Because it was still in the crazy busy time of the summer, Daniel was not able to go with us-- Lyle and his family couldn't make it either so their absence kept it from being a perfect family trip, but otherwise I would not have changed a single thing.
We ate at some amazing restaurants, spent most mornings at the beach and afternoons in the pool. We gave Julia daily birthday surprises leading up to her "big" party on one of our last nights there. We took naps and got some sun, and Carson and I made daily early morning Starbucks runs. We made pizzas one, ate Publix subs for lunch almost daily, and had a feast of crab legs the night before we left.
I'm was so sad when the week ended and I am so ready to head back down.
To get beach ready, Jules and I headed to get a spray-tan at a local spa. It was definitely and interesting experience.
The first night in we headed to a favorite of mine-- the Gulf Drive Cafe.
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| After carrying Carson across the street, Carver informed me that he wanted to be "carried like Carson." |
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| Jules was a good sport for all of the photo taking of her with the babies :) |
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| Jules with all the babies. |
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| Jules and Riley |
For our first full day at the beach we had beach and pool time, then made pizzas for dinner. (Sidenote: We LOVE the Tortuga Inn. We stayed there with friends two years ago and I was so excited to go back!)
Later that week we headed to St. Armand's Circle for lunch at the Columbia Restaurant. This was one of my favorite meals of the week...
And then had more pool time...
Another favorite was The Waterfront Restaurant and this salad...
The island has a free trolley that we rode one day. I wish we had done it more than once because it was super convenient and fun. We took it to the other end of the island to go in the tiny museum. Of course, anything historical is on my list of things to do and this was a fun outing.
We spent quite a lot of time on the beach, thanks to my dad who bought a canopy tent for us and put it up my himself every single day. The man is a saint.
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| Dad liked to avoid the sun and sand and Cargy liked a comfy place to nap. Win win situation. |
Mom found these cute chairs for the babies to sit in on the beach and we had a crazy time trying to get a cute picture of all three littles-- but I think they looked SO adorable in these chairs.
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| Yes, we got matching bathing suits for these two. |
The babies got to spend some time "playing" together too. Love it when the littlest cousins get together.
One night we ate at the Beach House Restaurant, which has a great location right on the sand-- a good opportunity for more pictures :)
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| Heading out to dinner. |
At the beginning of the week we had a quick birthday party for Riley who turned 1 at the end of July.
The big celebration for Julia came of Friday night, two days before we all headed home. We went out to dinner at the Blue Marlin Grill (loved it!), then came back to cake and presents.
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| AMAZING smoked fish appetizer. |
On one of our last mornings we headed out to the Rod and Reel Pier for breakfast-- it was a highlight of the week for me. It was a beautiful day, and random, tiny, but good breakfast place, lots of pictures, and even a dolphin sighting.
On our last night we bought 6 lbs of steamed crab legs from Publix and had a casual dinner at our apartment. Another of my favorite nights at the beach.
I am so thankful for the memories of these week. I am so thankful for getting to spend so much time with Courtney and her girls, and SO thankful for my parents for planning this vacation. They are so good to us and our kids and sacrificial with their time and money. I am so thankful for this trip, so thankful for my parents and my sister (and my brother of course) so thankful for our close relationships that are sometimes hard and sometimes messy but such a blessing to me.
I hope Julia loved it as much as I did and felt very, very blessed during her birthday week.
