Beach Trip

The week before school started we went for our annual beach trip with Bapa and Grandma.  I was so looking forward to it this year - my mom and dad found an oceanfront beach house with plenty of room for the kids, and this was the first time in 6 years we had returned to the beach without the need for pack n' plays, swim diapers, naps and other tiring elements of beach with babies.  And the trip lived up to my excitement!  The house mom found was just perfect for us.  Nothing fancy but extremely comfortable right on the beach.  It had a huge screened in porch and something of an apartment upstairs where my family went to keep the kids separated somewhat from the adults, especially in the evenings.  We've already reserved it for next year, and we are all excited to return!

Uncle Steve and Aunt Mary were able to join us for part of the beach week.  They just moved to Nashville, and Mary had to start her orientation as a professor at UT! But she was able to come until Monday afternoon.  And Uncle Steve stayed until Wednesday.  The kids just adore their aunt and uncle, and we missed them as soon as they were gone.

All the kids loved the water and waves.  We could get them to play the sand a little bit now and then, but mostly - from the second we hit the beach - they were in the water.  It kept us on our toes with Catie and Carter.  Catie had no fear of those waves and loved to venture out as far as one would let her -- so you had to watch out with her.

My dear Carter would tend to stay close to us, preferring to hold someone's hand or have them close as she jumped the waves.

Will, thankfully, knows how to swim so we did not have to keep quite as close an eye on him.  Plus, as long as Uncle Steve was at the beach that is the only person Will wanted to be with.  He LOVES playing with his Uncle Steve.  They played water guns in the ocean and watched Star Wars movies in the afternoon.

The girls, of course, enjoyed watching the Little Mermaid -- over and over and over.  :-)

 And nothing like the morning ritual at the beach -- Bapa leaves early and picks up fresh doughnuts for everyone.  The kids loved eating their cereal followed by Bapa's yummy doughnuts.

(Next year ... must work on more pictures of the adults!)