End of Summer Beach Vacation

Ever since the snow in February, we have been looking forward to our beach vacation. We spent countless hours when we were snowed in searching beach houses, but in the end, decided to return to the same condo on Topsail Island where we have been going for several years.

Who could resist this view?!!! Sitting on the balcony made us feel like coming home! The kids were so excited to be back at the beach that as soon as they carried their required bags up from the car, they were right out on the sand! They spent most of their waking moments boogie boarding, searching for seashells or building elaborate sand castles and then watching them be destroyed! (and yes, I KNOW that Joshua looks like we starve him to death in the picture below....he is my pickiest eater, so I let him choose our menu for the week at the beach! I think he ate more than he has ever eaten in his life, but just burned it all off running around in the ocean!)The boys kept reinforcing this castle even when the tides were coming in and it was flooded with water. They wanted to see how long they could make it stand! But at some point, you have to throw in the towel and acknowledge that the waves are mightier than you!
Savannah kept begging me to build a sandcastle with her, but since mom is not the best sandcastle builder, I drew her a picture in the sand (no, I am not the best sand artist either!)....

We invited all Chris' family who live near Topsail to come spend a day at the beach with us. It was fun having cousins to play with and Chris and I enjoyed visiting with the adults. Shelby, Savannah and I went out shopping for food for dinner and ended up coming home with these cute beach cakes! They were a hit, of course, and there was nothing left over!

A favorite stop on our way home has always been the aquarium. The kids love to see the fish up close! I thought this was the coolest picture with the kids sillouhetted against the fish tank! Savannah and Chris were off talking to the shell lady about different kinds of shells that you can find on the beach, so she is missing from the picture, but it is still very cool!

As a side note, when I posted this picture on Facebook, my sister Rachel pointed out to me that Caleb is now taller than Shelby! I hadn't even noticed that! So I made them stand back to back and sure enough, he IS taller! A few days after we got home, I had to take Caleb in to the doctor (he has swimmers ear....yuck!) and they measured him at 5 feet 4 and 3/4 inches. Shelby has topped out at 5 feet 4 inches. We are so glad that Caleb is finally growing! Sadly though, I noticed that the jeans I bought for him in June are now too short!

Anyway, back to the beach trip.....

I cannot say enough good things about Topsail Island. We absolutely LOVE it there! The pace is so unhurried and relaxed and there is not much to do besides go to the beach and that is exactly why we love it! We cannot wait to go back!