Spring Break at the Beach

It wasn't going to be hard to top last year's Spring Break as it was a complete disaster (think the throw ups and lots of "Paw Patrol"), but a whole week at the beach? We knocked this one out of the park!

We got to spend seven days at Wrightsville soaking up the sun, playing on the beach, enjoying the 75 degree weather, and relaxing. We got to do everything we do during our summer beach trips, but in April and without the crowds and humidity. Every day felt like such a special treat!

We loaded up our big bus, put those babies 1-2-3 across the back seat (so we could have more packing room), got our kazoos out for some entertainment, and headed down I-40 towards the beach. It was not a quiet trip. :)

Our first day there was chilly so we opted for some inland fun...

and a nap...

and some jewelry making.

We still made it out to the beach, and of course the girls had to get wet...

and had to explore the empty lifeguard post. Good thing there were no rescues necessary that day!

To our amazement, the weather got warmer and more beautiful each day until it reached weather perfection. I'm pretty sure it was payback for all the cold/rainy days we always seem to get while we're down there. How we ever timed up seven gorgeous days at the beach, I will never know!

I had never been out on Johnny Mercer's fishing pier before this trip...nice view!

Managed to get a good family shot by bribing them with ice cream.... :)

When I was packing for the beach trip, I only packed two suits each for the girls because I figured they wouldn't be doing that much swimming in April...wrong!

To them, it was just like any other summer vacation at the beach...time to go play!

They LOVED the tidal pools and spent the majority of their time on the beach exploring them...

Come on...Collins looks about 13 in this picture! I couldn't believe it when I saw it.

Addie has become an official collector of rocks and seashells and we brought A LOT of the beach home with us!

and Collins's prize find? A huge piece of "coral". Back in Raleigh when people asked about the trip, the coral was the first thing she told them about. :)

Why do kids never get cold? They'd jump in the water with no hesitation, play for a long time, claim to not be cold, and then all of a sudden their teeth would start chattering and they would demand to go inside for a warm bath. That water was frigid!

There was also some long jump practicing happening this trip...

some surfing...(Addie kept yelling, "surf's up, bae bae!")

some practice time with her fins from swim class...

some "I'm hungry and tired" time...

and some baby beach time!

Since Spring Break fell the week before Easter, Gigi was sweet to put together an Easter egg hunt for the girls...

and make a bunny cake for them to decorate.

And then there was this super cool Easter find...the girls were amazed!

Luke's bedtime is now a little earlier so it was hard to catch most of the sunsets because I was putting him to bed, but I caught the tail end of this beautiful one!

And because Collins bedtime is a little later, we were able to catch this one from our bikes...

Our other normal non-beach activities kept us busy...like taking this cute baby to the park...

and fishing...(Addie caught one this time!)

and crafting...(I LOVE the portraits Collins made of her and Addie and Luke. These will definitely be going on our playroom wall.)

and napping! This was a highlight of the trip for me. Luke and I both snoozed on the porch two days in a row. Feeling the cool breeze on you while napping and holding your sweet baby...doesn't get much more relaxing than that!

Brian wants a good Wrightsville Beach photo for his office so he challenged everyone to get a good pic...here are my attempts...

This last one is his and might be the best one darn it! I try so hard with my camera, and he snaps one shot and gets a good one!

Brian worked from the Wilmington office while we were there which gave him a lot more time with us at the beach...the last day we went downtown to have lunch with him.

And because he had Good Friday off, we decided to take a little side adventure on the way home. We drove down past Carolina Beach to Fort Fisher where we drove our cars onto the ferry and headed to Southport! We wanted to go to Bald Head, but that was going to be too complicated and expensive so we settled on a ferry ride and a seafood lunch in town. It was really fun!

We ate at the Provision Company and watched the boats go by...and relished the last beautiful day of our ultimate Spring Break vacation. It really was one for the books!

Thank you Donna and Marty for making it happen!