Beach Bums 2010

About a month ago, we headed to the beach! We won the stay at this awesome condo at the conference I planned (really, at the silent auction). So we got this condo for an AMAZING rate and it benefited a great charity!! We decided to drive down so we'd have our own car and not have to pay for airfare and a rental car, so that meant a 10.5 hour drive down. We decided that driving at night was our best option so that Katie could sleep through most of the drive, or so we hoped. I was a bit worried about the long drive, but Katie was a champ!! She slept almost the whole drive - we had to stop for gas/bathroom break/a snack on both drives and she woke up, stretched, and we changed her diaper and she was back asleep. Whew - thank goodness!!

We had a great trip - the area we visited was perfect! It was mainly retirees and young families, so it was nice and quiet. The seafood and local restaurants were amazing! And I definitely could get used to that daily schedule. We would all sleep until about 9:30 (it was eastern time), get up and have breakfast, and get ready for the beach! After a little while playing in the sand and the ocean, we would go play in the pool for a bit. We would then head inside for Katie to take a nice nap and we would relax (nap, read a book, etc). When Katie would wake up, we'd feed her lunch and then relax and get ready to head out that evening for dinner. Man, it doesn't get any better than that! Since I had time to read my camera manual, I took TONS of pictures. I tried to pick some of my favorites to post below, so enjoy!

Sweet Pea ready to hit the road! "Beach Bound" is oh-so true!

Our view from the condo - perfect!

Katie's first time to play on the sandy beaches...

Daddy and his girl...

She loved finding shells and looking at them (as we made sure she didn't try to eat them)...

Beautiful ocean....and I think this was as crowded as the beach got!

Another shot of our amazing view - and perfect weather!

When we would go to the pool, Katie discovered that she absolutely loved "jumping" off the side of the pool! We would say "Ooooone, twwwwooooo, threeeeeee, JUMP!" and she'd hold onto our hands and "jump in"....

"OOOOOONNNEEEE....."

"TWWOOOOOOOOO...."

"THREEEEEEE......"

"JUMP!!!!" (insert Katie's great big grin and giggle here!)

Me with Katie at dinner one night

I love this one...this was before dinner another night...

Walking on a dock with Daddy

Katie's favorite activity - reading a book! I love her expression when she touches all the animals in this book.

Cutie patootie with her momma

We decided to head outside for some evening pictures on the beach

For some reason, I just love this picture. I love the coloring and how Katie is at the bottom corner...if only she had been sitting and smiling! Oh well, this is more realistic - on the move!

"Coulters, 2010"

"CHEESE!!!"

Giggling at Daddy

We got a man walking by on the beach to take a family picture of us, and this is what we got - not too shabby!

I absolutely love this one - she loved being outside and going swimming!

I tried to do a self-timed picture and this is what we got - not the most flattering, but it will do - notice how tired Katie looks...she's definitely in a fog!

I think this is my favorite ocean shot...so pretty!

Look at this great picture of Daddy and his girl - adorable!

And I love this one of me and Katie - she's so happy!

Going exploring...she really did look like a little sea turtle crawling around in the ocean!

I love this shot - the last picture of the trip!