Lolly and Pop were headed to Indian Shores Beach for their week-long Fall Break vacation, and we were invited to go along. Initially we said no because John had a lot to do at work that week and couldn't take off, and because it's a 12 hour drive that we just didn't think we were up for with the kids.
Well, after I kept thinking about it, I decided I would be up giving it a try, so at 3am on Saturday, October 3rd, Lolly, Pop, Dawson, Carter, Nora Kate, and I left Maryville leaving John behind for a quiet week of working.
The drive down (and the drive back) were not nearly as rough as I had feared when thinking about a 12+ hour drive with three kids. They did great!
Here's a "we are almost to the beach selfie"
Dawson found Lolly's beach hat in the car and had to try it on.
Our first view of the ocean from the road.
I think we arrived 14 hours after we left Maryville, and the kids were SO excited to be on the beach!
The boys took off running to the ocean!
Dawson and Nora Kate enjoyed feeding the gulls...all week!
I think I have pictures of these two feeding the birds every day!
Carter was not a fan of the sea gulls because he claimed they "are going to try to get me!" (In his defense, one of the more recent times we fed ducks, one did nip his arm)
All three kids LOVED the beach.
They played hard all day in the sand and ocean!
Nora Kate also liked taking breaks laying in the chairs.
I'm not sure what this was about, but there was too much attitude here not to capture it in a picture!
Nora Kate was convinced this bird wanted a bite of her sucker.
She kept holding it out to him saying "Wanna bite my sucker?"
Dawson played in the ocean most!
View from our balcony
Dawson and I swam out to the sand bar, and I found this big sand dollar! He was so proud of us! We went back out every day going down looking for sand dollars but never found another one!
sweet, sweet brothers
This picture cracks me up...Carter put his leg up while hugging Dawson!
What could be any better than these three at the beach?!
On the beach one evening.
Pop throwing the net for bait while Dawson and Carter swam in the ocean.
Nora Kate had to keep checking on the bait fish and touching them.
Love my brown eyed boy!
The salty beach air made Nora Kate's hair curlier than ever!
Not a great picture, but a good memory...We went on a "night walk" on the beach one evening and I gave everyone glowsticks to put around their wrists, ankles, and necks and they had fun running around and dancing on the beach as we took our walk. All you could see were their lights..fun!
Throwing the net for more bait.
The biggest catch of the week.
The last time I was at this particular beach was when Dawson was 17 months old, and John, Dawson, and I took a picture right here! So this time I had to re-take the picture (sadly without John), but when FOUR (if you count Clayton) kids in the picture!
You can't go to Indian Shores without visiting the Seabird Sanctuary!
The kids loved it (and complained about the bird smell-gag!), but mostly loved it! There were no pink flamingos this time, but the favorite were the white pelicans!
LOVE these three
The kids and Lolly and Pop
Sweet brothers (and a friend pointed out how you can see their reflections in the water).
Just jumping some waves.
The water was so clear!
Muscle Man
Show me your muscles
Clayton 17 weeks at the beach
The last time we were in Indian Shores, I took Dawson to the bird sanctuary. Five years later, I had a few more kids in tow and still a great time!
The kids absolutely loved swimming in the ocean because it was SO, SO calm. Nora Kate would just float and kick around out there in her puddle jumper for FOREVER and the boys would swim around a TON too. That being said we didn't use the pool every single day. I think we swam in the pool 4 times, but they had a blast swimming in the pool too.
The beach can wear a girl out!
Wish we were back here already...
(A little out of order) but here Dawson and I are swimming back from the sand bar.
With our prize sand dollar.
You can't go to the beach without going out for ice cream!
This kid...always making us laugh!
Lolly and Pop and the grandkids.
While throwing the net for bait, a sting ray was accidentally caught! Yikes!
There's nothing like the blue sky at the beach!
Look at all those little bait fish in the net!
We ate in a lot while we were at the beach so that we could stay on the beach as much as possible before and after dinner, which is what the kids really care about anyway. We did go to Bubba Gumps one night though...yummy!
We ate outside at Bubba Gumps, and the weather was perfect for it. We had a beautiful view and got to witness a beautiful sunset also! The kids enjoyed watching the draw bridge go up and down!
Someone was getting a little hungry...
Somehow this shark ate all three kids!
Carter loves looking at this picture!
Breakfast on the balcony overlooking the beach
(This makes breakfast in our kitchen at home seem lacking)
Snack time for the kids!
Dawson and I caught this fish in the net, which was a fairly large fish to net! We were excited
One more picture of these two feeding the birds.
The kids and I had a great beach trip with Lolly and Pop. I'm so happy that we decided to go. My biggest concern (the long drive) ended up not really being an issue at all, as the kids did amazing! Thank you Lolly and Pop for trading in your relaxing beach vacation for a loud, rowdy, energetic beach trip by inviting us! It was SO fun!
No comments:
Post a Comment