2013 4th of July Beach Trip- Part 1

Be prepared for some long posts--mostly of pictures.  

For several months, we anxiously awaited for July to come because we had a week long beach trip planned with my family.  Originally we had hoped it would be a trip for the entire family.  However, as it drew closer, my mom realized she wasn't able to take off work for the initial part of the week so she couldn't meet us down there until Wednesday.  My sister and her family weren't able to come because of my nephew's baseball tournaments and my grandparents had to cancel because of other plans.  Fortunately, my brother and his family did get to drive over and meet us throughout the week which was extra fun since we don't get to see them often. Even though it didn't quite pan out as we had originally planned, Ben and I were still so excited.  On Friday before the 4th, we loaded the car and headed south after work.  Mary Hyatt pretty much thought that the long car trip was for the birds...and she spent most of the her time like this. 

We got to the condo late Friday night.  My dad had already arrived  a few hours before us.  We pretty much went right to bed as soon as we got there so that we could prepare for our next day of fun in the sun. Since it was just the three of us we figured we would take it easy and spend the day at the pool and would wait for everybody else before going to the beach the next day.

Mary Hyatt absolutely LOVED to swim.  She was completely fearless and within minutes was jumping off the side and going under completely independently.  

It was a beautiful day full of relaxing.

Cool girl!

After a few hours, Mary Hyatt and I headed back upstairs for naps. 

Dad, Ben, MH, and I ate dinner at a restaurant on the Bay.  We were so excited that my Aunt Tamyra and cousin Owen were still at the exact same resort for the night.  They had been at the beach the week prior to us and were planning on leaving the next day.  They met us for drinks and we got to spend some good quality time catching up with them.  Of course, MH saw the carousel while we were walking through the Village and we couldn't leave without a ride..

The next morning we were greeted bright and early by my brother and his family.  Though the weather didn't look promising, their time with us was limited due to work, so we decided to try to head to the beach.  

Of course, as we were walking down the pier the rain started. The sky was practically black.  It wasn't just a little summer shower, it was a huge storm.  We sat under an awning for a while hoping it would past.  Eventually we gave up and just headed out in the rain.

The rain didn't seem to bother Mary Hyatt! She was all smiles the minute her toes touched the sand!

We pretty much just went ahead with our day on the beach as if it wasn't raining.  We put up a couple of umbrellas and I sat under them for a while and tried to snap some pictures while trying so hard not to let my camera get soaked.

The kiddos had a blast and didn't seem to care that it was raining or that the sky was black.

They dug in the sand and built sand castles..

They swam in the ocean with GIANT waves...

They rested and snacked..

And luckily by the end of the day the sky started to lighten a little and the rain stopped.  In hindsight, we were kind of thankful for the weather that we had because it kept it cool for the littles, didn't allow for sunburns, and practically gave us the entire beach to ourselves for most of the day! :) 

Stay Tuned!