Tales from Mommy Merrill: Labor Day

It's been our little family tradition to head to the beach for Labor Day weekend and this year was no exception! Time to pack up the family truckster and head down the road!

It's unbelievable how much stuff you have to take with you for a 3 day trip. I made our list (which was two pages long) and showed it to Ronnie. He goes "Let me see that - there is no way we need to bring that much stuff". 3 min later he said "you're right. There is nothing we can take off this list."

So... beach bags, stroller, beach chairs, tent, toys and coolers all piled in along with the most precious cargo of all - Mr. Drew and Little Miss Reese!

Drew absolutely LOVES the beach and his favorite part about it is using his shovel to dig in the sand. He was so excited to go and kept saying "no nap - no nap" trying to tell us he didn't want to nap that day......

Captain "No Nap!"

Ok... maybe not.

It took all but 15 min. and he was out.

This was obviously Reese's first trip to the beach -- we of course had to go in style! Look at this little sweetheart!

Bathing suit outfit #1 (because you have to wear a different suit each day :-)

This year we went to Treasure Island (between St. Pete Beach and Clearwater Beach). It has a great beach and a nice pool and is in walking distance to a couple restaurants. Paradise!

Diggin'!

We couldn't spend just too much time in the heat with Reese, but I put her in the Ergo carrier and we went out to see the boys. She loved hearing the waves - it was like her real-life sound machine, put her right to sleep!

Yep - she's in there!

Building sand castles is another beach favorite of Drew's. However, he really just likes to build them so he can "knock 'em down!" He is so destructive at times!

More diggin'!

Looks like rain is coming... better head in!

We came back out near sunset to let Drew play some more (hit balls, of course) and the weather was beautiful! Reese loved to lay on her back and watch the birdies flying. So peaceful!

"Hey mommy - I like the beach!"

The kids both slept great and Day 2 was underway! I wasn't able to snag any pictures, but Grandma and Grandpa Merrill came out in the morning to spend some time with us on the beach. Drew had fun showing them how he digs and builds castles.

"Surfs up!"

We spend some good time at the pool too -- Drew made lots of new friends and had fun playing new games. His latest is called "knock 'em down" - basically Drew throws a ball at you and yells "Knock 'em Down!" and you fall in the water. He loved it and we heard countless "do it agains"....

Mommy and Reese sat on the pool deck in the shade and watched the boys play.

One of the best things about going to the beaches on the west coast is the beautiful sunsets and this weekend was no exception!

Saturday night we took a stroll down the path on the beach and got dinner at a fun beach restaurant called Sloppy Joes. Drew was SO well behaved and Reese slept --- Mommy and Daddy we so happy!