Today was the 9th birthday of Alfred Jesse Moya. He had some friends over for a small birthday pool party. AJ finally swam across the pool for the first time alone today. It took about 6 years to do so but Dad finally taught him how to swim. He caught on over the past 3 days or so but really took off once his friends joined him in jumping off the bridge in our pool. Once the other boys were doing that then AJ had to jump right in as well.

I’m having trouble with adding video to this blog right now. You’ll have to watch the clips we made at Google.

AJ says hello to abuela on his birthday.

AJ swims in the deep end of the pool

AJ swims across the pool on his 9th birthday.

Here are some more pictures from the Moya Family photo gallery

AJ 9th Bday pictures

AJ jumps from the bridge

AJ in Negril Jamaica

AJ and new friends Zizy hand at Heartbeat in Negril

AJ made a new friend after his brother Robby thre sand at Jamie who lives nearby. Jamie hangs at the bar/ restaurant waiting for his mother it seems so he’s around the beach a lot. He was glad to have som kids his age to play with at the beach so it may work well for us all. AJ likes new friends and Robby needs to learn to no to smack them.

AJ and family enjoy a sweet view from their room at Heartbeat Hotel in Negril Jamaica. The Hertshaped deck is the perfect place to lay and chill both day and night. The stars out here at night are amazing and the kids have had a blast on the grounds.
Our 3rd day in Jamaica we spent at the beach. We went down to Long Bay and found a waterpark for kids. We’ll most likelyhit that later in the week or next weekend maybe. Should be good fun for all of us as the heat is pretty bad. A waterpark sounds good right now.

AJ strikes a pose for the camera. He may look cute but this is the devious AJ look. Be careful when you see this face.

AJ seems fearless when it comes to the ocean. I was more scared of him hanging his feet then he was. He was so casual about it that Iw as more nervous. I don’t know if he understand or not what may happen.

AJ takes a dip in the ocean at the beach located next door to the hotel. Its just a walk around the fence and we’re in the water. It’s not busy at all here in Negril so it’s been just us wherever we go. Kinda nice but a bit of a hassle when they really need your money. We get lots of scammers looking to make some bucks on us. We’re safe where we are and people seem glad to see us.

Here is the view from the window over the bed AJ sleeps in. It’s a nice place to wander around and think. AJ has found much “inspiration” as he calls it here.

This is my test post to see if things work.

EDIT ///

Things did not work. Dad is working on it now.

AJ, Robby and Mommy wore matching wife beaters to Sea World on our second trip and AJ is here chillin poolside at the Shamu show. This was just prior to getting soaked by Shamu and AJ is anxious for things to get started. He’s over me and the camera so getting him to look at me for a good still shot has become a chore but I can trick him into some good shots still.

AJ rode the carousel and chose to ride in the chair and not on a horse like Mommy and Daddy are in this pic. AJ was tired at this point and ready for a seat after hanging in the lines for so long. It can be very hot and although they try the attractions can’t seem to keep us cooled down all day long. It costs like $20 in water to make it through a day at the prices they charge for a bottle of water and keeping cool and relaxed is important to enjoying the day for us so easy relaxed rides like these are awesome if you can get on it quickly and without to long a wait inline. It’s always best to get to the theme parks early and I have found no lines in the first hours of operation makes for a great early start.

AJ has only recently taken to riding on things and this bubble ride takes you p pretty high in the air. AJ was cool about it and now seems a thrill seeker willing to ride just about anything. Of course he does get scared but he keeps on trying new things so thats great. He likes the bubble ride at Sea World so we’ll have to get back soon. Last shot is AJ blinking while watching the show. i told you getting a good shot of him has been a trick lately.

AJ did not care much for touching things in the tank but mommy got a kick out of feeding the stingrays. She wants a tank here in the yard but I’m thinking it’s not going to happen.

The dolphins put on a great show and every time they jumped in the air AJ got a big kick out of it. It’s sad that we capture these beautiful animals and pen them up to perform for us but to be honest how else would our kids gain an appreciation for them and how else would we be able to school them on the value of the natural world without some form of controlled environment for them to experience it. I don’t necessarily agree with the4 performance aspect of it but the animals seem to enjoy it for the most part and if their sacrifices make a difference in the lives of the ones in the wild then I think it’s a valuable service to humanity and nature.

I was however a bit put off by the Budweiser element and the targeted advertising for alcohol sales. The kids bath stalls has Bush logos all over and I don’t see that as appropriate marketing to children but they do own the place and I agreed to enter so it’s on me I suppose. They should however beware of targeting kids with that stuff.

As I said the second trip with the Shamu show was a real hit and getting splashed inteh Soak Zone was the most fun for AJ. Here you can see we are pretty darn close to the tank and a full grown killer whale is very impressive when it passes close by.

Here you can see AJ and his excitement as he has just been splashed by Shamu the whale and is soaked with water. AJ loves to splash and to have been splashed by the whale was a highlight of the day and beyond. It’s been two weeks since we went and AJ still goes on and on about how he was splashed by the whale at Sea World.

Shamu waves goodbye at the end of the show.

Of course there is lots more to do at Sea World and we have some misc pics of that for you as well.

AJ rides the bubble ride at Sea World

AJ and Robby have some fun riding the slides and in the jump house at Sea World

Our trip to Lauderdale beach solidified our decision to move to Jamaica this summer and get back to the ocean and natural beauty of the islands we missed since leaving the Keys and South Florida.