Summer Vacation~ PCB, FL: Days 6-8

Day 6

1. Thursday morning we woke up to another beautiful day and perfect weather. And the ocean was calm enough for both boys to "swim" and enjoy.

2. Anna's boyfriend Frankie got in late Wednesday night to spend the rest of vacation with us. Garrison loves Frankie. And he told him several times. Ha! Poor Frankie didn't know he was going to have a shadow 24-7.

3. We spent the whole day on the beach and in the ocean. Garrison loved hanging out in the ocean. Austin would cry as we carried him out and cling to us like his life depended on it, but once he got in his little float he was good to go. He'd stop crying right away and just relax. Boy boths spent a lot of time in the ocean on Thursday.

4. Thursday afternoon we all got ready for our annual khaki and white beach pictures. This year was the best yet I think. Almost all of them turned out really good. I'd love to put out all of our beach pictures in frames every summer.

5. After pictures we all hurried back in to change shirts or shorts so we wouldn't have to stay in our matching outfits (I know it'd be easier to stay matching but for some reason I'd just rather change... I'll probably get over that one year).

6. We went to Angelo's and arrived by 5:30 and had no wait! Another record!

7. After a delicious dinner we all went to Salty Dog, a tradition in PCB, and picked out t-shirts for the boys (thanks Granna and Papa!) before saying goodnight to the boys and heading out on a date. =)

8. We traded cars with my parents so they could take the boys home and get them in bed while Terrell and I went out on a double date with Anna and Frankie. We had SO much fun. We rode go-karts, shared sno cones, watched Terrell and Frankie ride bumper boats, played putt-putt, and had lots of adult conversation with no interruptions. We had the best time. My sister even told us she could tell we don't go out much. Ha.

Day 7

1. The weather was great Friday too. We were soooo blessed. It very easily could have rained our entire vacation but instead we had almost a full week of beautiful weather. Thank you Lord!

2. Unfortunately, we woke up Friday morning to our tent being gone. Someone had stolen it during the early, early morning hours. It was really disappointing. And my oldest little man had a tough time understanding it. He broke our hearts because it bothered him so much.

3. Papa went out and bought another tent for our last day and we still had a great time on the beach shaded from the sun. The boys spent lots of time in the ocean again on Friday too. After Austin woke up from his short morning nap on the beach I took him into the ocean in his float and he fell back asleep! He rested his head on the float and the waves literally rocked him to sleep. He was even splashed a couple of times but went right back to sleep. It was precious listening to him snore as he floated.

4. We stayed out as long as we could on Friday even though both boys were pretty wiped out from a whole week at the beach. Garrison and Granna searched for seashells Friday afternoon while Terrell flew the kite and Austin hung out with me under the tent. Garrison was so exhausted we had to keep him entertained because he was ready to go in and call it a day.

5. We all went out to eat at Captain Anderson's that night and the boys got in a good nap in the car on the way there and while we waited. We had a great meal and took some pictures afterwards. Too bad my firstborn was "over" having his picture taken pretty fast.

6. After leaving Captain Anderson's we went to Pier Park for the rest of the evening so Garrison could visit the amusement park there. It is the neatest little place for kids. We'll probably be able to spend hours and hours there during future vacations.

7. Garrison rode a few rides and had a ball. He wanted to ride the Ferris Wheel but we decided against it. He probably wasn't tall enough anyway. He did ride his first ever "real" ride by himself though. He loved flying the airplane so much that he rode it twice. We were so proud of him figuring out how to make his airplane go up high.

8. Austin hung out in the stroller and took everything in... including his bottle. He was a trooper. They both crashed when we got home.

Day 8

Saturday morning we woke up, packed up, and loaded up. It took us forever. And Austin slept the whole time. We didn't wake him up until we were just about ready to pull out. Poor little guy was catching up on his sleep from his late night the night before. We all ate a big breakfast together (including Garrison squeezing in between AnAn and Frankie in an itty bitty booth made for 2 and only 2) before officially getting on the road between 10 and 11. Then my babies went right to sleep. A week at the beach had totally exhausted them.

We stopped for lunch sometime after 3:00 since we had such a big, late breakfast and got back on the road. The rest of the trip took for-ev-er. We thought we'd never get home. It was sooo long and tiring and boring Terrell and I thought we might lose it. We finally got home about 7:30 and unloaded the car, fed the boys a little something, and put them to bed. Both of them had a hard time falling asleep (probably because they slept the day away in the car) but they were both snoozing by 9:45 and then Terrell and I went straight to bed too.

The trip home (and maybe even the trip itself) might have worn us out but our week at the beach was so worth it. We were still busy keeping up with the boys, still had very little time to truly relax, and still had a few behavior issues with Garrison later in the week, but it was so nice to get away and spend our vacation at the beach. I think it's safe to say a week at the beach might be one of our favorite things ever.

We enjoyed playing in the sand and ocean, eating yummy food, our double date with AnAn and Frankie, and most of all making new memories. It was also nice that we could have so much time with Granna and Papa. My extended family is pretty big so my parents have to "share" us a lot. Like every single holiday and get-together. So summer vacation is our extended "alone" time with them and we all had so much fun. Now we can't wait to go back!!

Summer Vacation~ PCB, FL: Days 3-5

Day 3

1. Monday morning we woke up to NO rain. Praise the Lord! Even though the forecast predicted bad weather and we still weren't in the clear, we woke up to NO rain! We were so excited we rushed out to the beach the minute we finished breakfast. We couldn't get out there fast enough we were so thrilled!

2. It wasn't raining, but it was windy. Made you walk sideways windy. Extremely windy. You get the picture. And if the sand blew all over you it didn't feel very good. It was prickly and it stung. My poor babies. Thankfully Austin went right to sleep with Granna holding him wrapped up in his beach towel. The picture below of a big bundle of beach towel is my baby boy sleeping.

3. I didn't get very many pictures on Monday because I was too busy sheltering myself from the wind and sand. Haha. But we still made the most of our morning.

4. It did rain that afternoon though. So we jumped in the car and rode through the little beach towns close by. Austin napped and Garrison asked questions and by the time we got back we were ready to make spaghetti. Yum, yum.

5. Garrison also painted a lot on Monday afternoon/evening. We came to reeeallly appreciate the little art case Granna picked up at Target for the little man the day before. 

Day 4

1. Tuesday morning we woke up to an even better day weather-wise than the day before. God really blessed our vacation.

2. Austin was becoming more and more okay with the sand and the sound of the ocean and baby boy continued to take his morning naps on the beach. Yay!!

3. The water was still a little too rough for Garrison to enjoy so we dug a hole for him to play in. He loved it. He asked for a "pond" everyday.

4. Tuesday was a weird day for me because I was sick off and on most of the day. Thankfully it was just me and it didn't last long. I did get to go out and swim in the ocean that afternoon once I felt better.

5. Around late afternoon we all came in and got ready to go out to eat at Pineapple Willy's for the first time in years.

6. Turns out every other family in PCB had the same idea. We had a looong wait. Garrison and Austin both fell asleep in the car on the way there so we just let them sleep as long as possible since the wait was going to be at least an hour.

7. I ended up feeding Austin his baby food in the car after he woke up. It was interesting.

8. Once we finally sat down to eat we enjoyed a beautiful sunset. The place may be a little overrated, but you can't beat sitting out on a pier listening to the ocean with a view of the sunset. Guess you just need to go at 4:30... and plan to stay all night so you don't miss the sunset.

9. And I saw a former student there! Crazy! It was neat catching up with her and her family so far away from home.

Day 5

1. Wednesday's weather was about as close to perfect as you can get. It. was. wonderful. Ahhh. Not sure if I can wait a whole year to go back again.

2. Austin took his morning nap on the beach. Again. This time he fell asleep with daddy holding him. He had a hard time taking his afternoon nap outside, but the morning nap was always easy breezy.

3. Garrison has become a lot more photogenic lately. For the most part, he's always up to having his picture made.

4. Daddy and Garrison even got to play baseball on the beach.

5. Daddy and Garrison also had the best time playing in another pond. Especially Garrison. It was his favorite thing. He may have enjoyed his ponds more than the dry sand. We were surprised.

6. Wednesday we stayed outside all day long and into the evening a little bit too before heading in for baths and grilled hamburgers and hotdogs. It was a super fun day.

Two down, one more vacay recap to go!

Summer Vacation~ PCB, FL: Days 1-2

We're home from vacation and we are worn out! Everyone in the Selph household slept until after 8:00 this morning. But we had a great time and made lots of memories! God blessed us with beautiful weather and a fun and wonderful time with family. And before I forget the highlights of our 2012 family vacation I have to start a recap of events. =)

I tend to be very detailed and long-winded so in an effort to make sure I'm not on the computer typing away for days straight I'm going to hit on the highlights and the memories I really want documented so I never forget. And I'm going to do it in a list form. (It will probably be a bore to everyone else except family!)

Day 1

1. We had a good trip down and both the boys did great. Austin went to sleep 2 times and Garrison stayed awake the whole time. I filled paper sacks with "surprises" for Garrison to open along the way. I filled them with things from home like crayons and coloring books, a mini magna doodle, stickers and paper, books, Fruit Jammers, etc. They were a big hit... until the last hour and we just went into survival mode and started singing songs and being silly. That last hour made me tired. Haha.

2. This year stayed at a townhouse directly on the beach but without a pool. We LOVED walking straight out onto the beach with no elevators or lobby or long walk to deal with. It was wonderful. Anyway, we arrived just after 3:00 in the afternoon and unloaded all our stuff, got changed into swimsuits, and went straight down to the beach. Storm Debby was looming so we wanted to get in all the beach time we could before possible rain and wind arrived.

3. Austin seemed to like the beach at first and the way the sand felt, but the noise from the ocean scared him. Poor baby didn't know where we'd taken him.

4. Garrison was a little apprehensive about the ocean at first too. But as long as someone was nearby he really enjoyed it.

5. We spent the whole afternoon at the beach before coming inside and ordering pizza from a pizza place right across the street from our townhouse. Terrell and my dad actually walked over to pick it up.

6. The kids went to bed at a decent hour and we had a great first day!!

Day 2

1. Sunday morning we woke up to clouds and rain. A constant, steady, gloomy rain. Boo. It was pretty disappointing for everybody. But we kept a watch on the weather and decided to make the best of the day. Plus, I was constantly praying that the Lord would change the weather!

2. We took our time eating a big breakfast prepared by Granna and were sort of lazy the rest of the morning. After Austin woke up from his morning nap I decided we had to get out of the house soon. Garrison could probably be occupied for a while longer with no problem, but my littlest man was going to give us a run for our money if we didn't get him out and about. Being away from home and toys and child-proof stuff was asking for trouble for Mr. Austin.

3. After lunch we went to Alvin's Island and saw fish, a baby shark, an alligator, hermit crabs, plus toys and t-shirts. Garrison had a good time and came away with a couple of toys for rainy day play.

4. We also took advantage of the small arcade they had. Everybody enjoyed that. =)

5. After that we went to Target to pick up a few things. It helped us waste time indoors before eating out for supper. Terrell stayed in the car with Austin while he slept and then gave him a bottle. Garrison and I got drenched going in and leaving. With an umbrealla. Ahhh. The rain and wind was not letting up.

6. After Target we went to Montego Bay for an early supper. I think it was a little before 5:00 when we arrived. A record for my side of the family! Our dinner was delicious and again we were able to waste some time sheltered from the rain.

7. The boys went to bed on time Sunday night and we tried not to be depressed about the rain and forecast for the rest of the week. And Meggie kept praying hard. I was not looking forward to the possibility of entertaining my boys inside for the rest of the week!

More vacay details to come....