Dolphin Tales and Popcorn (beach post 2)

So thrilled to finally get on the beach after a fun arrive the previous day!  Despite the overcast weather, the day was wonderful.

Full of waves, giggles and sand.

I'm thankful that Ezra is still pretty hesitant about things....makes watching a 2-year old a lot easier on the beach!

Breaks for snacks.

We took a walk  down to the end of the island, where we were the only ones there. 

Watching the little hermit crabs make their countless winding paths.

Such a special time of exploration!

And a cute little log to take funny pictures on!

During a late nap for the kids, Lauren and I explored the small private island on bikes.

Oohing over the amazing houses all around. (I'm clearly not a master of biking selfies.)

After naps we were excited that the Grands finally made it!

Some little man was super thrilled!

We showed them around the lay of the land...

And stayed away from the alligators!

Some of us were more into making silly faces than others.

Dinner time prep...

and then catching the night views.

Reminder that the awesome photo shots in the post are my brother-in-laws doing!

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The next day called for a lot of rain...but Beach and I squeezed out an adventure in the morning with Lauren and William.  Aaron brought some kayaks and there were some at the house...so we just put in out back and headed out...

Through the winding trails....however, knowing that were were alligators amongst us was not supper comforting so we went into the ocean.  I was elated when we saw a small fishing boat followed by many dolphins.  We headed that way and it was amazing to have them swim around us.  The fisherman was friendly sharing his shrimping experiences and showing us the goods.  It was awesome!

We paddled along the cost after that but the storm clouds looked pretty threatening, so Beach and I headed back while the others attempted to get out at the beach.

Meanwhile the kids had a slower start to the day....

Enjoyed some game...

And found other things to keep them occupied during the rainy day.

Aunts can be pretty fun...

and silly!

Dad blew up one of his rafts that he brought so the littles could watch a movie in style.

There was popcorn to be had, of course, too...

And snuggles for "scary" parts.

A quieter day, it was fun none the less...but I was itching to get outside some more....bring back the sun!

Take me away! (Beach part 1)

It is finally here!!!  Our huge family beach vacation.  This was one anticipated trip.  We planned out carefully the location and were beyond excited that Beach had a WHOLE week away from work to be all ours.  It took a ton of prep in the front end but totally worth it!  The kids were beyond excited, as it was talked up for quite some time.

On the way down the house we were staying at in Beaufort we stopped at the Old Sheldon Church Ruins, which were as beautiful in person as pictures had captured. 

On a side note, any of the super amazing looking pictures were taken by my brother-in-law, Aaron.

My iPhone pictures were still able to capture some cuteness too!

I must say it was a little hard explaining what had happened at the sight to my inquisitive little girls who had way more questions than I had answers.

Ezra continues to love selfies....especially if I make silly faces.

They had a working pump, which daddy demonstrated how it would retrieve water.

Of course the girls wanted their own shot of pumping the water.

After a little further driving, we finally made it to the house.  We had originally planned on taking turns making dinner.  The first night was supposed to be my parents BUT my mother had gotten sick and had to postpone their entry for a day (insert huge sad face).  Although, highly disappointing, we were thankful that we knew she would be quick to recover and not contagious.  Danielle stepped in and made her spaghetti for us that night, as they were the first to arrive.

One of the most excited things about the house was that it included a golf cart, what an awesome fun blessing!

The back porch marsh views were amazing!

Reminder....awesome picture = Aaron's handiwork. 

The cousins were happy to be together and walk to the nearest beach to check it out.

That first night it was a bit confusing as there was no beach.....just stairs leading to water.  We realized we would need to check the tide schedule and maybe find another entry beach location for the following day.

Even "soon to be" Uncle William was able to come for the week.  We all checked out the loving horseshoe crabs swimming in the water.

Beach adventure we couldn't be more happy that your finally here and were coming at you tomorrow!