Beachin' It

So, it's no secret that we live, maybe, 8 minutes from the beach - and that's if we hit all red lights and the bridge is up. We try to go once a week, if the weather is good and we don't have too much to get done that day. But there's something about going away to a different beach for a little vacay. So we packed up the VDub and headed north up to Crescent Beach, just south of St. Augustine. (And don't worry about squished little Scout. She only spent a short time in the car before we dropped her off at the grandparents' where she was spoiled to no end, I'm sure.)

We love Crescent Beach! The beaches are wide and perfect for a wandering toddler who loves to walk, walk, and walk some more. 

We went up to Crescent last summer, when the kid was just about 5 months old. She was a little afraid of the waves, so we spent most of our beach-going time relaxing in the shade of our little tent.

But this year... well, so much has changed!

Obviously, we spent the majority of our time on the beach. But, the pool was nice, too!

Typical for Florida summer weather, the storms rolled in every afternoon...

which made for some spectacular sunsets!

One of the best parts of the trip was seeing Zoey get along so well with my cousin's girls. Lots of reading and parallel play going on with these three!

On the last night of our visit, the whole family, all four of my cousins, two of their wives, three kiddos under five, my aunt and uncle, the Hubs, and my mom headed in to St. Augustine to enjoy dinner on the patio at OC White's. Zoey really dug the live music...

After dinner, the three of us went for a little walk around the park at the end of St. George Street. A perfect end to our vacation. I'm already dreaming of next year's trip!

Vacay!!!!

This week, we took a much-needed (and rare) vacation. After all of the stress from the babe's surgery and work stress for the Hubs, we couldn't wait to spend a few days chillin' at the beach. So what if we live a mile or so from the beach...we seriously needed a change in venue. So, after dropping off the pup at the in-laws (and enjoying a sushi lunch with my BFF), we headed north to Crescent Beach.

Even though we arrived in the evening, we couldn't wait to throw Z in the baby bjorn and hit the beach.

She has always loved feeling the wind in her hair, and what better place for that than the beach?!

This was her very first beachy experience, and she still isn't 100% sold on the idea. Over the next few days, the Hubs and I kept bringing her down to the water, hoping she would suddenly L-O-V-E the water. Not yet. Maybe next time. Having grown up at the beach, I'm hoping she will become a beach baby, too.

That's my first visit to the beach...about 8 months old, I think.

 For now though, Z's still a little timid. And because we still can't submerge her back in water, we had to keep it to toes only. In fact, we spent most of our time on the beach chillin' in our super awesome beach tent, (find one here) enjoying the people-watching and salt air. 

Z and Sophie taking their afternoon nap on the beach.

Unfortunately, the weather was a little bit yuck, so we didn't get as much beach time as we had hoped, especially in the evenings, which is the BEST time to be on the beach this time of year. But that gave Zoey some time with her cousins, Graelyn (age 3) and Elcie (15 months) who were super cute with her. I'm totally kicking myself for not getting any pics of those cuties!

The Hubs and I have promised each other that we will do our best to spend more time beaching it when we're home. I'm determined to turn Z into a beach bunny.