This year Gram very generously gave her spot at our annual beach trip to Daddy. Since we have been living with Gram and Grumps all summer during our renovation, we had spent a lot of time with them, and Gram thought it would be fun to get away with just our little family for a week. (It also left Gram with a quiet house!)
We usually only vacation together on our Disney trip each year, so it was SUCH a treat to have a more relaxing time at the beach. Gram supplied us with a condo and a meals/entertainment budget for the week- we could not be more lucky to have her!
We did a wonderful job of balancing activity with complete laziness. The vacation lasted a full week, and each day was perfect.
Some of our favorites memories included our annual trip to the water pack on Jekyll Island. Daddy loves a water park, and this spot is straight out of the 1970s. Tuttle and Maggie could not get enough of the water slides and wave pool. Even Jacob went down one of the big water slides and insisted on doing it again. And again. And again. I did not risk taking my camera, but everyone left happy, exhausted, and ready to devour some food at Southern Soul BBQ.
Another hit was our family day at Jekyll Island that started with bike rides in a fun bike contraption for the whole family. It was a lot of work (mostly for Jay), but we all loved exploring the island and checking out all the beautiful buildings. Our next stop was putt putt golfing, a first for the kids. It quickly turned into a healthy competition between Daddy and me. It was so close across all 18 holes, but Daddy came out victorious in the end. We wrapped up the day with lunch at the harbor. The crab cakes were one of my favorite meals all week.
Jay is 100% a pool person, but he was a good sport visiting the ocean a few times. The kids spent their time building sand castles, searching for crabs, and flying a kite with Daddy. Both times we went the water was at low tide, so we ventured out onto the sand bars. Jacob loved pointing out each and every fish and hermit crab that had gotten traps in the little wade pools. :)
I think we swam at the condo pool almost everyday. Remarkably on the first day Jacob became confident with his Puddle Jumper floatie and spent the rest of the week completely independent in the pool. He loved jumping in and swimming to the ladder. Maggie has also become much stronger in the water. She is sad that swim lessons are coming to an end.
One of the biggest highlights of the week was Tuttle fishing at the pier with Daddy. They left early one morning to get supplies, and we met them there a few hours later. I had prepared Tuttle that he may not catch anything and not to be disappointed. He caught THREE fish, including one of his very last try. What a fun experience at the beach!
We ate one meal out a day, and I am obsessed with beach outfits, so this was my time to shine. While Maggie and Tuttle would tolerate my pictures, Jacob was usually not interested in participating.
Jay and I both agreed that a beach trip needs to added to our summers from now on. When asked her favorite part of the week, Maggie told us the purchase of her tie dye tshirt complete with a whale jumping toward the moon topped her list. I am still laughing about this highlight.
A huge THANK YOU to Gram for this amazing gift this year.
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