my boys and Keith (my nephew), but my youngans are a bit of a handful on the boat at this age as they have no fear. In the background of the picture you may can see the railing we recently had added to the front of the boat... both boys have taken turns swinging from this as the boat is moving!!! Yes they were both quickly placed back in their seats. Dad even tied Keilani down in a seat with the anchor rope one day a couple months ago as he kept trying to climb out of the boat!

The 1st picture is of Keith and his "Papa" (grandpa) pulling the 7+ foot Nurse shark out of the water with a lasso we crafted from some scrap rope on board. He had been tied to the side of the boat for nearly two hours at this time and was still thrashing once on the dock. Once calmed a bit Keith was able to have several pictures taken with his catch. At 13 it doesn't get much better, does it?!
Unfortunately, the boys were sleeping at home with their "MeMe" (grandma) through all of the excitement, but they have enjoyed the pictures! A great trip for Keith to remember for years to come.... and the shark too!

Keeping up with the boys...

Keilani is truly always up to something!

With one exception... and this is when I do best at keeping up with the boys!

Well, we have been living in Cedar Key for just over six months now and it is still beautiful. The boys love it here as swimming in the Gulf of Mexico is almost a daily occurrence. Siosaia is like a fish and Keilani is just full speed ahead all the time. There is a great playground for them to play on with swings, slides, and Keilani's very own basketball court. It doesn't matter who is playing, he'll walk into the middle of their game and get the ball. Thankfully all of the guys are nice about it. It's hard keeping up with two very mobile toddlers in that park. Funny side note, we were in Tampa not too long ago letting the boys burn some energy in one of the padded mall playgrounds. Poor planning on the malls part, this particular one had two entrances, or exits as Keilani uses them. Trying to watch both boys among probably 50+ other children, it happened, that panicky feeling like you've lost your child and therefore not going to be parent of the year as if there was ever a chance. We start searching the place for our Lani keeping an eye on Saia and checking the two "exits." Heading out of the exit across from where we were standing, a man looks at me puzzled and points up the large staircase with glass sides leading to the upper level.... I thought I should take a bow with all of the eyes on me as I picked up my son from the staircase!

So, this is blogging...

The boys' Nursery leader has a large farm and a young daughter rides horses in competitions. Saia loves going to see their horses.

Priceless shot of just one of Lani's many "faces." Saia and Lani both love going to see the chickens at great grandpa Wilson's place.

I guess in our day and age this is what we do rather than send telegrams or hand-written letters via the pony express. Boy am I grateful to be alive now rather than back then.
Our boys are pretty much our life. We brought them to Cedar Key for the opportunity it would provide our family being away from the "big city," if Charlotte can be called a big city. Well once you've been to Cedar Key it doesn't take much more than a stoplight to consider any place a big city. Here we enjoy stars that otherwise don't exist, sunrises and sunsets that are coveted by travelers from around the world, seafood so fresh it may still have a pulse, and wildlife that enthusiast come from afar to see.
The boys can make animal sounds thanks to our 30-mile rides to the big city(5 stoplights) each week for groceries, Church, and more where along the way we see horses, cows, donkeys, and plenty of ducks, deer and frequently wild hogs. Our ward celebrated the annual "Beast Feast" last week with all sorts of southern delicacies the young men helped round-up. By delicacies I mean oysters, of the rocky mountain variety, squirrels, armadillo, goat, quail and even one such wild hog. I know you are all sorry you missed out.
The boys are doing fantastic here and love all the time they get to spend with their MeMe and PaPa. They typically have red-stained faces most of the week denoting they have recently been to Papa's organic strawberry patch. Keilani is a professional jam maker as he smashes more berries on his clothes than find their way to his mouth. And Siosaia loves to hold the bucket for me while I pick for orders we get, only the bucket never seems to fill-up no matter how quickly I pick?!
Did I mention we have 30+ chickens next to the strawberry patch? The boys have helped raise them from just a few days old when they arrived in the mail! The post office quickly informed us, with loud chirping in the background that our package had arrived! Saia didn't want to wait for Easter to dye eggs, so instead he found the chicks medicine(gentian violet) and dyed a few chicks as well as about half of his body a nice dark purple. This is much more ammusing to write about now then it was the day I found him in the middle of the purple mess he was making. Proving once again that being a good story-teller is all about timing!
Well I guess i will find out later if these can be added to or continuedas I have to stop for now. Check back for updates and more events from the Wilson's of Cedar Key.