Our Week at the Beach

 We just got home this morning from a fabulous week at the beach with the whole Walker family. Due to the high volume of pictures, I'll just narrate as we go...

Preparing for the glaring sun with some cool shades the week before we left.

We couldn't stop in Conway without a visit with Mopsy and Popsy and a trip to ZaZa's for salad and pizza.

Our 12 hour car ride got pretty interesting. We woke Reese up at 4am, and she didn't go back to sleep until 3:02pm. She was exceptional given the circumstances.

Gran and all of her girl grands, and then the two boys jumped in for a quick pic.

First pool time of the season. 

We stayed in an incredible house which was part of a small community in Seagrove, Florida. It was PERFECT for us.

 Just relaxing on the beach.

Momma and Reese. We had so many sweet moments this week, and we made a ton of great memories as a family.

Let's do this! She loved the ocean the first few days but then got a little hesitant of the waves. 

The water was the clearest I've ever seen it. It was beautiful.

A little "me time" on the beach during one of Reese's naps.

Getting ready to go see a play on the Seaside great lawn.

The Walker Brothers.

Our girl LOVES jewelry, so she borrows my necklaces and bracelets quite often.

The Walker Sisters.

Reason #1 I don't dry my hair at the beach: It goes CRAZY after 2 minutes in the humidity. This picture does NOT do my hair justice.

My little girl inherited my hair, but at her age, the curls are adorable and style very cutely on their own.

The beauty of going on a trip with a group: TWO date days with my man. 

Date #1: Great Southern for breakfast...

...and a trip through Seaside Farmers Market.

Swim lessons with Daddy and Gran. 

The big girls watching the play with our babysitter Charley.

The beauty of bringing a babysitter along on the trip: Date nights with adults only.

The Red Bar in Grayton Beach. I tried not to insist on this restaurant, but I'm SO glad it was the chosen place to eat. One of my all-time favorites.

Soaking up time with my sisters-in-law and talking theology and education.

Reese was an EARLY riser all week. How about a 4:30 wake up? That morning we took the two early risers to Publix when it opened at 7 for a "mid-morning" outing.

Reese and Daddy LOVED their pool time together. And I LOVED watching them every day. Definitely one of my favorite parts of the trip.

Attempts at some family portraits. Reese had just busted her lip, and her bedtime had come and gone, so I would consider these pictures successful. However, she wouldn't let us put her down to get some pictures of just her in her sweet dress. Oh well.

Ice Cream date at Heavenly in Seaside.

Best time of the day for beach play? 5:30-7pm. Perfection in my book.

Walking the trails at Watercolor.

Starting our 6pm beach time. Hint: Feed kids at 5, play for a couple of hours at the beach, and then put babies to bed before adults eat dinner. Big kids play upstairs during adult dinner. So glad I have some smart sisters-in-law to figure this one out for us.

Hanging by the pool. It was a huge bonus to have our pool within 20 seconds of our front door and on the way to the beach. Plus, the pool water was the perfect temp. MAJOR plus.

Date day #2 with my husband: A trip to Alys Beach and Rosemary Beach with a stop at George's in Alys for lunch. Delicious. I had the salmon BLT wrap with red rice and lemon quinoa, and of course I chose the warm chocolate goo with vanilla gelato for dessert.

More from our walk at Watercolor.

7pm.

Last night in Seaside. We all ate from the food carts, shopped, and watched The Muppets on the lawn. 

The trip really was so great and relaxing, and we are so blessed to have a family who loves each other the way mine does. Each couple made dinner one night, and then we had two date nights without babies/big kids. Plus, each couple got two date days. Wes, Reese, and I took two afternoons to go and do a few things as a family, and I loved our little family time. We outlet shopped, shopped Seaside, and got ice cream. Reese loved saying all of her cousins' names, taking everyone his or her blanket, cup, shoes, etc., and dancing to any music that was being played in the house. Now that we are back home, we are trying to catch up on laundry and get the house back in shape to show it tomorrow afternoon after I teach VBS all morning. It's going to be a great and crazy week, and if I have time, I'll do some research and planning for our next beach trip.