This weekend, the Pledge family (Mason, Robin and Harper) invited us to join them at the beach! They had rented a beach house for the week in Seaside, so we drove over to visit with them for a couple days before they left. Last year, we were only able to see them for a few hours when we met them at Pier Park, so it was nice to be able to spend more time together since we don't get to see them that often (they live in Searcy, AR).
We didn't have the best weather, but we still managed to have a lot of fun! My parents offered to keep Mason for us this weekend - hallelujah! Harper and Kate are only a couple weeks apart in age so a little brother tagging along would have slowed those girls down. We arrived Friday afternoon and drove over to town center for a little shopping, dinner and dessert.
Rolling down the hill. Silly girls.
Daddy and Mr. Mason.
We did a little after dinner shopping and came across a neat kid's store called Duckys. The store was selling these weird animal masks and every time I looked over, Justin had another animal on. Creepy and funny all at the same time!
This is my favorite:
Little squirrel girl:
My squirrel family:
That evening, the girls wanted to not only sleep in the same room, but in the same bed. So sweet. Kate had so many stuffed animals with her, I was afraid Harper wouldn't have any room to sleep!
The next morning was overcast, but the rain stayed away long enough for us to enjoy some beach time!
I'm not used to such a steep drop off from the road to the beach in this area. I commented to Justin how many homes in this area were not built on stilts - now I know why!
My pretty beach girl.
Sweet friends.
Chasing seagulls. We even saw a few dolphins near the shore!
While the girls were busy building a masterpiece, Mason and Daddy did some fishing while Robin and I enjoyed laying on the beach.
Sand in my toes - aaahhh.
Mr. Mason caught a Pompano fish - pretty neat!
A one point, I looked up and Kate was naked in the ocean. I asked her what happened and she replied very matter-of-fact, "My bathing suit has too much sand in it." I don't know what it is with our kids and getting naked in public. They never give us any warning - they're just naked.
In between fishing, the dads managed to catch a blue crab! They chased it around for a couple minutes but finally scooped it up for the girls to see. Harper wanted to take it home for show and tell but I don't think the crab ever made it into their car. Haha.
Justin did not go unpunished - that crab pinched him good. Ouch!
After the beach, we drove over to Santa Rosa Beach and ate at Hurricane's Oyster Bar and watched part of the FSU game (it was ugly but thankfully we pulled out another victory!).
After dinner, we drove to Blue Mountain beach and took a few pictures before the rain came. I changed Kate into a cute outfit and bribed her with a trip to the Disney Store outlet is she cooperated.
We have to throw in a silly picture!
My beautiful girl!
So cute!
This morning, we ate at the Donut Hole before going our separate ways to head home. We owe a big thank you to Mason, Robin and Harper for inviting us to the beach. We had a great time and can't until we see them again!
