Beach Bums

You know when your kids are infants every "stage" is your favorite?  That first smile.  Oh, THIS is the best age.  Then they roll over.  No, THIS is the best.  Then they crawl.  Oh, THIS is the best.  And then they turn one.  THIS is the best age. . . .   And it just goes on and on until they become stinkin' elementary kids.  Just kidding, Sassy!

Anyway, I'm sure that as time goes on, this may change but our first family "just-the-four-of-us" vacation was THE best.  I think I'm still in a funk that we had to come home plus shocked that everything went so well.  I kept waiting all week for the other shoe to drop and it never did.  :)  We had so much fun.  I don't know that the girls will truly remember their first time at the ocean, but it's a moment this mama will treasure forever.

First steps in!

Most of the week was obviously spent on the beach.  R and I are total beach bums.  We're perfectly content sitting under our umbrella, the waterproof speaker cranking out some Jimmy Buffett or Bob Marley, cold beverages in hand.  We can seriously spend all day like that.  I wasn't sure that the girls would share our vision but we happily spent many a day at the beach until the sun was long gone.

Still playing under the Super Moon!

They LOVED it.  The waves were a little more than I pictured (much bigger than other places on the Gulf we've visited) but they were just right.  In fact, Sassy became a kickboard pro!  It was so fun to watch her check out the waves and then kick like crazy as she caught one.

And once Keke realized that she couldn't just SIT and let the waves pummel her (and fill up her swimsuit bottom with buckets of sand), she loved the waves.  The last time R and I were in Fort Myers there were NO waves and the water felt like warm bath water.  So it was fun to have waves and the water was nice and cool.

Dad!  Carry me to da deep water!

Waves are more fun if Mommy holds you!

On more than one occasion, I caught them like this: holding on to each other while the waves came crashing in:

Warm fuzzies. . .  .  

And I love these next pictures.  It was at dusk (another late day on the beach!) and the girls were laying at the shore, letting the waves get them.  I just started snapping--and managed to get their expressions before, during, and after a wave hit.  Priceless giggles!!! 

They also had a blast in the sand.  Which I knew they would.  These girls should have been boys.  They can find THE dirt anywhere and start digging.  Parks, campsites, our gravel driveway, other people's yards.  It was so nice to have our own car because we could take all of our sand toys and outdoor stuff.  And even better: we just left everything on the condo's private beach every night at the spot we claimed.  No hauling stuff back and forth!  

The last day we were there the waves changed direction (I didn't even know they did that!) and they were more gentle.  For whatever reason, the water was super clear and gorgeous. And perfect for sea shelling. The girls spent hours looking for shells.

One of their treasures!  

As thrilled as we were to live like Jimmy Buffett all week, we did manage to leave the beach a few times.  More to come soon!

Pretty sweet to spend the first day of summer here!