Beach Trip 2012 {Part 1}

Well we are back from the beach and just trying to get settled back in. Things have been so busy since we've been home that I haven't even had a chance to clean my house blog. I have a ton of pictures to share but haven't loaded all of my pictures from my "big girl camera" on the computer yet due to storage issues (again). So I thought I'd start out by posting my phone pictures, and do a separate post (eventually) with the other pictures. I complicate everything.

My aunt and uncle have a house on the beach in Cape San Blas, Florida, that they rent out the part of the year they don't live in it. Lucky for us, it was available one week so they were kind enough to let us use it. Thanks so much Aunt Nan & Uncle Jack! We absolutely love it there.

As soon as we got there, Manny was ready to hit the beach. I think it was due to the fact that he had been cooped up in the car for so long and just wanted to run free. He was indifferent about the ocean, but it grew on him and he loved splashing in the water.

Manny pretty much walked around like a big shot. He loves being outside so life is always good when he is.

Here is sweet Maeva girl...isn't she a little bathing beauty?! My friend Ashley gave her this suit and with it being size 6 months, I wasn't sure she'd get to wear it this year. Turns out we could barely squeeze her into it. :) Thank you Ashley & Lily for this cute little thing! 

We spent a lot of time just hanging out on the beach and playing in the sand.

My parents and my sister and her family also came. The grandkids all adore my parents, and it was awesome having extra hands to help with all the kiddos. Thanks mom & dad for making this vacation feel like an actual vacation. Not so sure you'd say the same....but we do appreciate all your help! :)

Maeva loved being outside and would sleep forever in her little swing. It was so relaxing with the nice ocean breeze. In the bottom left picture you can *kind of* see a dolphin fin. They always have lots of dolphins swimming in front of their place. So fun to just watch them swim. The top right picture is my mom and the kids at an ice cream shop down the road. They took a walk there to burn some energy, and I would definitely say that goal was accomplished. :)

It actually rained quite a bit when we were there, but most days it cleared up. On Thursday that wasn't the case, so we went and did some shopping and sight-seeing at a cute town nearby.

Of course when we tried to take a family picture, guess who wasn't on board?

But there we go! He redeemed himself. :)

Here we are on our last day at the beach. It was pretty overcast at this point but still nice to just sit out and relax. I managed to read 1.5 books while we were there, so I'll take that as a win!

On Saturday, it was time for the dreaded drive home. Actually both kids did FAR better than I ever could have hoped. SO thankful for that!!

We stopped in Pensacola Beach for lunch. We lived there for a little bit when I was in high school, and that place has awesome memories for us!

We stayed the night in Jackson, Mississippi, and drove the rest of the way home on Sunday. We stopped to eat at Cracker Barrel, and Manny just HAD to have this $10 plastic horse. I was a sucker and let him get it, but I've never seen him happier. He even held on to it the whole time he was coloring. We call him Little Red after a super annoying YouTube video of a horse song that Manny loves to watch over and over and over. And over.

That wraps it up for my phone pictures! I'll post some more pictures from my actual camera eventually.

Happy Wednesday!