Winter Beach Trip

It was such a warm December this year! On Tuesday, December 29th at around 7:45 pm, I had the grand idea to take the kids to Fernandina Beach the next day. I knew it was a crazy idea to take 4 kids to the beach, but I hoped it would be something they would remember forever!

I ended up texting my good friend Stephanie to see if she and her kids wanted to meet up. She was in for the fun, which was also super helpful for me with a baby and toddler at the beach.

I stayed up really late packing up the stuff (snacks, lunch, towels, beach toys, a chair) and got up early to be ready to go when the kids got up.

Bo was kind of indifferent at first, but the girls were really excited!! Arabelle asked, "Are you kidding me!?", then went crazy when I said we were really going.

I text Papaw and Mamaw a picture of the girls saying that we were going to the beach and they thought we were just playing. :)

We left just before 8, got some gas in Douglas and were on the way! I was hoping to make it without stopping because getting all 4 kids out of the car and back in takes a few minutes. But, we had to do one bathroom break, then a feeding break for Zeke. Zeke had done so well in the car on our zoo trip, but was a bit fussier for the beach trip. A crying baby in the car stresses me more than anything, I think.

We got there around 11, I think it was. It was 83 degrees and sunny that day and the beach was pretty crowded!

The big kids had SO much fun playing with their 'best friends'!

Mom of the year here forgot a beach hat for baby Zeke, so it was bright! I kept his head shaded with a blanket most of the time. I held him or wore him in the baby carrier nearly the whole time.

Mae enjoyed the snacks a lot.

The water was cold, but not cold enough to keep the big kids out of it!

Zeke wasn't really sure about the sand. He felt it with his hands, tasted it ONCE, and decided he didn't want to crawl on it, so he sat on the towel and looked around confused. ha!

Here's a video of the beach fun. 

I meant to ask Stephanie to take a picture of us, but there was just a lot going on, so that didn't happen. We started loading up at 2:30 and it was 3:00 by the time we had everyone cleaned off and were in the car to head home. 

The little two napped some, then we stopped in Waycross for a Zeke feeding and to pick up Chick-fil-a and made it home by 6:15ish. It was an exhausting day, but SO FUN!!!!

Pre-Baby Beach Day!!

When we found out we were expecting another baby in early May, we pretty much decided to skip our summer beach trip this year. For me, it's just not worth spending that much money and taking a young infant to the beach and dealing with the sand, heat, etc., but I knew I wanted to surprise them with day trip to Fernandina Beach. We went last week, on Thursday. They were SO excited when I told them on Wednesday that we were going!!!

Jared took the day off and our awesome baby sitter, Alyssa, went with us. We left a little after 7:30 and we were on the beach and ready to play around 10:15. The weather was PERFECT that day....I had been stalking the Weather Channel app for a good week. Ha!

Obviously, Mae didn't remember the beach from last year, but the big kids were so excited that she kept saying, "BEACH!!!!" and was thrilled when we got there!

The salt water and air made her hair really curl up. I love it!

Lots of pictures of Mae because she was always closest and wasn't moving/running around as much as the other two. ;)

Picnic!

The water was pretty COLD, but Arabelle and Bo did't seem to mind. Fortunately, Alyssa was willing to go out with them. Jared and Bo dug a hole for Mae, so she could have a 'pool'.

Arabelle LOVED riding the waves! She spent most of the afternoon out in the water. It's her favorite part of the beach.

Mae's pool!

Bo really enjoyed the waves too. One hit him in the behind when he wasn't expecting it and he said, "Whoa!!! That wave spanked me!!!". ha!

We were cleaned off and back in the van around 3:30 with some tired kids (and adults!). Mae was asleep before we were off the island and Bo kept saying, "I wish we were still at the beach". Needless to say, we have three beach loving kids! 

Mini Beach Vacation

Last week, I took Arabelle and Bo on a mini-beach vacation. They were SO excited! Mae went to Papaw and Mamaw's house for her first overnight trip without me and she did great. That's a relief!

We left Thursday morning and came home Friday afternoon. Our close friends (and Arabelle and Bo's best buddies!) were down there, so we met up and had some fun!

We got there around 11 and the hotel had our room ready early, so we ate the lunch I packed us and got out on the beach! I didn't take a whole lot of pictures....I was too busy playing!

We played on the beach by our hotel for a couple of hours, then went and played with our friends the rest of the afternoon and evening. We made it back to the hotel around 9 and crashed!

They had a lot of fun riding the elevator, except when they felt wronged on who was supposed to push the button. That pout!

Friday morning, we were up early and ready to go! Well, almost. Bo waited for us by the door like this when we were getting dressed for breakfast. ha!

We were out on the beach by 7:45!

We went down to the condo again after we checked out of the hotel around 10 and played until lunch. The weather was perfect on Friday!

Best friends and almost 6 years old!

Best buddies who are almost 4 years old!

We hit my favorite Fernandina Beach restaurant, Sliders, on the way out.

Leave it to Bo to ask for a 'silly picture'.

I took these last two when we pulled into the driveway. Bo slept most of the way home and Arabelle fell asleep about 15 minutes before home.

We were worn out, but happy to see Mae!