The great thing about a vacation to the beach is that you have instant entertainment: the beach. We didn’t have to worry about going anywhere on our trip! The condo had a great pool and quick beach access so the fun was built right in. I think it’d be awesome to find a house to rent on the beach with a pool and enough space/rooms for us all and then stay there every year. I know many friends who do this with their families and it’d be neat to start a consistent tradition. Right now we stay somewhere new every year and it’s tricky to find somewhere to fit our needs. Maybe next year will be the year that we find that perfect spot! But I think we all agreed that on the beach was awesome this year 🙂
Something I’ve never mentioned in a post before is the toys we pack for travel. I give each kid a gallon size bag and tell them to pick out a certain number of a particular toy (like 10 cars or 10 disney figurines or 10 little people etc…always an easy number for me to remember for when we pack to com home to make sure we have them all). I also really love to bring Mega Bloks
with us when we travel. The kids NEVER play with them at home so that makes them a “new” toy for our trips and they come in an easy-to-pack and carry bag. Plus they are safe for all ages and easy to keep track of. This year was the first year we had two bags of blocks (Tess got some for Christmas) and it actually caused more arguing than when we just had the one bag!
Ready for a full day on the beach with Daddy and Kye! It was SO sweet of Mrs. Charlotte as she offered to stay back in the room while Tess napped so Zach and I could enjoy the beach that morning with the big kids. Since we stayed on GA time and everyone else switched to PCB time it did work to our advantage because when Tess napped at 9 it was only 8 for everyone else so we kinda had the beach to ourselves for a bit 🙂
It’s funny to see how Kye takes charge. I knew he was that way with Britt, but he’s even “the bossman” when it comes to his cousins too. He is a natural leader and that’s a wonderful trait but we also have to remind him not to be bossy or people won’t want to play with him 🙂
Zach bought a really good sand shovel before our trip so the guys could dig a hole and make castles! The sand there wasn’t really working for the drip castle we wanted to make but they had fun regardless 🙂
Britt is the EASIEST child to watch at the beach. All she does is run along the waters edge. She dances and twirls and chases the waves but has no desire to go deeper than her ankles!
Pumped on the beach!
I feel like Tess is really starting to be one of the big kids!!!
Matching in our black suits!
Casey and I were at Old Navy last winter and saw bathing suits on clearance for under $5. We racked up! I got the girls their matching black suits and she scored a suit and rash guard for Carter too. We have been excited for Carter and Tess to match on the beach trip and this ended up being THE BEST picture. Like totally belongs on a billboard right?!?! Btw no one put his arm around her like that…he did it all on his own. Precious babies!!!
Prior to heading up for naps we hit the pool! Tess is SO cute with her love of the water. ZERO fear. I’ve never seen a baby love the water the way she does! And I love the way Zach looks at her…I can’t help but to love him more when I see his love for our children.
For naps we separated the big kids. We had Britt still sleep in the bunk bed but put Kye in our bed. My new favorite thing to do on vacation is to nap with Kye 🙂 It’s our new tradition! I love me some vaca naps (and who doesn’t get worn out at the beach?!?!) and I love me some Kye cuddles too. Now that he’s older he’s much more into “boyish” stuff (golfing, boogie boarding, sand castle building) so I feel like us cuddling together gives me a chance to spend quality time with him!
For dinner that night the big crew went out to eat! Love any excuse for family pics!
All the cousins
I still can’t believe they have SIX grandkids! Whew!
The whole family!!!
By now I shouldn’t be surprised at Tess’s great disposition. I think I’m just not used to having an “angel baby” personality so I always feel surprised by it! But she makes life easy and brings nothing but pure joy to our family. She doesn’t often fall asleep while nursing but all the fun in the sun had her so sleepy and it was just precious time. I didn’t want to move her and could have sat there staring at her all night. It’s THE best! You can see Mrs. Charlotte’s legs in the bottom pic…she didn’t want to stop staring either 🙂
That sweet hand on me is my favorite!
A beach trip means LOTS of pics but not a whole lot to say haha we had a fun full day together!
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