The Beach '13: Beach Pictures

On our last day of vacation, we headed over to the beach park after dinner to take some beach family pictures. We were fast and we got the job done! 

The Beach '13: And Then Came the Rain

After watching quite a few rain showers move around us, it looked like our time to stay dry was going to be coming to an end soon, so we packed up and headed in. We had very good timing. The beach had been pretty empty while we were there but more people started coming down as we were going up. They got wet. Very wet. Sarah and I went in the hot tub on the balcony and stayed dry while watching everyone on the beach run in!

The Beach '13: Beach Ball

I picked up one of those velcro paddle ball games for the boys. I hadn't gotten it out until Friday. Nick was all about it. He played catch with Grandpa for quite a while and then with Ben and then with anyone that would throw the ball at him. 

The Beach '13: More Sand and Surf and a Bit of Sun

Friday was kind of on the rainy side, but we saw an opportunity for a break in the rain and headed for the beach! It was raining all around us, but there was a perfect circle of sunlight over us, so we soaked it up while we could!

The Beach '13: Just Relaxing, Taking In A Show

The Beach '13: The Warf (The Place To Eat and Play)

I would like to say iPhones really are a wonderful thing sometimes. Using said iPhone and Open Table app, I got us a reservation at an Italian restaurant at the Wharf for dinner instead of waiting for Lulu's. I made the reservation at 7:15 (while still at Lulu's), we were seated by 7:45 and Sarah and I had some magnificent cocktails in hand by 7:55. Ahh, wonderful! During our yummy meal, the lights show on the main street of the Wharf started. After dinner, we went out to dance and let the boys run around. Ben got a straw from the Tervis store which then became a whistle. Awesome.

The Beach '13: Lulu's (To Play, not Eat)

Thursday evening of our vacation, we headed to Lulu's for dinner. We left later than planned because Ben fell asleep 15 minutes before we were going to leave and we let him sleep for a bit. Well, Lulu's was packed. We had a 2.5 hour wait, which was a bit long when you thought that we wouldn't be seated until 8:30 and probably not eat dinner until 9:30. That's not necessary the best course of action with a 2 and 4 year old. So, while we contemplated life and dining options the boys and grandma played in the sand at Lulu's. We tried to take a family picture, but I forgot to tell Sarah how to focus my camera, so they are blurry, but I still think they are cute. 

The Beach '13: Just Floating Around the River

Thursday afternoon, while Adam, Sarah and my dad played golf, Nick and I went over to the lazy river. Nick really liked it. At first he sat in my lap as we floated around. After a few circuits around the pool, I let him float in the water by himself with his turtle floaty. He thought it was awesome. I just floated around, sometimes kicking his legs a bit, but just relaxing.  

The Beach '13: Ben's Round of Golf

Thursday morning, Adam and I took Ben to play putt-putt. We found a Pirate course with a Jean Lafitte theme - right up our alley - our Pirate Alley (haha!) Ben was very excited about playing golf. He didn't really 'get' the rules, but he had fun. There was no one else on the course, so we let him do his thing. 

The Beach '13: Condo Basketball

Nick did nothing put play football/basketball/golf/throw something games all week. 

The Beach '13: Fishing for Some, Dry Land for Others

Wednesday afternoon Adam, Sarah and my dad headed out to the open sea on a party fishing boat (seen in the middle of the picture below). The boys, grandma and I stayed home and ran to the outlet mall to get the boys some shoes. I sent the camera with Adam on the boat, but it of course never left the bag. The waters were a bit rough that day. They were pretty much the only ones on the boat that didn't get sick. And as Adam put it, they were 'lightly salted' when they got back. They sat on the bow of the boat and got pummeled with sea spray on the way out. In the mean time, the boys and I went to the Stride Rite/Sperry outlet with Grandma and stocked up on shoes for very large feet. Ben is now wearing a size 13.5 W and Nick got 9W. I found thee cutest pair of Sperry's for Nick, though! I love them! He calls them his boat shoes and looks so cute wearing them. Ben got a pair too, but right now would rather wear his flip flops. After suffering through shoe shopping, the boys got to ride one of the games at the outlet. For them, that was the highlight of the trip.