Beach Day

If you don't know by now, I'm obsessed with the beach.  As I've gotten older, I've become more appreciative of it's beauty, it's calming properties, and the fact that it's so close to where we live.  I'm really trying to convince Greg that we should move down there.  Maybe some day.

Anyway, my Aunt, Uncle, and cousins have a house down there, and they've been wanting us to bring the kids down, so we planned a day with the family.

Their house is gorgeous!  I can see why they love spending so much time down there.  We hung for a bit at the house, and then we got ready and headed to the beach!!

It was a super sunny day, so the umbrellas were in full effect

Sass

Em pretending she was surfing

Al's first trip to the beach outside of my belly

This guy!  I couldn't keep him out of the water.  He learned how to swim this summer, so he was all about playing in the waves.

I love this

Sass and Unco

A rare 'fish out of water' sighting

Sass fell asleep on Daddy

When we were finished with the beach, we went to the small carnival down the street from my family.

We left from the carnival, as it was a long drive back (the house is further south than we normally go to go to the beach).  On the ride home, we drove right through some of the hardest hit 'Sandy' areas.  I was nearly in tears.  To see houses tossed around like they are nothing...it's pretty incredible.  I took pictures, but I'm not going to post them.  Too devastating.  I will say, seeing on TV is NOTHING compared to seeing it in person.  It's so sad that almost a year later, there is still so much work to be done.

Anyway, on a positive note, thanks Mentos for letting us crash at your house for the day!  We had so much fun and we can't wait to come back!!