Kickin' Off Summer the Right Way...At the Beach!

We started our summer off the best way possible...at the beach!  My happy spot for sure!  Last Monday we left for family vacation #1 with Kelly's parents...(aka Sug & Pop), Sara, Savannah & Addison, and Uncle Davis and Kayla.  This year we spent vacation at Amelia Island which we are very familiar with and love.  We have been going every year for most of my life with my family so it was fun to get to go with Kelly's this time.  We left on Monday morning and when we got there we changed and headed straight to the pool.  The beach turned out to be a little further than the short walk advertised so we decided to wait until Tuesday to pack it all up and go.  The pool was fabulous though and our girls would settle to stay in a pool all day long.  This was Bryce's very first beach trip!  This was also his first time in the pool and as we predicted, he LOVED the water.  He loves his baths so this was no surprise for us.  The water was the perfect temperature too so I know that helped.  He was content to sit in his float and do just that...float.  We had picked up pizzas for the night so it was a lot of fun to settle in and just enjoy everybody.  The girls played and mapped out their sleeping arrangements.  Day 1 was a success!

We forgot to take our regular "in the car" picture so this Snapchat will have to do!

First trip to the pool

On Tuesday we headed to the beach.  The girls had the best time playing in the ocean and the sand together.  The water was a little chilly but they didn't seem to mind.  Bryce didn't mind either for his first dip in the water.  He really just put his feet in mostly but he still seemed to like it.  I strolled him on the beach so he would take a nap and when he wasn't sleeping he was happy just to be looking around and enjoying the beach breeze!  He gets it honestly!  It was very relaxing.

just taking it all in

Kate & Addison were happy building in the sand

Cohen & Savannah hopped right in to ride the waves

Cohen couldn't resist doing cartwheels on the beach.  

We had some rain showers & a storm later that afternoon so pool time was cut short.  We had planned to eat at Barbara Jean's that night which is one of our favorite places to go.  The pumpkin bread they serve you is a MUST!  I'm already looking forward to going back in August just for that!  When we got back to the house Kate and Kelly went outside to look for frogs.  They were out in full force after the rain and my frog loving child was all over it...she had 3 in this bag that she was so happy to bring inside and show us!

Wednesday we were back at the beach for the first part of the day and then at the pool in the afternoon.  It is a routine I could so get used to.  Kelly and I had went for a walk on the beach and found 2 star fish!  I was so excited because I have never found live star fish on the beach.  I knew the girls would love them, which they did!  I think they had more fun putting the star fish on Bryce than anything.  We kept these 2 star fish in a bucket and kept them alive for Wednesday and Thursday.  I made them put them back in the ocean on Thursday and told them they would not be coming home with us.  I think Kate would have a million "pets" if we let her!

Walking to the pool likes little ducks in a row

I absolutely LOVE these trees with all the moss hanging from them.  BEAUTIFUL

I found "Pop" with his headphones on twice this afternoon!?!  I think he was trying to tune us out! LOL!

Sweet baby!  

 We went back for a walk on the beach Wednesday evening.  Our 2 starfish went with us of course...

Before our walk Kate had fallen asleep at the table eating.  She perked back up pretty quick though and first thing she wanted to do was go sit with daddy at the water to watch for the turtles that we would see each day.  She is such an animal lover!

Thursday was our last full day so we definitely wanted to soak it all up.  We started at the pool this day and then headed to the beach.  We wanted to stay out as long as we could!

We spent our last night going to downtown Fernindina.  I love going downtown.  It is such an old town but so cute and I have such good memories of it!  What I also love now is how everywhere you go you see GA/FLA!  A good reminder of football season coming up!  We ate at the Crab Trap downtown which is always good.  After we ate we caught the last little bit of the sunset down at the marina.  It is always so pretty!  We had a few pictures from down there.  Unfortunately a lot of them are a little fuzzy since they were taken on my phone.  I even took my good camera too but it stayed at the house.  Oh well...I do have high hopes for a good quality family picture this summer.

Its always good to see the GA flag!

 These girls were trying to be pirates!

this sums it all up right here!

After leaving down town we had to make a stop at the ice cream place.  I wasn't about to let that not happen.  They serve Dole Whips down there and they are as close to what you get in Disney as anything!  This week's flavor was strawberry and it was yummy!  Bryce had his first taste of ice cream too he LOVED it.  His little temper would come out between bites!  He can definitely let you know what he wants.  As we were leaving we saw an owl up in the tree above our car.  Owls are Kelly's favorite!  His trip was officially complete with the owl siting!  We definitely saw some wild life on the trip for sure!  It was a great week and we loved spending quality time with all our family!  I'm sad it went by so fast!

When we got close to home Friday evening, we stopped to eat in Vanna and ended up seeing LeAnne & Brandon and eating with them.  It was fun and the girls loved playing with Baylor.  We ended up seeing a wreck which was more excitement for the night.  These girls had fun though and we are definitely planning to get them together more this summer.  We are also counting down the days until LeAnne has her baby boy!!  We can't wait to meet him and love on him.  Bryce has so many friends being born!!  Lots of fun for all these boys ahead!