Lots of Fun in the Sun (and Rain)

We had a great vacation! We did all of our favorite things: watched the Harbour Town fireworks from our deck, drank, played in the waves, ate, built sandcastles, drank, flew kites, ate, swam at the pool, read books, drank, posed for the family beach portraits, got our arms and faces painted, ate, rode bikes, drank, rode horses, ate, ate ice cream at South Beach Marina, watched TV and played video games, and just for good measure, we ate and drank a whole lot more! Do you see a pattern here?!?! Well, I brought home the 5 extra lbs to prove that we ate well!

So here is a pictorial recap:

Our beach house is across a sound from the Harbour Town Lighthouse and is the perfect location to watch the 4th of July fireworks.


A little post-fireworks fun with Glo-Sticks! Great idea, Daddy!


Jack is really into Star Wars right now. So here we have an epic battle between two noble Jedi Knights and the evil Daddy Vader.


Playing in the waves....


...and in the shallow pools at low tide.


This year, Jack was learning to ride the waves on his boogie board.

I have waited for this day, the day my child would learn to ride the waves, for a long time. One of my favorite childhood beach memories is of my Dad and I riding the waves right before a storm came in. That day the waves were huge and it was FUN! I can still hear my Dad laughing as he sat behind me on the raft.

Body art compliments of the Salty Dog at South Beach Marina.


The boys each got to ride a horse at Lawton Stables.

This was Will's first time to ride a horse, and he was so proud to ride Chicken Nugget!


Jack is an old pro at riding the horses and enjoyed his turn on Cookie.

This was the first year for as long as I can remember that we had a significant amount of rain. It rained everyday, but not enough for the day to be a washout and the rain did help to keep the temperatures pleasant. During the rain time, the kids would read, watch TV, play with toys, and play in the awesome tent Granddaddy built.


As a little girl, my grandmother taught me, Matt and Laura to make 'drip castles'. And now our children, Grandmother's great-grandchildren, are carrying on the tradition. Here is their work:



We had a wonderful time, which begs the question...why do vacation days go by so much faster than regular days?