Labor Day Weekend has come and gone and what better way to spend the last weekend of summer than at the beach! My awesome mom rented a beach house for our family so we all came together for our last shindig of the summer. And since the summer was such a blur with all of the things, it was actually the first vacay Nick, Caleb, and I went on. So MUCH NEEDED is what it was.
On Thursday, we headed to the airport where Caleb is pretty much a pro now. Him and Nick helped me through the process of checking in my luggage without an anxiety attack of the possibility of never seeing it again. (I did demand the lady show me it was marked for Texas and not for another state like last time, because well PTSD.) We were ready to head to the beach!
As soon as we got to the beach house, Caleb immediately joined Maddie in playing in the back yard and eventually even in the pool. (We are still not a fan of water.. This theme will continue throughout the weekend.)
The evening ended with the trauma of Maddie finding a cactus with her hands. (Dear people that rent out family-friendly homes, please rid yourselves of plants that cause harm to toddlers. Not cool.) Thankfully, she is just fine and we now know how to get out cactus needles from a 2 year old’s hands. Which now that I think about it, we apparently should have left that knowledge listed at the house for the next family.
The next morning we immediately headed to the beach! 
Day one was filled with Maddie pretty much signing up to be a mermaid and Caleb wishing the ocean did not have water or sand. By the end, he had finally come around to playing in the sand but still reminded us it was yucky every once in a while. We headed back to the house for naps (for all of us because vacay) and then headed into town for dinner. Maddie was my backseat partner and she is the queen of the mean mug.
Everyone should always drink out of a coconut at the beach.
After dinner, we had lots of fun playing and taking touristy pics.
My phone got hacked by these two (or should I say these three.)
The next morning it was time for family pictures on the beach! One thing we did not think about was the wind. And boy was it fierce. Also, Caleb continued his stance on not wanting his body to touch the water so that was helpful.
And Maddie of course was just glad to be near the water again. Bathing suit not necessary for this girl.
We headed to brunch at one of our favorite spots with Maddie looking very frat-tastic in Caleb’s extra change of clothes.
The rest of the day was full of more relaxing and hanging out.
And of course bath time with the cousins because what’s cuter than 2 toddlers in a tub??
The next morning we were headed back to the beach!
The day started off like this..
But ended like this…
So I think if we would have had one more day, we might have convinced him the beach was fun after all. #nextyear
And we knew it was time to go when this happened..
While the kiddos were napping, this cute guy and I snuck away to town to get coffee (because we are who we are).
And then spent the rest of the day with more of the relaxing and hanging out..
Bedtime stories together were definitely a fav.
With waking up together to being a close second. (Can you spot which one ISN’T the morning person?)
On Monday morning, we said our tearful goodbyes. Christmas won’t come soon enough for all of us to be reunited again. Our family of 3 headed back to the airport to head home to the land of the mountains.
You know you’ve had a successful trip when you pass out watching Mickey Mouse in this awkward position..
GOODBYE SUMMER AND HELLO FALL!!
Trying to Keep Up With My Jones' 