More Beach Vaca: Part Two

I'm back with the second half of our annual beach vaca.  Just when you thought you had seen it all, I have even more pictures to share.  Imagine that!

Mid week and on proved to be just as much fun in the sun as the first.  Daddy made a quick trip up the coast to snag our favorite Grammy in the world.  She spent the day and night with us and we were all delighted to have her company. 

In lieu of the beach, we spent the morning at the pool.  We found it easier for the kids and Grammy to enjoy one another that way.  And mind you, my kids have never complained about a pool day.

Come evening, we dined on fresh boiled shrimp and crab legs from Goat Feathers.  It was a fave take-out for us the entire week. I never get tired of Gulf seafood.  But the best part was celebrating Grammy's birthday.  She got a few extra kiddo hugs and birthday wishes from the 10 and under crowd.  It was super sweet.

As if birthday cake weren't enough for my sweeties, they somehow talked us into an evening bike ride for snowcones.  They knew they had me at bike ride....I love beach cruising.

The next morning was spent back on the beach.  Since the boys were officially well skilled in paddle boarding after their camp excursion, we decided to rent a couple for the day.  The Gulf had calmed down significantly and it was an ideal day to hop aboard.

If the boys weren't out there themselves, they were towing one of the littles around with them.  I even gave it a whirl.  I could definitely use a day at camp myself, but I have to admit it was great fun.

You know I can't leave the beach without a few pictures of my kiddos in something other than their suits. It may not be their favorite part of the trip, but they can't even deny that they love the memories this little tradition holds.

Nearing sunset, I grabbed my crew and we headed out to the beach once more.  They just so happened to be particularly spritely this year and hardly grumbled.

And of course, they always hold me to that good ol' Sugar Shack reward at the end.

The girls spent the last day sporting their new "boo-kinis" that they sweetly conjured me into buying. I was pretty anti-bikini there for a while until I couldn't quite explain to myself why.  So here they are {after hours in the dressing room picking out just the right ones}.

I love those white tummies.

We went out with a bang our last night in Rosemary.  We started off by walking beach side to Crabby Steves for dinner.  It sounds like a better idea than it actually was {insert lots of "I'm hot" and a pinch of whining here}.

But once we got this crew seated and fed we were back in good shape.  Not to mention the Mocktails were a huge hit.

An adventurous dessert was even included.  Señor Frogs anyone?

From there we hopped over a couple beaches to meet our friends for a beach bonfire night.  We were so grateful to be included and had the best time.  Alison and I made a quick run up to Dollar General {you know I'll go there any excuse I get} to grab anything we could find that would glow.  

We were all well entertained with s'mores, drinks, and munchies.

Come night fall we enjoyed all our glowing goodies and went crabbing.  Call me crazy, but the crabbing may have been my favorite part of the whole trip.

And then just like that, our beautiful beach vacation came to an end.  Back to reality and the countdown to school.

Until next summer sugar white sands...

Beach Vacation: Part One

We discovered last year, that the beach is always better with friends.  So we did our best to emulate it this year.

For our annual vacation to Rosemary Beach, Jack brought his dear friend B {whom I adore}, we stayed a few houses down from some family friend besties, and we were one beach over from another family favorite.  Everyday was a bit of party.

For the simple fact of not drowning you in photos, I split our family vaca into two posts.  There's really no other way to share a week at the beach without a bazillion pictures.  It was a lot of sand,  sunshine, and swimming.  Please excuse the redundancy, but I just can't help snatching up hundreds of photos of my kiddos...they are just so darn cute at the beach!

We arrived Saturday afternoon and used that day to get settled.  We moved into my favorite Rosemary Beach Cottage {partly for the fact that they allow dogs & surely you know how much I adore my Cosby}.  The kids got fitted for bikes and I made the dreaded grocery store trip.  

By Sunday morning we were fully stocked, unpacked and ready to hit the sugar white sands.

I happened to throw these cute donut rings in my cart at the Dollar Store the day before we departed.  They were a huge hit and well worth the whole $4 I spent.

Of course my thriftiness was completely thrown out the window when I got talked into these monster floats.  Both were from a boutique in Rosemary so as you can imagine, they weren't quite the steal the others were.

None the less, they served as great entertainment and a perfect way to ride the waves.  That first day the Gulf was mighty choppy and I like to think it was a necessity.

Day two was rainy, drizzly and full of clouds.  Luckily it was the only day like this.  Not the best way to start off the week.  But, we made the best of it.  The boys headed off to some Rocket Arcade & Bowling joint while us girls hopped from beach to beach hitting all the cutesie shops.

After lunch and popsicles we headed back to our beach houses with a whole bunch of loot we really didn't need {but so fun to have}. By this point the clouds were parting and we were able to spend the late afternoon/evening at the pool.

This would be the first purchase that we "really didn't need, but was oh so fun".  As soon as the sun peeked out, this little gal was slipping into her new mermaid "boo-kini" and at the pool.

And just when you thought you had seen it all...there's a third piece.  I know, I can hardly deal myself...so adorably hilarious.

Since we had missed an entire beach day, we were raring to go by the third morning.  The 7 and under crowd spent the entire first half of the day in the sand and waves.

We even bumped into Lucy's "bestest friend" from pre-school last year.  These girls were inseparable until K's vacation was up.  I mean talk about a vacation full of FRIENDS!

As I mentioned, the 7 and under crowd hung at the beach.   Meanwhile the big boys attended Paddle Boarding Camp.  I dropped them off at inlet to meet their instructors and get their gear.  From there they spent the next 4 hours paddle boarding up the inlet and onto the Gulf.

The late afternoon was sweltering hot {as it should be at the beach}.  We roamed around Rosemary while we waited for the Art In The Park to begin.  We stopped and made a wish on the "Wishing Ribbon".  I thought this was the sweetest little idea, as did all my kiddos.

Maggie even made one to hang in her room when we returned home. She has all of her guests make wishes when they come to visit.  I adore the soft side of her.

After wishes, it was time to walk to the park.  It was still a scorcher, but little Lu made it all worth it {stay tuned}.

The kids got their hair airbrushed {who even knew this was a thing?}, did a little spin art, and made sand art bottles.

But nothing compared to Lucy singing karaoke.  It was worth every one of those 100 degrees of heat.

If only my pictures could sing, you could see what I am talking about.

This little one chose Taylor Swift's White Horse and completely rocked it in front of a crowd.  I get so giddy over happenings like this, remember, she is my first performer and I absolutely eat it up!

Not a bad way to end the first half of our beach vacation.  Part two soon...