We spent last week at the Beach. We stayed in the same Condo on Okaloosa Island we stayed in two years ago. We had the best week playing, resting, and just having fun. We spent almost every morning at the beach. We'd play in the sand for a couple of hours, then head over to the pool before going back to our Condo for lunch. I had such a fun time playing with my boys who are both (especially Samuel) sand lovers.
We hit up the beach for the first time Saturday afternoon after we had checked in, napped (Someone in our family threw a huge fit in the hotel room, so we ended up driving most of the night instead of sleeping at the hotel), and unpacked. The boys were SO excited to play at the beach.
Elisabeth wasn't a huge fan. She was okay in the sand, but the waves and water scared her. This was actually the only time she played at the beach during our vacation. Since she naps in the mornings anyway, we took turns staying with her, while everyone else played at the beach.
The boys spent a little time in the water, but most of the week was spent playing in the sand.
We didn't take many sand toys on Saturday afternoon, but the boys loaded up the rest of the mornings to head down.
We built sand castles.
Nathan built a huge sand mountain. He was so particular about no one messing with it.
Then when it was finished we all had fun "destroying" it!
We also buried each other in the sand
We spent a lot of time making "snow cones" in the sand. We'd fill a cup with sand, pour some "syrup" (water) on top and sprinkle more sand over it. We were constantly filling up buckets with water, so the boys could have wet sand to make sand castles and syrup for snow cones. Samuel loved crushing the sand castles we built. (Okay, I loved it too).
Matt thought it would be fun to rent a kayak one morning and take the boys out. I was a little skeptical, but it was so much fun. I'm glad he pushes me out of my comfort zone sometimes!
The boys had a blast. They loved looking for fish and hitting waves. Samuel told us he saw an octopus while he was in the boat (No one else saw it though...)
The boys and my parents went for donuts one morning, so we took Elisabeth on a walk along the beach. She didn't mind being carried, but she had a death grip on us afraid we were going to set her in the water.
On our last morning, Nathan waded out with me and Matt into the waves, and we had fun jumping around in the waves. The tide also had created a little "sand cliff" down the beach, and Nathan wanted to play on it. He climbed up and slid down it. He said it was his favorite part of the vacation (Glad I ran back to our bag to grab the camera since it ended up being his favorite part).
I just had the greatest time playing with them. We had uninterrupted time every morning to laugh and play and make memories. The beach just brings out the kid in people I think, and I had as much fun building sand castles, jumping on sand mountains and making snow cones as they did. One day when we were playing, Samuel exclaimed "We having so much fun at the beach!" Yes, Baby we sure did!
I'd sneak away sometimes in the afternoons and read on the beach with my feet in the sand, and Matt and I got a little time a couple of afternoons to play in the water and jump in the waves. We are a beach loving family for sure. It's so fun to play and act like kids, and also to relax and enjoy the tranquility and beauty of God's creation. We can't wait to go back!
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