We just returned from our annual beach trip with Gram to St. Simons Island. We count down the days until this special vacation every year. Gram not only put up with a chaotic week with three kids, but she also treats us to every aspect of the visit. We are so lucky!
We made sure to eat too much at our favorites spots. Oysters are one of the main reasons I drive to the beach! We also introduced Gram to a new restaurant that we discovered at the harbor with Daddy last year in Jekyll Island. Gram and I both swore that we would not weigh for at least a week after our return home. :)
As usual one of the most popular days included Summer Waves, the Jekyll Island water park. With the location being so small, Tuttle and Maggie could venture off solo for a little while. We barely saw Tuttle the entire day! Once Maggie overcame her fear of the bigger water slides, we could not get her off! Jacob loved the double rider slides and the smaller kids' water playground area. Gram only lost Jacob once....
We quickly discovered the best time to visit the beach was around 6pm after dinner until sunset. The sand had cooled off and the sun was not beating down on us. Gram and I were actually able to sit and watch the kids swim and build in the sand while having a conversation. We are finally living the dream!
We happened to be at the beach when an amazing event occurred. What I thought were dolphins turned out to be a huge pod of pilot whales. As I was pointing out the animals to the kids from the shore, the fins got closer and closer until several of the enormous whales were beached right in front of us! Tuttle and I were able to walk knee deep in the water and touch the beautiful pilot whales before a group of spectators helped push them back out to sea. Unfortunately three of the whales did not make it, but we were not present for this sad ending. I was blown away by the community teamwork to push the stranded pilot whales to safety.
This was an experience we will never forget.
Jacob's interaction with a pelican at the pier was not so satisfying. As Jacob retells the store, "the pelican tried to eat him and he fell on his butt." In true Jacob fashion, this did not deter him from approaching him again. At that point I was going to let him learn his lesson, but Maggie begged him to leave. This is what parenting a third child looks like!
The ONLY group picture we took all week successfully had everyone looking AND smiling. That is a win in my book!
Another highlight for the week was meeting the sweetest family from Scotland. Our first encounter was at our condo pool, but we continued to see them almost everywhere we went. We exchanged addresses and phone numbers and plan to have Maggie write the girls as pen pals.
We rented a golf cart for the first time this year and cruised around the island for an hour. It was my favorite activity of the week. It ended with ice cream as most of our ventures did.
Our beach week always includes a trip to the movies. We bought tickets to the opening day of The Lion King. While it is an unpopular opinion, I did not like the new version. It just did not compare to the bright colors and fun from my childhood, plus it did not cast JTT....
Gram is the best for continuing to create these memories with my babies. Despite the sibling arguments, toddler attitude, and unbearable heat, Gram is committed to our beach adventures. We cannot wait to return next year!
We barely had time to unpack before we were packing Maggie for her first sleep-away experience at Camp Meriwether with her best friend, Annie. It is much quieter without our spunky girl at the house, but we know she is having the best time and will probably not want to come home on Wednesday.
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