The Baugh Family: 4th of July at the Beach

Every year we get together with the Fillers and the Smiths for a beach trip. When we started this tradition nobody had kids and we stayed up late, slept in, went out to fun restaurants and pretty much relaxed by the pool and the beach all day. Well let me tell you, times have changed! Lets just say that our beach trips get more ~~exhausting~~ exciting each year. Between the three families there are now 7 kids, six of which are boys. I must admit seeing the kiddos grow up together is really fun and special. I already can't wait until next year!

Our boys LOVE the beach and were so good. Now that they are a little more self sufficient and we don't have to haul pack-n-plays with us everywhere we go, traveling has become a lot easier. However saying that, Joe and I learned a few things this trip that I hope we don't forget in near future. First of all, seven day beach trips with no help is just a little too much. After the fifth day, the kids really needed their routines and their own beds back. So until the kids get a little older, five day vacays are all we are going to commit to. Secondly, NEVER and I mean NEVER will we drive to the beach on the Saturday before the fourth of July. Can you say NIGHTMARE? A four and a half hour trip turned into a seven hour trip on the way down to the beach. We usually never go to the beach on a holiday weekend and I don't know if we ever will do it again. You can only imagine what a seven hour trip in a car with two squirmy little boys was like. Not fun for anyone! However after that, it was pretty much smooth sailing for the rest of the trip.

Amazingly we were able to get a group picture!

The boys developed a new obsession on this trip, "surf boards"! They "surfed" in the gulf and in the pool. Wherever we went the boards went with us. I can honestly say we got our money worth out of those boards!

One of my favorite things this trip was watching Lendon's determination to wait on a perfect wave. Let me tell you, when the right wave came along he was quick to ride it on in! Wasn't he a tiny baby just yesterday?!

We also dug a lot of holes in the sand. Joe and I would have liked to have made a sand castle but the temptation of stomping out any castle we built was far to much for the boys. Each time we made a castle it took about one nano second for it to be destroyed. Maybe another year.

On the fourth, I let Lendon go down to nap a little late and we went and enjoyed all of the fun, kid festivities that the Sandestin Hilton has to offer. To start things off, Lendon had to get his face painted. I was thrilled that he chose such a patriotic symbol. He also got to play games, win prizes and eat not one but two snow cones. Seriously, what is better in the life of a three year old?