A much needed beach vacation...not so much

This is the exact spot that Ben and I got married. Our wedding reception was held in the house behind us. Although the outside isn't quite as impressive as it seemed to be then, the inside of the house is magnificent. The band was set up on the oceanfront deck and we had a blast laughing and catching up with all of our friends and family. Ten years later, here we are yet again, only now with the addition of 2 beautiful children.

Now, on to the vacation. It was a good plan, in theory...we had to travel to Alabama for my brother's wedding so why not make a detour down to the beach for a much needed vacation. Gratefully, the fabulous Ms. Kristin had agreed to travel with us, so since we had an extra set of hands why not spend a few days relaxing at the beach. Well, relaxation was not part of this vacation. By the time the trip was half over, Ethan was waking 1-2 times during the night and rising bright and early by 6 a.m. and Caden was waking EVERY hour and sleeping fitfully in between. We were all EXHAUSTED! However, as you can see below, there was one good nap.

But overall Ethan behaved wonderfully and had a blast. His favorite, by far, was playing in the sand.

Next to that, he loved chasing after the seagulls.

He also had fun going into the water with Ms. Kristin.

Since the weather was beautiful and we hated the idea of getting the kids in and out of the car to go to dinner or visit the shops, we traveled by golf cart. It was hilarious putting both car seats on the cart and we got quite a few interesting looks from people(I promise it was legal). Ethan and Caden absolutely loved it, which made all the funny looks worthwhile and it was very relaxing feeling the breeze.

Ethan was not happy that I had asked for his attention when he was having so much fun seeing the sights around him.

This is dinner in the restaurant that my brother once worked at when he lived down there.

Even though the kids did not sleep well, we still enjoyed our time at the beach. I am grateful that Ethan enjoyed the ocean and sand and both boys did a fabulous job with all of the car time traveling there and back!