How is it already Thursday?

Y'all somehow we are at the end of our vacation.  This week has flown by.  It's been a fun week mixed with a little crazy as vacation typically goes with little ones.  In SO MANY WAYS it has been SO much easier as Maggie is a little older.  Both girls have played hard, napped hard and slept late.  Other than our first morning when they woke up at 5:45, they have typically been sleeping till 8 or a little later. 

Both girls love the beach.  Caroline loves the ocean, Maggie prefers "tad pools" to the actual ocean waves.  They have enjoyed collecting shells and looking for sharks teeth.  We've built sandcastles, searched tide pools and taken long walks.  I love that the beaches are pretty much empty and the kids can walk a pretty good distance without us being right with them.  This week has been such a gift and we cherish these memories!!

 Caroline and Jack worked super hard to create this little pool area for Maggie since she isn't a fan of the waves.

 Caroline rescued a dragon fly.

 Pool fun with Daddy

 This is a RARE sight...Uncle Greg sitting down!  This is one of the hardest working men I know.  He is constantly serving us while on vacation...putting up tents, bringing our chairs down to the beach, bringing us drinks...you name, he thinks of it.  :-)

Another gorgeous day!

The Lord gave us another gorgeous day today!!  We stayed on the beach for several hours and could have stayed longer but we had a birthday to celebrate!  Happy 29th birthday Aunt Tomi Jean!!  When we walked on the beach this morning we were the only ones on the beach.  It seemed strange...as the day went on we had a few more families here and there but for the most part we had the beach to ourselves!  Maggie was so excited when the 'tad' pools finally appeared as those are her favorite to play in.  Caroline was excited to catch a small fish in the tide pools.  So thankful for these beach days with our family!

Maggie wasn't actually mad...I asked her to look at me while she was digging in the sand...I'm thinking wasn't too happy to stop what she was doing... :-) 

 

 Happy birthday Aunt Tomi Jean!!  We love you so much and we are so thankful for you!  We loved celebrating you tonight!

A sunny, sunshiney, day!

 When we went to bed last night, the forecast for today showed rain most of the morning and clearing out by the afternoon.  We were SO excited to wake up to sunshine this morning!  It was a gorgeous day!  We were on the beach by 10:30 and loved every minute of it!  The current was strong and made me nervous.  Thankfully the tide pools were nice and deep and the girls loved it.  We played at the pool for a while before heading in for showers and a trip to the Hammock Shops.  No matter how many times we go, it's always a fun time!  After shopping we met Mom to pick up a cake and enjoy a cup of ice cream.  Tonight we will eat dinner here and go to bed early.  Vacation is exhausting for everyone!! :-)

 Uncle Greg pulled out his kite today, it was a great day for flying kites.

The sun will come out...tomorrow...we hope!

Today was rainy from the very beginning...like pouring so hard at one point that we couldn't see the houses across the street.  Tomorrow looks pretty decent after lunch so here's to a lazy day filled with puzzles, games and naps! 

Visiting Cousin Tammy

My mom's first cousin Tammy, who lives in Arkansas, is here for the week for vacation.  We met up with her family this morning to visit.  Maggie was on her best behavior and has a new best frand! :-)

Sunday FUNday

Thankfully the girls slept a little later this morning! :-)  However, we were still the first ones up at the house so we headed over to the beach again.  I loved drinking coffee and watching the girls play!  After playing, we went home, got breakfast and headed back to the beach.  Unfortunately the rain moved in this afternoon so we didn't get as much time on the beach.  However, it was still a fun day!

If you click on this picture, Maggie is pointing her finger, telling Gracie something...if only we knew what she was saying.

We walked down the beach checking out fun finds in the tidal pools.  (Another annual vacay traditions)

Somebody's daddy was fishing on the beach.  He caught 3 baby sharks and put them in a tide pool.  It was pretty neat to watch but still made me super nervous!

We found these tiny starfish as well as a few blue crabs.

Tonight we worked on puzzles and played games.  The weather forecast wasn't too pretty for the week so we brought several games to play...thankful for the extra fun activities.

A FULL Day in the Sun and Sand

The girls were SO EXCITED to be at the beach that they woke up at 5:45 AM!!!!!!!!!!  We did manage to talk them into watching a movie on the Kindle until 6:30.  Shortly after 7 the girls and I were on the beach playing.  We pretty much had the entire beach to ourselves...imagine that! :-)

We spent about an hour and a half on the beach.  We headed back to help with breakfast.  Shortly after breakfast we put on swimsuits and headed to the beach.  It was a gorgeous day!!  It was low tide when we got on the beach therefore we had FANTASTIC tidal pools for the girls to play in.  Maggie LOVED them!  That's pretty much all she played in all day!

Caroline spent the majority of her time in the actual ocean, jumping waves and riding her boogie board.  She even made a friend who rode the waves with her.  Maggie preferred to play in the tidal pools on her boogie board.

We headed in about 4 hours later for lunch and some rest time.  Caroline fell asleep but Maggie didn't.  After about an hour nap we woke Caroline up and headed to the pool.  They had a blast playing with Gracie in the pool.

We came home and showered and got ready for dinner.  Maggie wanted to watch my phone while I was working on dinner.  At 6:45 I came to tell her dinner was ready and she was OUT!  I moved her to her bed after dinner and she rolled right over and kept on sleeping!  

**UPDATE-She slept until 7:15 Sunday morning!**