Memorial Day Weekend / The Beach

For the second year in a row, we spent Memorial Day Weekend down in Seagrove Beach with our good friends from Chattanooga, the S family. (Last year's recap here.) Zach & Robbie went to high school together and became close friends when Zach & Robbie both moved back to Chattanooga after graduating from college. Zach's wife Kimberly & I became good friends once Robbie & I started dating. Kimberly & Zach had their daughter Addie 8 months after we had Jake, so Jake & Addie have grown up together since they were babies, and we already have their wedding all planned out. They also have a son Tyler who is 18 months old. We had a full & fun house!

We all got into town Thursday evening.

Jake & Addie on the bunk beds

This is what they felt like after being in the car.
Jake for 4 hours & Addie for 7 hours.

Day 1

The weather was absolutely perfect. It was hot, but not too hot. The water was clear & beautiful. There were waves, but they were not too big or rough. We headed to the beach pretty early. (And I have to give a shout out to the Zach & Robbie. Early every morning, to get a good spot, they would lug the canopy and beach chairs down to the beach. And every evening, they would lug all of our stuff back, so all us girls had to drag back were our hot, tired complaining kids. I cannot thank the guys enough for dragging all of our stuff to & from the beach everyday. Thank you thank you thank you!) We enjoyed a full day at the beach and then headed back to the house late afternoon, so we could get ready for dinner. We ate dinner in Seaside at Great Southern, which is always great. Afterwards, we had ice cream and then waited for the outdoor movie to start in the Seaside Amphitheater. Halfway through the movie (Monster's University), I noticed that pretty much everyone on our blanket was asleep or falling asleep, so we all headed back to the condo. Day 1 was a great success!

Jake LOVED the ocean

Ice cream after dinner

Daddy & Jake
Getting ready for the movie to start

Burning off energy by running around

Mommy & Jake

Jake practicing his big brother skills on Tyler

Sister & Brother - Addie & Tyler

The S Family

Our family

Day 2

We knew that we would be staying in for dinner on night 2, so we allowed ourselves to get a later start that day. We headed down to the beach late morning and stayed until sunset. Not only does the gulf coast have the most beautiful beaches in the US, but also such beautiful sunsets. It's one of my most favorite things. Day 2 also brought the boogie board. Jake has been talking about wanting a boogie board for weeks. While I was at Target, picking up stuff for our beach trip, I picked up what I thought was a boogie board. It was only $3, looked small enough for Jake and had spiderman on it, so I thought it was perfect! I surprised Jake with it the night before we left and he was so excited. Then on Day 1 we get out to the beach and Jake runs down to the waves to try out his new boogie board, and Robbie informs us that is a kickboard, not a boogie board. That is why it was so small (& cheap). Oops. So Saturday morning, Robbie got up early & went to buy Jake an actual boogie board. Jake was beyond thrilled and loved it. He said it was his favorite part of the beach. That night, we cooked out seafood. The guys managed the grill, the kids played outside & Kimberly & I watched from above on the balcony. 

Tyler & Jake playing ball

Jake with his new boogie board

First try on the boogie board

First wipe out

We were really proud of Jake
He didn't get upset or cry when he wiped out
He wanted to get back on & try again

Success!

We took a little break from the beach to swim at the pool

Playing before dinner

Day 3

On Day 3, we were back out on the beach bright & early. There were no waves that day, so Jake wasn't able to ride his boogie board (probably much to Robbie's relief, as Robbie was the one who got stuck having to help him every time.) But we all still had lots of fun. That evening, we took some family pictures and then headed into Rosemary Beach. We walked around for a little bit, and that is when the tragedy happened. Jake fell & scrapped his knees. Jake can get knocked down hard, pop up & say he's fine. But a little paper cut can completely send him over the edge and to his death bed. Jake's fall really wasn't that bad, he just can't walk in flip flops, but I keep trying to make him wear them. He was crying because he fell, but then he looked down & noticed the skin on his knees had been scrapped, so there was a little blood. Complete, full meltdown. You would have thought someone cut off his legs. For an hour, he limped along, crying & complaining. (And no, I'm not that mean of a parent, but it really wasn't that bad.) We decided to eat at Summer Kitchen (which I would not recommend, it was overpriced for just okay food), which had a 30 minute wait. During the entire wait, Jake would get calmed down, but then as soon as he saw his knees, he would get upset again. He kept saying things like "oh, my beautiful knees are ruined". Finally Rob took him to get a Popsicle, to try to get his mind off of it. It worked & Jake calmed down. But he still continued to talk about it endlessly to anyone who would listen. After dinner, on our walk back, we enjoyed fireworks from Alys Beach and then finished with ice cream. It was a perfect ending, to not only a perfect day, but a perfect little vacation (minus the tragedy of a pair of beautiful knees getting ruined). 

Picture for their future wedding video

Sweet friends

Picture taken by Addie

Our last beach vacation as a family of 3

I also want to give a huge thank you to my parents for letting us use the condo during one of the busiest weekends of the year! We made so many great memories and are so grateful for your generosity. 

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!