Spring Break at Navarre Beach

This year for Spring Break, we headed to Navarre Beach, FL for about 5 days. We went with our good friends, Jason and Rachel and their 2 boys...again. Last time we went to the beach was 3 years ago...with Jason and Rachel...and I was pregnant...with Avery. You can read about it here. I was much more sick that time, but I wasn't as far along either. This time I was about 19 weeks pregnant and feeling pretty good...besides being tired. I wasn't sure how Avery would react to the beach...it's always a gamble when kids are that young, but she LOVED it! She didn't mind the sand at all, and she referred to the ocean as "the waterfall." She'd get up mega-early every day and the first thing she'd say is, "Avery go waterfall." She would wear herself out, which was great because she'd nap well...once I could get her settled down. The girl was obsessed with the beach!!

The weather was all over the place. Sometimes it was super windy, sometimes it was chilly (Rachel and I would be sitting with sweatshirts on...of course the kids could have cared less and were still getting in the water...brrrrrr), sometimes it was warm and sunny and perfect, and other times it stormed. I think it it always good to have a mixture of weather because then the kids are forced to take a break and watch a movie, play a game, or do a puzzle, etc.

The first day we were there, Rachel and I headed to Wal-Mart to get the "necessities" for the week. After being gone over 3 hours, the men started texting us, "Is the Wal-Mart here better than the one at home?" To which we replied, "uh, yeah." We had a great time and ended up with a ridiculously full cart, but we had excellent food the entire time!!

Our condo...we were in the unit 2nd from the right. I was a bit worried getting a condo instead of a house since you can't predict how loud your neighbors will be, but it actually worked out great! 

The view from Navarre Beach Pier. 

One afternoon, Daniel took Alicia and Adelaide and Jason took his two boys on a little excursion trip to the pier, and then the drove over to Destin for lunch. The girls came back with happy faces and little trinkets from a gift shop they stopped at. 

A big fish... 

Got crabs?? These guys always look so devilish to me. Yuck.

One evening we had perfect weather. The water was calm...the air was warm. So, we took advantage of it by looking for seashells. We came home with 3 big buckets full.

Avery was super into the shovel and digging. She liked to dig up some sand and toss it into the ocean.

Silly Adelaide....

She acts like she doesn't like her picture taken, but it's all a show. 

There are a few activities at the beach that I've noticed my family always enjoys. They all love to look for seashells, jump the waves, and dig enormous holes. We've only ever been to the beach with Jason and Rachel, so I'm not sure if this is partly their influence, or if my family just enjoys these activities. Doesn't matter to me what they do so long as I can lounge in my beach chair!!!

Avery especially got into the digging. I love the goggles around her neck...not sure what that's about, but she's really the cutest thing ever....

Tristan dug an excellent hole. See how it has two levels? There were a few philosophies behind this. #1. It was a dry hot tub.

#2. After the sun went down, it was a trap for couples taking a romantic stroll on the beach. They'd be walking along...fall into the first level, then take another step (thinking they wound be getting themselves out of the hole), and end up even deeper. A sure way to ruin a romantic night time walk.

These next pictures are of the last evening we were there. It was also the night before Easter, so Rachel and I had planned a big ham dinner. We ended up getting completely carried away on the beach! It was great weather...the ocean was a little rough, but that didn't stop us from having a blast on the sand! We still had our ham dinner, but we were all in our swimsuits and it was later than what we would have liked, but that's the beauty of a beach vacation...total flexibility. Rachel ended up getting into the "hole digging" spirit. She had a perfectly rectangle hole dug and the kids were making mini sand castles along the edge. It was all well and good until a soccer ball would come flying at them and ruin one or two or three of there little castles. oops. Tristan and I were playing soccer and let's just say I'm not nearly as accurate as he is....although he's the one who pelted both Alicia and Rachel (or maybe it was me who pelted Rachel...can't remember) with the ball...Alicia didn't take it nearly as well as Rachel did. another oops. I actually really stink at soccer, but I think Tristan tolerates me because at least he has someone to kick the ball to.

Doesn't get much better, does it??

Rachel's hole. She had all the kids "helping" her.

In the meantime, Jason built this beauty by himself...show off. Avery couldn't wait to tear it apart!

Cute girl...

Alicia, Adelaide, and Avery in the hole.

The kids totally terrorized the hole once Rachel went inside to finish getting dinner ready, but since they were the ones to start the hole, I guess it was their right! 

Avery digging again.

My 19 week glory. 

 The cutest couple on the beach.

Tristan helping Avery eat her Easter Eve dinner. He's is such a good big brother and so sweet to his sisters...most of the time.

I take full responsibility for the horrible sunburn Adelaide got the 2nd to last day we were there. I felt horrible....one of those "World's Greatest Mom" feelings. We'd been on the beach all morning in sweatshirts, but by the afternoon, the sun was shining and the air warmed up. I tried to rub sunscreen on Adelaide, but she fussed at me because she was being exfoiliated by the sand that was stuck to her. I should have been more persistant, but I let it go....causing her to have a horrible burn. Horrible. Especially on her thighs. We treated it right away, but she was in so much pain and hated the cool aloe we would put on it. She cried...I cried.... About a week later it ended up peeling...she hated it. Again...I felt awesome. This was when I realized the beauty of spray-on sunscreen. I never understood why people would pay ridiculous amounts of money for spray sunscreen. You get a few applications, and then it is gone. Now it is all I buy. It is a thing of beauty.

Rachel and I had bought a bunch of eggs to dye and time was running out. We had them boiled and ready to go, but it was also bedtime on Easter Eve. I hurried my kids through it and they seemed to enjoy it regardless of my nagging. Tristan asked, "do I have to?" To which I replied, "uh, yeah." Poor boy...he's such a good sport though. 

He doesn't look tortured, does he???

The next morning was Easter. We had the kids find their Easter baskets and go on an indoor Easter egg hunt, then we packed up and headed home. School started back up the next day! It was an excellent trip and hopefully we'll do it again soon! Perhaps with Jason and Rachel...again....