Beach Girls in Virginia Beach

 These two girls loved the water! Juliet took some time to warm up to the ocean--but once she did, it was hard to keep her out of it. Both girls loved playing with sand toys in the beach. 

 Daddy did excercises every morning on the beach. Leah liked to try them, too. 

 We loved the canopy that Auntie Renee brought. It gave us great sun protection. 

 We played on the beach every morning. We did a variety of things--bury daddy, play in the kiddie pool, feed the ocean (throwing mud into the waves), jumping over the waves, and building sand castles to occupy ourselves. 

 We liked to go to the beach first, before the sun was strongest. I got many compliments for the schedule I implemented. We woke up, went to the beach, stayed on the beach while Juliet napped in the house, came back for lunch, played in the pool, and then had both girls take naps. I like loose schedules on vacations. It works well for our family. 

 Leah "jumping" over the waves. 

 Beach Bum Cutie. 

 Juliet so excited to be in the water with some independence. 

 Juliet LOVED seeing my parents every morning on their morning walk. She would get so excited to see them come towards her. 

Family Photos

Love this family.

Love family photos.

Love vacations. 

Family Activities

 Each night we tried to go for a walk on the beach. Our little family didn't get to far. Usually just a few houses down. We spent lots of time stopping to climb sand castles, to put our feet in the ocean, or to play in the little tide pools.

We had our annual balloon toss one night. Guess what?! Chris and I WON! We are the new winners! I was so proud. 

 I love how Ethan is making boobs with the water balloons in the above picture, and Chris is lost in my blowing hair. 

 Perfect lighting for a family shot, or two! 

 Leah was so sad that she didn't win the water balloon toss. She didn't really get it, and was so sad and scared when the water balloon she was playing with popped. She just kept saying, "but I wanted to win..." I've never heard her be sad about anything like that before. She never cares if it's someone elses birthday or if other kids have things that she doesn't. It made me a little sad, too. 

 We tried the lanterns one night, too. It didn't work. However, Leah made a great picture of our family on the lantern! 

 We went out crabbing a few nights, too. One night we found a sting ray! Yikes 

 Leah LOVED looking for crabs and guarding the crab bucket. 

 Trevor, Ethan, and Barclay were awesome crab hunters. Chris was picking them up with his bare hands. We all had fun! 

The Beach at Night

 Most nights we went back to the beach after dinner. I think this was most likely both girls favorite parts about each day. The tide made little pools of water all up and down the shore. The pools were warm, and the girls loved splashing in them and getting dirty in the sand. 

 Juliet began the week terrified of the ocean. She cried if it got too close to her. She hated the wet sand. By the end of the week, she would try to just run into the ocean. She needed some reminders to stay with an adult. She took the redirection well. :) 

 I love, love, love this series of Juliet in her dress. Leah is so not a fan of my camera. She always does what I lovingly call the "dinosaur" smile. She'll refuse to look at the camera, and but put on a 1/2 smile and act like she is trying. It can be frustrating. Before the trip, I bought her a very fancy Rapunzel nightgown and told her she could have it if she took good pictures all week. Yup, I'm that mom. She humored me, and did well, but she was not willing to have extended sessions with me and my camera. Juliet was happy to, though! 

 My new favorite picture of Jelly Belly Boo Boo. 

 Leah loved jumping in the puddles. She was quickly weighed down by the dress, and talked us into playing in her underwear. 

 Lucia came down one night to take pictures of the girls in their matching dresses from Auntie Renee. Then Leah showed her how fun it is to take the dress off and splash in the pools/streams/whatever else we called them. 

 I LOVE this shot! This is what being a kid on vacation is all about! 

 Miss Juliet, again, because she was the only one willing to "pose" for the camera!