It was the 1st in a few years where the whole crew was together in Seaside. It was a great 4th of July and perfect beach weather for Turner. As you can tell, in a few years when all these other kiddos start giving some cousins to play with, this will be QUITE the crew. I.can't.wait. I LOVE being an aunt (I love being a mommy, too:)
The sand and ocean was perfect. It pretty much was a kiddie pool-sandbar, clear water, soft waves and beautiful sun! Turner had fun digging in the sand, burying himself in the sand and pretty much doing anything in the ocean. He was not afraid to 'dive' right in! There were a few days I was down there without Daddy and about one minute in the ocean I was exhausted, so we came up with 'new rules' for the ocean if Daddy wasn't around!
Turner is wonderful on family trips for the most part. He even told me when he wanted to nap and go to bed--I don't see this happening many more times, but I took it this time!
Some highlights off the top of my head..
1. "My Beach" (he thought everything was 'My_____'-typical two year old
2. Bike Rides on the roller coaster
3. Play time with Shugie, Aunts & Uncles-Lydiapop building houses, Aunt Nat playing hide-n-go-seek, and Uncle Aaron making up songs for Turner and many more!
4. The Spa
5. Ice Cream Truck with Lydiapop
Here are a few pictures from our family trip 2012~
Shugie and Tman on our front porch.
It was a beautiful house right by the pool-Thank you, Shugie! We had a king size bed, so plenty of room for Turner :). We didn't spend that much time in the pool because the ocean was so perfect. He did make friends easier at the pool and enjoyed splish-splashing with kids!
1st Day on the Beach!
One of our favorite spots. We would go on a bike ride each night and then stop at this pavilion and sit and watch the waves. Tman loved it!
Where the name 'Lydia-Pop' all came into play! Tman had a hard time saying 'Lydia' so I told him it was like saying 'lollipop' He proceeded to say lollipop so that's when we blended the two. He now connects Lydia to 'Me-Me' truck (Ice Cream truck) Fun part of being an aunt, spoiling nephews with ice cream!
Lydiapop drew Tman's name in the sand
In the morning while we were on the front porch, Lydiapop made Turner 'a house' and had tea and cleaned. It was so cute watching them play. The house got hot quickly!
Shugie invited in for tea
Turner loved playing yoga with Lydiapop
Uncle Aaron took Turner exploring and he had Turner pick a flower for me and brought it back to me while we were waiting on dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, George's. So.Cute.
We had a day at the beach with my friend Sue and Rose! Their friend, Rhoda quickly started playing with Turner in the sand, so I got some relaxing time just me, Sue and the bloody mary Rose made us! Yummy!
Tradition- 4th of July parade with Shugie! It was so fun watching Turner see all the fun trucks. We also eat an egg and cheese grilled cheese! This year Turner had his face painted!
I made my traditional fruit pizza in honor of my poppa's birthday being on the 4th! I also made jello popsicles-I called them Firework pops for all the kiddos. We joined a fun appetizer contest with some friends at the beach. It's always a fun way to enjoy the 4th!
The night before we left it was movie night! Turner was so cute. He would laugh out loud and clap his hands at certain parts. These girls by him thought he was 'so cute'
My favorite night!
We took turner to the beach at night and just played in the sand, explored and enjoyed the beautiful sunset! I took some glow lights and stuck them in the sand. We had races and watched them float in the water. Turner loved it all! He would just laugh and run around. The ocean at night is the best.
He loved Lydiapop playing in the sand with him
He LOVED being buried. He would just sit for quite some time.
Aunt Natalie loved being buried up with Tman!
Ms. Liberty
Celebrating on the 4th. The party was at Shugie's house this year and there were some great appetizers!
The road home.
Aunt Natalie and West rode back with us and it was so nice! We made great time even with a packed car of 5! West was a great navigator for Addison while Natalie and I sat in the back and entertained Turner. Turner was EXCELLENT in the car to and from!
There's no place like home!
Turner quickly went straight to his train table and played for quite some time.
He missed his toys!
He then loved nothing more than cuddling on the couch, cuddling with Popo and Hooch!
We have gone to Seaside the last three years with Turner and it's different with him every year! (1st time- 3 months, 2nd time- 16 months, 3rd time- 28 months) This year was so great because he really knew and excited about what was going on. We also didn't have to take as much-ha!
I see family trips exploring with our kid(s) will be the best part of the trip! Where has been your favorite place to take the kids? Addison and I started making our top ten list to take our kids before they are ten! That's a pretty big goal, but some are pretty close by! (We have a separate list just for us two and our vacation...but that's the top ten in our lifetime because we know reality with kids-ha!)
This was a great family trip with Addison's family to Seaside. Turner is so lucky to have such loving Aunts, Uncles and Shugie who put up with having a toddler for nine days on their vacation! Luckily, Turner is a wonderful traveler! We are very blessed to be invited to such a beautiful place by Shugie!
With nine days, we took many pictures. I've started making these movies with my Moviemaker to file away with all the pictures of our trips, birthdays and such. Below is the movie with all my pictures!
