We spent most days lounging on the beach and swimming in the ocean. The water was great this year, it was clear and beautiful. Hayden and Gracie got to find things like sand dollars, starfish and crabs. It was so much fun watching them swim and come up so excited to show what they found. Gracie loved the water this year and had the time of her life. She really came out of her shell this year and enjoyed the beach and ocean as much as Hayden. Colton did too, he wasn't afraid at all. He mostly loved his surf board (urf board) is the way he said it, which made it that much better. He loved riding the waves! Hayden and Gracie did too. Aunt Kim had to help Gracie but she was always the fastest. Hayden was a pro and could do it all by herself this year. The best part for the girls was Aunt Kim's paddle board. They absolutely love that thing. Gracie even got brave this year and stood up and balanced! Hayden was a show off as usual, but I love watching her so confident about it. Colton even stood and balanced for a second. Mommy even tried it, but it is a lot harder than it looks. I was able to stand up but that was about it! I was good entertainment for the kids anyway!
Hayden and Kim got to see dolphins pretty close up. The were on the paddleboard watching them. It is something Hayden will never forget. She is going to have lots of stories to tell her friends at school this year.
We also went crabbing a few times. First for blue crabs because Hayden and Kim love to catch and eat them. We ended up with 4 the first day but in two different trips. We crabbed off of the old bridge in the morning and as it started getting hot, the kids got tired. So then we went to the State Park and found a couple more but we did find tons of hermit crabs in shells. That is when Mark came up with crab racing. He made a finish line and every thing. Everyone picked a crab and then we raced them. Colton's crab won almost every race and the ones he didn't Mark won. Hayden was very disappointed that she picked a losing crab every time. She is so competitive. We made lots of memories this year.
We also went ghost crab hunting several times. Hayden wasn't scared this year. They all had their nets and flashlights ready to go. I think Colton enjoyed shining his flashlights in the holes they would go in.
Mark, Kim, Hayden, Gracie and myself also paid extra money to go all the way to the end of State park. It was beautiful and we were able to snorkel, swim, find lots of shells and see all sorts of things. It was amazing. Gracie loved that she could see all sorts of things under the water. We found lots of very pretty shells, but the best part was the blue crab. We caught 35 blue crabs but we only got to keep 10 of them because the rest had eggs and we had to put them back. Hayden was more than excited about the whole trip. Gracie did get tired before anyone else did but she was a good sport.
Colton loved waking up every morning to see everyone. He especially loved going downstairs and knocking on Grandmama and Linda's door until they got up. Aunt Linda got to spend lots of time with Colton, he loves her so much! He would follow her anywhere she went.
As always we had all the great seafood we could possibly eat. We had crab, shrimp, flounder, grouper, oysters and we also had hamburgers, steaks and shrimp scampi and spaghetti. Mark was our chef and he did a fantastic job, much better than any restaurant I can think of. The best part was getting to take it easy and eat dinner on the porch, where we could see and hear the ocean!
It was the best week ever. I don't think any of us wanted to come home. We have really missed everyone this week while back at home.
