Beach Bums 2012

After much consideration and debate, Andrew finally convinced me that it was a good idea to take a trip to the beach this summer.  I think I was most worried about our "expectations" and the possibility of them being crushed.  : /  The last time we took Hunter to the beach he was 13months old and totally not ready for hot sand & sun.  And although we still had a wonderful vacation, our prior expectations made the trip a little trying at times.  :)  SO I was a bit hesitant this time around.

Andrew is excellent at persuading me and his reasoning that "Hunter at 3, is much different than baby Hunter, and he'd have Daddy's full attention for playing - while Mommy relaxed & watched - and that this would be our last vacation just the three of us, before baby arrives . . ." made alot of sense.  And so once we found the Holiday Inn Resort in Panama City Beach, we ran with the idea and planned a quick 4 day get-away for just the 3 of us.

We were SO pleased with our choice.  We took turns driving through the night, allowing Hunter to sleep for almost the entire trip. For our trip back home though, we drove throughout the day, adding over 3 more hours for pit stops, traffic, and potty breaks. (afterwards we agreed night time driving was definitely the way to go for our family).  We arrived mid-morning to a clean & ready room.  

Hunter immediately fell in love with the place because he had his own special space to sleep, play, & watch cartoons.

He settled in very quickly with his toys while we unloaded.  :)

This was our first time to stay someplace besides a condo/house on the beach, but it turned out wonderfully.  It had a full fridge/freezer, microwave, and pantry that met our needs for every breakfast & lunch.

I learned a huge lesson preparing for this trip:  I should never again go grocery shopping while pregnant, hungry, emotionally drained, and dragging a 3 year old with lots of yummy suggestions.  lol  We started out with fruits & veggies and ended up with a crazy amount of additional snacks  (several I cant ever remember buying in my adult life)  Of course we picked up a bag of Hunter's new favorites - White Powdered Donuts.

So after a quick bite for lunch & mini workout to get the blood flowing after a long car ride for daddy & Hunter . . .

we headed straight for the beach!

Hunter had been anxious for weeks to use his "sand toys" at the beach rather than in his sand box.  Not a minute was wasted - he was at the "job site" and it was sand castle building time.   :)

It was a perfectly cloudy day, warm enough to enjoy the sand & water without the scorching sun beating down on us.  The steady breeze did cause for some rather large waves which made it a little too dangerous for our little man . . . but Andrew sure had a great time on the boogie board. 

It had been a long night of driving and full day of play -- so when we made a quick trip to Wal-Mart we shouldn't have been too surprised to turn back to our cart to find our precious little man like this . . . hahaha

Realizing our evening plans now consisted of returning to the hotel room for the night, we picked up some dinner & the "Hunger Games" and headed in for dinner & a movie - in pjs, in bed. . . my kind of night.  :)

First night in a long time that our little snuggler has slept anywhere but right in between us.  What is it about a sleeping child that is just so precious?  Makes my heart melt.

 After a good nights sleep, we were headed right back out to the beach.

Hunter & I enjoyed a morning of seashell hunting while daddy relaxed with a book.

Until it was time to cool off at the hotel's on site splash park.

Hunter had a BLAST

And it was a parent's dream - fully fenced, shallow waters, and comfy loungers in the sun or shade.

After a quick break & rest in the room, it was back to the beach for some serious sand play.

Late afternoon/evening is mine & Andrew's favorite time to on the beach, so we took full advantage of this opportunity, being just the three of us, to do just that.

This was the first trip where we didn't eat "out" or cook dinner "in" once during our stay.  There were several options on site including pizza & snow cone stands, a poolside grill, and a nice indoor restaurant.  We were given 3 vouchers per day for free meals off the children's menu, so for most dinners Andrew ordered at the grill and Hunter & I used the free passes.  Good food - quick service - and no need to "get ready" for dinner, which was so wonderful.

I loved watching these two play together all week.  There are times when I feel sad for Andrew, that he has to miss out on so much of Hunter's cuteness throughout the day while he's at work.  He's always so great to come home and spend quality time with him, but he still doesn't always get to see all I get too being at home with him all day (though sometimes that's not such a bad thing either - lol).  

But being away from home, work, and all those everyday responsibilities really gave him the opportunity to spend countless hours listening to the precious-ness that flows from our fully communicating 3 year old's mouth, besides sharing that continuous one-on-one attention.  Have I mentioned that our little boy cracks us up constantly with his big-boy talk?  Oh. My. Goodness. Funny.

Honestly, I think it even brought Andrew & I closer as well.  It's always wonderful sharing so much undivided time & attention together but it's really something special to enjoy & share that indescribable love for your child together.  So amazing.

Andrew said again and again throughout the week, "he is just so much fun, and hilarious . . . I genuinely LOVE spending time with him."

Of course Hunter had to be buried just like Daddy.

All this daddy play did allow for some fantastic relaxation time for mommy & baby.  Though I had a hard time concentrating & reading my book over watching the smiles & love being shared between my two boys'.  And to think we'll be adding another one soon . . .  I couldn't be more blessed.

Another wonderful feature the resort offered was daytime and nightly entertainment for adults & children.  Our second night we attended the magic show - which kept Hunter laughing continuously and us decently entertained (though I think we mostly enjoyed watching Hunter enjoy it).  Then our poor baby crashed for the 2nd night in a row, the instant the magic-man said goodnight.

One of the most wonderful things about having a daddy for a little boy . . . wrestling.

This kind of play is way too rough for this mommy and is strictly reserved as a daddy/Hunter activity in our home.  :)  (of course the grandpa's, uncles, & cousins are okay because as Hunter will say "boys can wrestle - but not girls.")

We didn't spend much time in the main pool - maybe because by the end of summer it's novelty has worn off to Hunter, unlike his mother who could float around in one all day long - lol.  And this was a gorgeous pool which stayed fairly empty throughout our stay.

Always plenty of loungers & we loved having the shade from the thatched huts.

Throughout the day, the resort offered lots of fun & free activities like face painting, bingo, and dance lessons . . . which was very entertaining.

Hunter especially loved doing "The Wobble"  hahaha - I'm sure he got his dancing skills from his Uncle Colt.  ;)  We couldn't believe our shy little man showed off his moves in front of a crowd, but he was so cute & everyone watching enjoyed his little show.

Booty-Shaken' Man

 The staff even served us watermelon & kool-aid one day

And every evening the resort played a family/kid friendly movie on the big screen.

In all my years of going to the beach - this was by far the most time I've actually spent on the beach.  I'm typically a pool girl.  Though I love the ambiance of the ocean/beach, I don't particularly love swimming with little creatures or all the sandy-ness of sand.  :)  But none of that really bothered me too much this time, and since Hunter was having such a great time, we all did.

One thing that helped, were these awesome chairs that were a gift from my Meme a few years ago. Sort of like fold out camping chairs, but they sit lower in the sand & their arms turn into backpack straps for easy carrying. PLUS they came with adjustable shade awnings, so with a slight turn of the chair throughout the day, Hunter had a shady play space without us dragging down & setting up a tent. SO NICE.

Thanks Meme!

By day 3, Hunter had the boogie-boarding thing down.  And LOVED it.

And our castle building skills had certainly improved as well.

Although the best part is always demolition.

28 Weeks:  Though I was seriously hesitant about dragging this baby belly to the beach - for a 13 hour drive, out in a swim suit, in the heat of August

. . . it couldn't have been more relaxing or enjoyable. 

We had the BEST sandbar I've ever seen at the beach before - anywhere.  It was great for Hunter to run around and play in, for us to sit & relax in, and I couldn't help but imagine if I'd had my 2nd little man there with me, and how perfect it would have been for him as well.  (actually every time I saw siblings, especially brothers, playing together I tried to imagine about how life will be so soon)

Since our nights kept being cut short by Hunter's inability to stay awake, Daddy & Hunter decided to "crab hunt" a little early. :)

Which pretty much turned into seashell hunting - with nets.  HA

Which turned into a gorgeous stroll down the beach . . . 

Precious little footprints

That night, we enjoyed dinner poolside while watching a Caribbean fire dancing show.

Our Last Day

Back to the beach for some early morning castle building

We used our weeks collection of sea shells to make it our most beautiful one yet.

"It's hard work at the job site."  -  Hunter

Cooling Off at the Splash Park one last time

Water + Guns = Super Fun

(pretending it's, ahem, something else . . . Super-Duper Fun. Boys.)

After lunch we decided to take a short break from the heat and run to Alvin's Island.  I remembered this place to be super cool.  When Colt & I were little we loved walking through the tunnels that winded throughout the mountain and getting to see the alligators . . . so naturally I thought this would be fun for Hunter.  HAHAH  So after laughing so hard I was in tears, Andrew & I came to the conclusion that this place was either MUCH cooler because I was little or it is in need of some serious repair/updates.  hahaha  Oh it was bad.

Hunter managed to sweet talk his Daddy into finding enough "monies" to play the arcade games  :)

The funniest part of the entire trip occurred during this little outing.  Hunter had been asking for a "crane truck" for several weeks and we told him that maybe we'd find one during our shopping trip.  Of course that's not the most popular item to be found in any of the local beach shops, so to keep from being too disappointed, when we came to an "Everything Under $1" store we explained to our little man that this was a special place & a special time, and that he could go inside and pick out a toy of his choosing -- ANYTHING he wanted.  (what kid wouldn't find that exciting?)  But after only being in there for a couple of minutes, Andrew & I were about it hysterics.  Our child walked up & down those aisles, scanning every shelf but rather than being excited, his facial expressions read:  seriously??  there's nothing in here but alot of cheap crap junk.  hahaha  I tried pointing out little things here and there but he never hesitated or gave a second look at anything, just kept walking (making sure his hands were tucked in close - so as to keep them from getting dirty from the junk that lined the shelves).  SO STINKIN' FUNNY.  After finally making our way down every aisle he said, "not any-fing here . . . maybe a-nudder store Mommy."  So we left and settled on a Sonic Happy Hour "milkshake" aka Lemon-Berry Slush.  Oh this child of mine.

So after a not so thrilling but completely hilarious afternoon, we settled back in to our cozy chairs beach side.  But only for a minute because those waves were calling his name.  :)

Fearless

Then it was time to go to work . . .  he needed a river for his boats.

And the vacation couldn't come to an end without one more visit to the "hot-tubby-tubby." Another one of Hunter's favorites during the trip.  

What better way to end a perfect week than with a perfectly gorgeous sunset.

First trip to the beach where we didn't take "cute" family photos . . . and that's a pretty big deal to a girl who loves her pictures.  However, to be able to spend the extra time playing together as a family rather than going in early to "get ready" -- totally worth it.  

Simply Beautiful . . . Thank you Lord

If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.

Psalm 139:9-10