Blessed Like Dat

Last week, Matt, Ava and I enjoyed another wonderful trip to the beach. On our way back to Greensboro, we stopped to eat dinner and get some gas. As we stepped out of the car, we noticed a Honda Accord parked next to us with the phrase "Blessed Like Dat" written across the bumper in gold, ghettotastic, adhesive lettering. We both laughed after reading the words, but I quickly came to realize that although funny, the words pretty much summed up our beach trip... Blessed (not ghettotastic)!

We returned to our favorite beach, Garden City, in South Carolina for our trip. This time, instead of vacationing with a family of 19, it was just the 3 of us. We were able to stay at Matt's aunt and uncle's beach place, which was amazing! Thank you Kincaids, for letting us stay at your 'Little Slice of Heaven!'

After a long car ride down to the beach, what did we do? Put Ava in another car and strolled up and down the shore. Ava loved the breeze blowing through her hair and watching all of the other people up and down the beach. Ahh... There's nothing quite like spending an evening stroll on the beach, during a sunset, with your family.

Ava really enjoyed the carpeted floors at the beach house we stayed in. Our house in Greensboro has hardwood floors throughout, which makes crawling somewhat painful on the knees. Ava took advantage of the soft floors and practiced her crawling skills. She's not completely mobile yet, but the girl somehow manages to get from point A to point B a lot faster than I give her credit.

Ok, enough about the indoors, it's time for the outdoors... the BEACH! Last time we were at the beach, in June, Ava was still a little wobbly when sitting on her own. This time, I was able to put her down on the sand, let the waves splash on her toes and she was good to go! She was also much more curious about the sand this time around than she was a few months ago. Mmmm... sand. Does a body good? Don't answer that.

So, one of Ava's favorite things about the trip was the carpet. One of Matt's favorite things? The outdoor shower at the beach house. Ava enjoyed some outdoor shower time too. Have no fear, Matt is wearing his bathing suit in this photo.

My favorite thing about our trip? Getting to spend an entire 5 days with my two favorite people in the entire world. 

Thankfully, Ava still enjoyed the beach just as much as she did 2 months earlier. She still managed to take both her morning and afternoon nap on the beach, under the tent. It was wonderful because Matt and I were able to spend several uninterrupted hours sunbathing and not worrying about our 8 month old stuffing her mouth full of sand.

We enjoyed an evening out to dinner at The Gulfstream. We had the best table in the entire restaurant. Ava and I were posing for a photo when Ava decided to attack my hair instead. Apparently she found it quite hilarious.

Enjoying our last evening and sunset on the beach.

Taking a family picture with my Go-Go Gadget arms. Nothing like the orange glow of a sunset to make us all look like oompa loompas.

Yet another friendly local offered to take a family picture for us. She probably saw how ridiculous I looked attempting to take the previous picture and felt sorry for me.

Ava, enjoying her last evening on the beach. 

Sunday was our last day in Garden City. Before heading to church, Matt and I took Ava out to the beach to take advantage of the early morning lighting. We put Ava in her tutu, a Christmas gift from aunt Erin, and took as many pictures as we possibly could. The following shot is one of our favorites. Beautiful beach. Beautiful tutu. Beautiful Baby.

I hope you enjoyed reading about our family beach trip and seeing a few of our favorite pictures. Our trip was nothing extravagant. Nothing particularly outrageous happened. Our trip was low key, relaxing, serene, simple, it recharged our batteries... and Matt and I would not have wanted it any other way. In summary, we are very thankful to be Blessed Like Dat.