Have you ever planned an outing as a family and dreamed of how much fun it would be? Your child(ren) would behave perfectly, nothing would go wrong, birds would dance and sing perfectly overhead and all would be right with the world? Then you hit the ground running and it slowly begins to unravel one thread at a time? This is reality with children! Sometimes though, God blesses us and our perfect dreams as parents come to life. THIS WAS THAT DAY!
I have said many times in the last week that besides the day Isaiah was born, this has been my favorite day just the three of us. We have been stuck in a constant state of "go here, do this, be this, check this off the list, plan this, meeting here, meeting there, etc." that we haven't stopped to just be us. So this past Saturday we loaded up our beach gear and took off to Indian Rocks Beach. This has been my favorite beach in central Florida since we moved here. The crowd is always just the right size, it has easy beach access and it's full of local families trying to enjoy life. The beach is a favorite for Mike and me so we couldn't wait to enjoy it with our little guy. He has not been back to the Gulf since last summer when we went to Cape San Blas with my family. Back then he had just learned to crawl so it was a much different experience.
We packed so much stuff it was almost comical. So upon arriving it took us a bit to get set up but Isaiah just hopped in a chair, munched on some lunch and took in the beautiful surroundings.
Once we were finished we hit the ground running. Isaiah had so much fun just running around, digging holes, swimming, jumping waves, hunting for shells and chasing the birds. He was all smiles!
After about five hours of going hard, Isaiah finally crawled up in my arms and crashed! If you know anything about him you know what a gift this was. He never goes to sleep other places. I guess the ocean provided his white noise and I gave him my ipod with his favorite tunes playing. I loved sitting under that umbrella with my sweet boy in my arms, looking out at one of God's most beatiful creations. I thanked Him over and over that day.
Isaiah even stayed sleeping when I moved him to his chair. WOW! This was my special time to finish a book I had been reading and Mike got to take a little nap as well.
We stayed at the beach until 7:30 that night. 8 hours of beaching it! Isaiah was such a trooper. After we loaded the car and got cleaned up we went to dinner. I was super nervous as going out to eat is not one of Isaiah's favorite things to do, but he was an angel! We ordered him some grouper bites and applesauce and he was in seafood heaven. I guess he was born with his parents' love for the beach. Thank goodness! I love this little guy, I love my husband and I love the beach. This was my picture perfect day and I give all the thanks to God. I hope everyone will take the time to do something you love to do as a family. You won't be sorry and your kids will walk away with some great memories and a great sense of family.
A few of my faves:
Have you ever planned an outing as a family and dreamed of how much fun it would be? Your child(ren) would behave perfectly, nothing would go wrong, birds would dance and sing perfectly overhead and all would be right with the world? Then you hit the ground running and it slowly begins to unravel one thread at a time? This is reality with children! Sometimes though, God blesses us and our perfect dreams as parents come to life. THIS WAS THAT DAY!
I have said many times in the last week that besides the day Isaiah was born, this has been my favorite day just the three of us. We have been stuck in a constant state of "go here, do this, be this, check this off the list, plan this, meeting here, meeting there, etc." that we haven't stopped to just be us. So this past Saturday we loaded up our beach gear and took off to Indian Rocks Beach. This has been my favorite beach in central Florida since we moved here. The crowd is always just the right size, it has easy beach access and it's full of local families trying to enjoy life. The beach is a favorite for Mike and me so we couldn't wait to enjoy it with our little guy. He has not been back to the Gulf since last summer when we went to Cape San Blas with my family. Back then he had just learned to crawl so it was a much different experience.
We packed so much stuff it was almost comical. So upon arriving it took us a bit to get set up but Isaiah just hopped in a chair, munched on some lunch and took in the beautiful surroundings. 
Once we were finished we hit the ground running. Isaiah had so much fun just running around, digging holes, swimming, jumping waves, hunting for shells and chasing the birds. He was all smiles!
After about five hours of going hard, Isaiah finally crawled up in my arms and crashed! If you know anything about him you know what a gift this was. He never goes to sleep other places. I guess the ocean provided his white noise and I gave him my ipod with his favorite tunes playing. I loved sitting under that umbrella with my sweet boy in my arms, looking out at one of God's most beatiful creations. I thanked Him over and over that day.
Isaiah even stayed sleeping when I moved him to his chair. WOW! This was my special time to finish a book I had been reading and Mike got to take a little nap as well.
We stayed at the beach until 7:30 that night. 8 hours of beaching it! Isaiah was such a trooper. After we loaded the car and got cleaned up we went to dinner. I was super nervous as going out to eat is not one of Isaiah's favorite things to do, but he was an angel! We ordered him some grouper bites and applesauce and he was in seafood heaven. I guess he was born with his parents' love for the beach. Thank goodness! I love this little guy, I love my husband and I love the beach. This was my picture perfect day and I give all the thanks to God. I hope everyone will take the time to do something you love to do as a family. You won't be sorry and your kids will walk away with some great memories and a great sense of family.
A few of my faves:
