Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Seaside with the Brantley's

For Memorial Day weekend, Clay, George and I headed down to Seaside for 6 days.  We met one of my best friends from college, Mandy, and her family.  George was in absolute heaven to have some older boys to play with.  I'm not sure he's ever played so hard in his whole life!

We got to Seaside on Friday of Memorial Day weekend, and the weather could not have been more perfect.  The ocean was crystal clear, and as calm as a lake.  George could not handle the excitement that he was able to just walk out into the ocean and play and splash around with the big kids.  

My mom gave George this little Seaside hat after our last trip down there.  He finally embraced the hat, and I was so happy about it.  I mean, is there anything cuter than a little boy in a baseball hat?

George and Fisher were riding buddies for the week.  Whether they were in the wagon or the bike trailer, they were always having some good times.  I just wish I spoke their language to know what was going on back there.

On our second night we rode bikes to Seagrove Market and had the yummiest dinner!  The kids were pretty tired and hungry, but everyone loved some delicious seafood for dinner.  There's just something so great about not having to drive/park/drive home from dinner.  Riding bikes (even when you're 29 weeks pregnant) is one of the most relaxing things to me.

Day 2 on the beach!  Notice George is still loving the hat.

Fisher, Mandy, Adam, and Harrison

The whole gang on the beach!  Seriously- the weather could not have been better.

Fisher could hardly contain his excitement in the mornings, so he usually gave us a pretty early wake-up call.  I loved that our house had a front porch swing.  These boys loved playing on the swing while Mandy, Adam, Clay and me would eat breakfast.  We ate every meal outside, and it was so fun to be able to watch them play outside (where they really wanted to be anyways) while we could leisurely eat whatever meal we were enjoying at the moment.

We had dinner at Great Southern Cafe on our third night (we had the early bird special that night) and then played in the ampitheatre in the heart of Seaside.  If you haven't been to Seaside, the ampitheatre is pretty much a gathering place for every. single. kid. within a ten-mile radius.  George picked up a lot of bravery from Harrison and Fisher- so he had a big time running all over the place.

Family pic after dinner and before ice cream!

On Monday, we decided that we'd rent some boats.  Since it would be virtually impossible for me to get up on a Yolo Board (see pic below), Clay and I opted for a sea kayak.  George was actually obsessed with the 'blue boat in the ocean'.  We took him out 4 times for about 45 minutes each time.  Clay was an expert-paddler, even in spite of the rough water.  We never tipped over, just lots of waves crashing in our faces :)  But seriously, those are some of my favorite family memories of all-time.  George talked our ears off while we were out there.  He loved seeing the birds, airplanes and waves.  It was the best money we spent the whole trip!

George just played at the shoreline while we figured out the boat situation.

...then he had fun figuring out the boat itself.

Here's the Yolo Board.  Clay took it out once and was able to get up and ride a few waves!  I wasn't brave enough to try it...maybe when I'm not huge and pregnant.

Suiting up to head out in the blue boat!

Here's Clay taking the Yolo Board out.  

At some point, we took a break from the boats and Clay, being the greatest dad of all time, let the little boys just tackle him over and over in the sand.  Seriously, I could not do a beach trip without him.  He is the most hands-on dad I've ever seen.  He makes going on trips so relaxing for me, and nothing gives me greater joy than watching George light up around his dad.

Monday night we boiled shrimp for dinner, and then watched the sunset from the top deck of our house.  It was the most perfect day I can remember at the beach.

Tuesday was Mandy's birthday, so we picked up dinner from the food trucks around Seaside and had a picnic in the park with everyone.  Here is Fisher taking over the entire picnic blanket.  For being such a little kid, no one fought him for any blanket space :)

Happy 31st Birthday, Mandy!  All the kids stopped playing just long enough for cupcakes.  In this picture, Fisher had already started singing 'Happy Birthday'.  We couldn't quite pick up his unique tune :)

George is loving his cupcake!

Roomies for life!

Wednesday morning, it was time to pack up and head home.  Mandy and I took the boys to the pool while Adam and Clay packed up the cars.  These boys had so much fun together.  George and I went to the pool today (June 4), and when we got out there, he started calling for Fisher and Harrison.  I guess he just assumed that they would be at any pool we go to.

Everyone was pretty tired at this point, but I had to include this pic of Mandy, me, and our boys!

One last family pic!

It took about 30 minutes, but George was absolutely sacked out during the drive home.  I think he had the time of his life, and I was glad to get to be a part of it all.


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