Beach 2013 (2nd edition)

 We took a short trip to Fort Macon for a picnic and some history.  We went quickly through the museum, which Adam was kind of sad about.  (I say we have plenty of time for that in the home schooling years to come!)  The cannons can be seen from the street and parking lot.  The girls were so excited to climb around on them, they took off up the hill.  Even Autumn, who doesn't love to use her own two feet very much!

Upon closer examination of the cannon, it was discovered to have water inside!  These can't be weapons of mass destruction :)

After our self-guided tour, we had a picnic near the ocean.  The sea gulls were polite, but they REALLY wanted our food.  There were some school groups in the picnic area when we arrived, but when they left, it was just the four of us and the birds began to swarm.  Before we were done eating, there were birds walking around on the little concrete pad surrounding us.  We did throw them our leftovers, which was pretty exciting.  The girls hesitated a little between throws and almost lost a finger or two as a result.  In the picture to the left, they are watching someone else feed the gulls.

We also took a ferry ride that including some history of Beaufort.  We saw wild horses on Carrot Island, but the MOST exciting part was seeing some dolphins!  The girls enjoyed the boat as much as we hoped they would, especially when we went "faster, and faster, and faster".  We do have a photo of the boat, but that is on Adam's phone.

  The next day, in the early morning, we also saw some dolphins while we were on the beach.  They were pretty close to the shore.  When Adam when out swimming, he went out farther than they were. I love dolphins.  It's so surprising to see them.  They are pretty and not something we can see at the zoo. 

Chloe and Autumn's favorite spot was the pool.  They did appease me daily by coming to the beach and playing in the sand, sun, and the tide, but the pool was always beckoning their little hearts.

Jumping in was the best! We started out catching them, but by the end of the week, they were mermaids, playing in the water without much assistance.  I am so glad they enjoy the water!

There are two queen size beds in our little condo.  Of course, Adam and I slept in one.  Chloe is not a good sleeping partner.  She kicks and cuddles and takes up the whole bed.  We always want the girls to  sleep well, so the plan was for Chloe and Autumn to trade out sleeping on a mattress on the floor.  Autumn slept on the floor the first night.  But when it was Chloe's turn, she loved the space on the floor, so she ended up sleeping on the floor the rest of the week.  Did I mention the little floor mattress was inside of a closet?!  I think she liked the closed off, hide and seek nature of it. 

Autumn's face....what an emotion!

Remember Chloe's straddle jump last year?  Well, here's Autumn's!

 And here's Chloe's...

What do you think, Sis?  Should we go in a little bit more?

Intense sand castle building!

One of our sand sculptures....

I am SO glad we got to take this family time this year.  We had a great time!  We spent quality and quantity time together and got to see some amazing parts of God's creation.  It was such a relaxing, needed break from the everyday.  Hope you all enjoy your vacations this year as much as we did!