beachy recap - part 2

i reeeeeally wanted to just sit down and write about the entire trip on monday after we came back.  but vacation recuperation is a beating.  i had all that i neglected during vacation preparation, and then the actual vacation... then getting back in the swing of things.

no complaints.  really.  but with savannah's teething induced cling... well.  i don't get my list checked off.

but back to the trip.

i really liked how there were random kids for our kids to make friends with... but what on earth is ethan saying to the boy in this picture??

this picture kind of cracks me up... 

we rented bikes... and ethan had his own.  it was the perfect place for him to ride.  until he fell.  and, well, our little trooper really busted it.  bruises on his knees and chin... thank god for the helmet.  we made him try again a couple of days later and all was well.  he thought he deserved new toys for riding the bike so well.  where have we gone wrong??!!??

i wish i had a picture of him on the bike.  it was sweet.

and savannah loved riding in the trailer.  i even loved pulling the trailer... which i thought i would hate.  or just be ill suited for.  and the best part was riding the bike a block down the street and parking it at the beach access.  perfection really.   i must be truthful, though.  faustino did much of the trailer pulling.  and i, frankly, suck at biking in sand.  just wanted to get that out there.  i am sure that my husband, in his college days, never pictured marrying such a lousy cyclist :)  

another wonderful thing was the downstairs screened porch of the house.  it wasn't so pristine that we didn't let the kids really play on it.  with sand toys.  they loved it.  i loved it.  no bugs... no wrangling savannah.  b l i s s

the third story porch... my favorite.

the third story porch view... like a tree house, really.

my view during a lazy afternoon... 

our house had a pool... the pool was cold.  i think i would have liked the "heated" option on the pool, but hindsight's 20/20 right?  who would have thought the pool would have been so chilly!!

by the way, the house had 6 porches.  3 were screened.  one had a bed.  have i ever lamented about my desperate need for a porch?  here in our teeny tiny nest, a tiny crappy patio and a stoop do not cut it.  so the house with all the patios was a dream come true.  i only wished i could have enjoyed a terrific thunder storm in the evening.  except who really wishes for rain on a beach vacation?

and while we are on the topic of the house.  what a house it was.  not my dream home, but a perfect beach home.  it was comfy.  i must tell you, i was so spoiled by the space.  spoiled.  amazingly spoiled.  it was almost a vacation in and of itself just to have more space.  i've never lived in a really large house... but this {with the exception of a college apartment} is the very tiniest space i've lived in.  and to have everyone in one space without us all on top of one another.  ahhhh....

just to have more than one bathroom.

and i looked at the bathroom counter in our bathroom at the house and i thought.  what on earth do people put on a counter?  really.  i thought that.

but i can't go down this rabbit hole.  because many, many, MANY people, all over the world, would move into my house in a heartbeat and be so pleased.  so no complaints here.  i promise.  i am grateful for the space in which i dwell.  it's just the beach house was luxuriously roomy.  one day...

i haven't even touched on the important topic of food.  oh my.  grits a ya ya... mmmmm.....  and let's not forget that sue is on this trip... so the food that she whips up is almost guaranteed to be divine.  really.  she is quite talented in the kitchen.  so between the restaurants and big breakfasts and hamburgers on the grill at the house... umm... yes.  i need to diet now.  i have indulged.

and shopping... well, not in this season of life.  but i'd like to go back during another season... for sure.  i window shopped.  and browsed.  and pined away for a few things.... and would have loved to have bought some art.  or furniture.  or clothes for the littles.  or myself.  or the vintage coin necklace pendants... like the mite.  as in the "widow's mite"....  so cool.

and these bricks... i wanted to "pin" them in pinterest.  lovely.  for a patio.  in a "one day" house.

a few other favorite memories -- ethan spotting dolphins and telling faustino and me... it took US awhile to see them, but sure enough, that little stinker has a good eye.

ethan learned how to boogie board - with the help of daddy and grammy.  so cute.  especially the wipeout.  :)  savannah gave it a try, too.  kind of.

we went out at night with a flashlight and looked for ghost crabs.  ethan learned that "crabs are pinchy"

the kids ran around eden gardens... it was beautiful.  a change of pace.  ethan successfully found a lizard and picked him up.  the lizard lived... :)  there was a moment where i was worried...

i really enjoy the vegetation of florida.  the beach.  the pine trees.  i could handle moving... really.  i am not kidding.

she thought the statue was real...  saying hi...

and hi again...

our only family photo... not the best.  thank god i have a date with sabrina this fall.

savannah added all kinds of beach words to her repertoire.  savannah also mastered stairs, thanks to our 3 story house.  without a working baby gate for the stairs.  it was a little exhausting.  i won't lie.

and ethan built up some serious confidence.  and had some sweet father son bonding moments.  they are really two peas in a pod.  it was fun to watch... they would go off and look at things in the tidal pools.  sue told me that faustino has been doing that since he was a kid... so it was sweet to see them share that.  i wish that my kids were able to grow up on the beach like faustino did...  for now we'll just have to settle for a trip here and there :) 

but what an absolute delight to go on vacation.  it was perfect really.

thank you, sue. 

xoxo, s