Beach Vacation - Day 3

The place we stayed was perfect for us. It was further down the beach towards the residential area. This made it really quiet, family friendly and low traffic. The condo had a pool, a fishing pier, a boat ramp, and a kiddie swimming area in the lagoon on the back side of the building. On the front side of the building was the gulf. There are also bike lanes all along the beach road, so we got out every morning and went for a family bike ride. Trent actually fell asleep in the bike trailer on the second day of riding. He did not look comfortable. Jesse must have a very smooth pedal stroke! :) The course we take bike riding is an out and back. On the second day of riding (third day here), we were riding into the wind the whole way out. It made for a tougher ride than the day before. Jesse had a more strenuous workout since he had the trailer behind his bike!

Here are some pics from Day 3:

Every town should have bike lanes

Spotting Wildlife off the Pier

"Dat Dat!"

Beach Vacation Day 2

White Sandy Beaches

Wave Jumpin'

Building Sand Castles

Play-doh time! (During a break from the sun)

Beach Vacation - Day 1

A week or two ago, Jesse and I decided a family vacation was in order. We really hadn't been anywhere this summer purely for vacation and we're fast approaching the "I'm not driving long distances" phase of pregnancy. So we looked around at places to stay at lakes and the gulf. The beaches are open again, but tourism is still hurting because of the oil spill. We opted to go for a long weekend to the gulf. I think this may be our first "official" family vacation. We've driven different places for holidays, weddings, etc. but I think this is the first trip as a family of 3 without any other agendas attached.

The weather has been beautiful - hot and sunny. We arrived at the beach around lunchtime and went to my favorite restaurant in town. It's no frills but I LOVE their fried crab claw plate. They give you a ton of fried crab claws, french fries, and cole slaw. They throw in a few hush puppies too, but I normally pass those along to TJ or Jesse. It's a beach staple. I can't be in town without eating there at least once.

Next up, we hit the beach! Trent went to the beach last year when he was about 5 months old. You may remember the post from here. It was fun to show him the sand and the water but he wasn't really moving around much at that point. Now at 17 months, he's a full speed ball of energy. He played in the sand, played in the water, ran around the beach, chased waves with Daddy... It was so much fun to see what a difference a year makes!

Checking out the Toys

Love the wind blown hair!

Come join us!

Wet toes in the sand

Beach Lover at Heart

Surviving Summer

It is SO hot this time of year. We just finished our hottest July on record and traditionally, August is even worse than July. Temperatures have been right around 100 for several weeks, heat indexes have brought it into the 105 - 110 degree range. I love summer. I really do. But in the deep south, real summer can start in May and go on well into September. And it's not a "dry heat," it is a sticky, humid, sweat sitting still heat.

To best describe it to my friends and family in the Midwest Tundra, it's comparable to the feeling you get midwinter when you are just plain tired of cold and snow and ready for spring (except here it's the opposite.) I'm looking forward to the day where I actually consider putting on a shirt with sleeves. The thought of wearing jeans almost makes me giddy!

We can't be couped up inside all summer long in the air conditioning. It would drive me (and Trent) absolutely nuts. So we still continue to go on walks, play outside, etc. Thankfully, my inlaws and the YMCA we belong to have pools. So at least a couple of times a week, we go swimming! And the pool season is Looong. Last year, I think my inlaws had their pool open April through October. So here's to surviving the rest of summer!

Examining

If you look closely, it's a 21 week baby bump!

Chatty

Floating with Daddy

Plenty of Peaches

Most people have heard of the Georgia Peach. But if you want my honest opinion, the Alabama peach tastes even better! They are delicious and in season from May through August. This past week, Jesse's parents visited some friends of theirs and came home with bags of peaches. I LOVE peaches, but when they're in such abundance, they go bad before you can eat them all! So I went into overdrive finding ways to use them up for later. The outcome: We had jars of peach freezer jam, a container of homemade peach ice cream, two loaves of peach bread (kind of like banana bread but with peaches instead), and two peach crisps. I threatened to make peach soup, but Jesse and Trent devoured the remainder of the peaches before I had the chance! Sweets don't stand a chance in our house. Both crisps are already gone!

Happy Independence Day!

Fireworks!

We had a fun filled 4th of July. We went to dinner with some friends at their country club. The club puts on a great fireworks show on the driving range of the golf course. So we ate some yummy food, enjoyed the company of good friends, and then headed out to our blankets on the green. Trent LOVED being on a golf course. He was excited that he could run forever in any direction. Once it got dark, the firework show began. He was a little unsure at first and attempted to army crawl away from the action, but eventually he snuggled up in Mama's lap and enjoyed the show. We thought he did pretty well for his first fireworks show!

Dinner Time

Playing on the Golf Course

Freedom!!!

Hat Wars

The hat wars have begun! Anyone who has lived in the deep south knows that summer is not just hot, it's ridiculously hot. The sun is brighter and more direct so sunscreen is a must from Spring to Fall. Hats and sunglasses are a necessity. Visit us in August and you will wholeheartedly agree. Plus, a large portion of our time is spent between a local lake, Grandma and Grandpa Keller's pool and Grandma and Grandpa Reiersen's lake. The majority of our summer is spent in the direct sun. My beautiful child is a fair skinned little boy. Last summer, he did great keeping a hat and sunglasses on his head. He went swimming for the first time at three months and didn't get a hint of a sunburn until October. Now that he's much more mobile and independent, he's not interested in the hat. He constantly takes it off. A friend of mine enforces the rule that if you want to play outside, you have to wear a hat (her father in law died of melanoma). I love that rule. But reasoning with 13 month old is not always easy. So right now we're trying the persistence method. He takes it off, I put it on, over and over and over again. It seems to be paying off. We were at a park playdate today and he actually kept in on for periods of time before pulling it off!