I'm sorry in advance for the multitude of pictures I'm about to drop on y'all, but there's only one "First time at the beach" trip and this was it for my kids! I am so enamored by every picture of them at the beach. So yeah, It's hard for me to choose just a few. Ergo this trip now has it's own post. Ok time for a little background. My brother and I both have birthdays in September just 10 days apart. So growing up every year around our Birthdays, starting when I was about 3, we would take a trip to New Braunfels/Schiltterbahn. It is my favorite vacation spot! This year we decided with 5 (almost 6) grandbabies in the Daugherty family under age 6 that maybe a tubing/water park trip wasn't the easiest thing to accomplish. We talked it through and decided having a beach house within walking distance to the beach might be the most fun for everyone. Despite my distaste for the beach (bad experiences with whole day beach outings, Irish skin sunburn, sandy sandwiches, jellyfish stings and crab pinches) I figured I'd sacrifice my favorite vacation for the the vacation that was the best for everyone else. Well as I found out I didn't have to sacrifice. I loved every minute of it. Having a house to retreat back to when needed made all the difference for me. I feel like watching my kids fall in love with the beach allowed me to start loving it again too.
Our Beach vacation was supposed to start on Friday but Tropical Storm Imelda had other plans and postponed us a day. We wanted to let the flood waters completely recede before heading to the beach. Our Air BnB host was happy to accommodate the one day change. So we arrived Lunch time Saturday and would stay until Monday. We stopped at the highly rated Nate's West End that was just a few minutes from the beach house on the way in. It was perfect! They had an outdoor area with a beach view that the kids and I could hang out in while we waited for our food to be ready. I ended up getting a spiffy shrimp platter in honor of my birthday that was in just a few days. Everyone loved their food. We will definitely be back.
We arrived!! The kids were so thrilled! Jane was like, "We get to sleep here??" Sooo excited. They loved the porch chairs and the hammock outside. Every new thing they saw when we stepped inside was the most exciting thing ever. They were so excited there was a bunk bed in our room. It was the perfect little beach house for us all. The beach was just a short walk on a sand path through the reeds. Scott and Anna were on their way and we were waiting for them to arrive before we got our suits on for our first outing on the beach. But the kids really wanted to go down to the beach and just see it for the first time. I said sure, lets go take a look and put our toes in the sand and let the waves rush over our feet.
As you can see they put a lot more than their toes in... ;) They got all the way in and loved every minute of it. It was special and spontaneous which I'm trying to get better at anyway. I loved watching them and taking pictures and video, but I was not prepared to get in. I had no where to put my phone down and walk in with them, so I just made sure Alexandria wasn't knocked over by the waves where she was lying down and let my mom keep up with the bigger two. We didn't let them get too far. I think on my mom it was only about to her knee. So much frolicking. So much joy. I thought to myself, "Yeah, I think this is going to work out." We finally corralled them back in telling them once we went back in and got our suits on and some towels and sand toys we would come right back out. They were excited to try the outdoor shower too. It was a big favorite of Jane's.
The brother clan has arrived!! Scott, Anna, Ellis and little Bryn! Finally I got to meet Bryn! She was about 2 months old by then. Such a little sweetie. She reminded me of how chunky Alexandria was at 2 months. They were the same weight at birth. I love the baby rolls! Finally once everyone had unpacked and had time to get their swimsuits on we went down to the water for some nice evening beach time. Anna snapped that pic of Jane as she was starting the walk to the beach. It's so perfect. I love it! The sand was still pretty packed and wet from Imelda coming through just a couple days prior, but we still made it work and had fun in the sand. Their favorite thing by far was jumping through the waves and going as deep as we would let them. (which wasn't very deep at all, probably too their waists) It was perfect. We stayed out until dusk and went in to have a simple late dinner. We had decided beforehand that all our dinners should be simple and at the beach house so we could spend the majority of our evenings completely on the beach. I think we had hot dogs and sandwiches for our dinners.
I cannot for the life of me remember how crab hunting came up and who suggested we do it. I think it was my dad. Once Atlas and Jane caught wind of going crab hunting with Pappaw's extra special flashlights they were all over it! My dad, Jane, Atlas and I went down to the beach together after the littlest kiddos were in bed after dinner and started searching for crabs. As soon as we saw the first crab Atlas freaked out and wanted me to carry him! Haha! Jane was in love!! She was really good at spotting them even before I would sometimes. She must have excellent eye sight! By the end of the night I told Atlas I had to put him down because my arms got too tired. After I made him walk he got super brave and ended up catching a tiny one on his own! So impressed! Jane was a little to jittery about touching the crabs to catch one. The first night we didn't bring a bucket or anything to hold them so I don't know how many we ended up finding. The next night Uncle Scott joined the hunting party and we remembered a bucket. They had a blast again and talked about it for days. Definitely a highlight of the trip. Look how many we caught the second night!! So cool! We let them all go back on the beach once we watched them scuttle around in there for a few minutes. (We also discovered that they are cannibals and started attacking each other in the bucket... Oops. Sorry crabs! I think there were only a couple of casualties overall.)
The kids were up bright and early on Saturday. Which I expected, they were so excited to get back on the beach! I put some cartoons on for a bit so I could wake up. I'm not a morning person. It takes me a bit. Also I didn't want them waking anyone else up too early. Once most of us were up we had breakfast and started preparing to go down to the beach! I think it was between 9am and 10 when we made it down to the water. My dad brought a canopy and it was the perfect spot to take small breaks in the shade. I think we stayed out until about 1pm. We had a blast! Sitting in the waves, digging in the sand, boogie boarding, swimming in the ocean, all the things! My dad buried Jane in the sand and I did my best to shape her into a mermaid. One of the reasons I resisted a beach trip initially was because I was intimidated by keeping the kids safe swimming in the ocean. But I had enough help from my parents to feel comfortable. Also before we got started I told Jane and Atlas the potential dangers of the ocean waves and gave them a set of rules. Thankfully, they were good about following them.
Around 1pm we took a break and went back to the house to change and go out to lunch. We loved Nate's West End so much, we went back! Plus Scott and Anna didn't make it in for lunch on Friday and we didn't want them to miss out! The kids loved running up and down the ramp on the outside of the restaurant while we waited. Everyone loved their food once again. Once we were back at the beach house it was nap time for the littles. During that time there was a little rain shower. I found it super relaxing to watch the storm over the beach from inside. My dad went to the kite store for a little kite for the kids and ended up with a huge one for himself as well. Haha! A super spiffy Stovl Fighter Jet kite. We tried to go out and fly it once he had it put together but when we got down there there was absolutely no wind... The little storm had taken all of the wind away. So we decided to try a little later in the day. Atlas, Jane and I stayed down on the beach and they ran up and down the beach while I wrote my kiddos names and birth years in the sand. I was still unsure if Flynn was going to be a 2019 baby since I was due in the middle of December so I put a question mark. I didn't let them stay out too long since we didn't have swimsuits on and hadn't put on sunscreen.
It's decided, evening beach time is my favorite. I think we got back out on the beach around 4pm or so and stayed out until almost dusk. It was just lovely. We flew kites and my dad got his big jet fighter kite up and flying nicely as well. I made sure to grab a bump pic with Flynn on the beach. Xan and I hung out a lot on our last evening on the beach while Jane and Atlas went in the deeper water with Marmee and Pappaw. (still not too deep. Only to my parents waist) We sat and enjoyed watching everyone and Xan enjoyed her bottle of milk. Later on while I was following Xan toddling down the beach chasing birds, I looked back to my big kids and saw a rainbow shining right over them. For me it was like God telling me, "It's ok to relax and enjoy this time with your little one and trust me with these two." It was such a blessing to me. Xan was a joy to watch explore the beach. We ended the day with simple dinner and crab hunting again. We played some games once the kids went to bed, but I ended up being a little overwhelmed by exhaustion which was making me way more emotional than normal. (being pregnant probably had something to do with it to) I ended up having to lie down for a bit. Thankfully after a tiny break I was able to play a little bit more with the fam before heading to bed.
We had to check out of the beach house by 11am Monday morning. So it made getting back in the water that morning too difficult since we had to pack up all our beach gear to get ready to go. Once I had our stuff all packed. I took Jane and Atlas down to the beach one last time to say Goodbye and kick the soccer ball and try to toss the baseball for a minute. They lost interest in the sporting pretty quickly and ended up just wanting to put their toes in the water and sit on the beach and watch the waves. Totally fine with me. (You see Ellis's face in that picture? She's like, "You are too close... This is my sister...")
We said goodbye to the beach house and headed on to the Galveston Train Museum! The kids all had a blast walking through the trains and interacting with the exhibits. The thing I remember is that the vast majority of the train cars did not have any kind of air circulation. It was HOT! If we were ever to go back it would be in cooler weather. Also their model train exhibit was closed at the time as well. So that was kind of a bummer. It was still fun and worth the trip. We had the place almost all to ourselves which was cool. We got a couple of restaurant recommendations from the ladies working the gift shop. We tried to go to one of them and it was so busy! The only table they could fit us in was in full sun. We decided to go somewhere else.
We ended up at The Spot! Very family friendly, awesome food and a great view of the beach. We'll definitely be back. We headed home from there. Scott and Anna ended up staying a couple more days after the beach trip at my parents house so we got a little more family time around the pool which was awesome. The kids and I also spent an unexpected night at my parents house on that Tuesday because my A/C went out! More family time! My parents let Sam borrow a window A/C and Sam stayed with Cambria at our house and waited to meet the A/C guy in the morning. I don't think I mentioned that Sam missed out on this trip because he had to work that Saturday and Monday. He's making a point of it to make to the next one!
Man, what a perfect first Daugherty Beach Trip. We all had an amazing time. It was super fun to go through all the pictures and memories right before we go on our 2020 Daugherty Beach Trip in less than a month. We're just praying that the beach house we rented this time makes it through this crazy hurricane season and anything else 2020 throws at us so we can go! I'm really excited this time around. We have a countdown calendar and the kids are crossing off the days until we leave. We are so grateful to take these trips. Thanks Marmee and Pappaw!! <3
Psalm 93
The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty;
The Lord is clothed,
He has girded Himself with strength.
Surely the world is established, so that it cannot be moved.
Your throne is established from of old;
You are from everlasting.
The floods have lifted up, O Lord,
The floods have lifted up their voice;
The floods lift up their waves.
The Lord on high is mightier
Than the noise of many waters,
Than the mighty waves of the sea.
Your testimonies are very sure;
Holiness adorns Your house,
O Lord, forever.
