Fernandina, Day Two.

We woke up nice and refreshed on Thursday morning.  The babies slept SO WELL on this trip.  I was a little unsure of how they would do (their "beach beds"--pack and plays--were both in the walk-in closet located in the master bathroom) but it couldn't have been more perfect!  Hadley and Emmy have both slept in that same closet before but I haven't ever had two kiddos in there at once.  Turns out it wasn't a big deal at all. :)

We started the morning with a little screen time (hey-vacation!) and breakfast.

And Buddy had his first fruit--apples!!  He likes eating the actual food sooooo much better than the plain cereal.

After breakfast, we decided to get ready to head out to the beach.  By the time everybody was sunscreened-up and had their bathing suits on it felt like it was lunchtime...thank goodness it wasn't!  It sure does take a long time to get all those kiddos ready, though. :)

Granti joined us for the quick walk to the beach.

And this girl pulled her wagon of sand toys the entire way.  Miss Independent.

We had a blast on the beach.  Ben took Thatcher for a walk (score for us that the condo we always rent keeps a "beach-ready" stroller in the garage) while Granti and me played with the big kids and waited for Cassidy and DB to wake up and join us.

When Ben made it back from his beach stroll, it was my turn to take Emmy.  Naps on the beach must be nice...I vaguely remember that feeling. :)

Emmy fought and fought and fought falling asleep.  She passed out in the end, though.

While the babies slept, the big kids enjoyed a snack and a little more play time.

We headed in around noon to eat lunch before making our way to the pool.  We spent the early afternoon swimming our hearts out.

Needless to say, we were all ready for a late afternoon nap.

We decided to hit up The Crab Trap for dinner.  The Crab Trap is always one of Ben's favorite places to dine.  I was a little disappointed that they didn't have my favorite crab leg special on the menu but I still managed to find something to eat!

After dinner, we decided to stroll around the dock area.  We took our typical "pirate" pictures and had a good time checking out all the yachts.

We ended the night with ice cream (but it was too dark for pics) and a little television watching back at the condo.

I love vacation.  So much.

Fernandina, Day One.

I am so glad we decided to go to the beach this year.  We debated:  after all, we did the cruise in May and Ben, with his new job, doesn't have a ton of vacation days saved up.  In the end, though, we agreed to shorten our length of stay (boo!) and make the trek down after all (yay!).  It was so worth it.

We loaded up and pulled out right after lunch on Wednesday.  Auntie, DB, and Granti followed right behind Big Red (our van).  We had a goal of making it to Barbara Jean's for dinner (DB's only request!) so we made our one and only stop at the "Animal Exit" to get gas, feed the animals, and nurse Thatch.

Because I was nursing Buddy, I handed my camera over to the men to get some shots of the kids in the petting zoo.  Emmy was the only one who got any camera love.

I made sure to get shots of everyone before we left, though.  Nothing screams "we're from out of town" like family pictures at the gas station.

The kids were great on the drive down.  Their Leap Pads tend to keep them occupied during long drives and this trip was no different.  We pulled onto Amelia Island and into Barbara Jean's right around 6:00.  Not too shabby, if you ask me!

The kids (and DB) were HUGE fans of the pumpkin bread.

I was simply stoked to not have to monitor my seafood intake.  I love Fernandina Beach all the time but it's especially fun to be there and not be pregnant! :)

The sad news this time around, though, is that the flash on my camera quit working. :(  I did my best to get creative shots using natural light but not everything turned out.  Oh, well.  Hopefully the images in my head will last a lot longer!

After dinner, we ventured over to see the alligators.  There were two small babies swimming around and we had a great time feeding them some of our leftover dinner.  Ben met a local man who told us all about a greenway with some great spots for viewing gators; Granti and the Bens visited the spot later in the week.

We stopped by Publix to pick up a few essentials before making our way to the condo.  Once we unpacked and got settled, we made a quick "night" trip to the beach to do a little ghost crab hunting.  We weren't too successful in finding crabs but had a great time splashing around in the waves before calling it a night.

That is, of course, after breaking out some dessert and watching a little television.  It was vacation, after all...