Life's A Beach

This year we took our vacation with the Herrings in St. George Island, Florida. Ben isn't really a beach person, but Wilson claimed with his sad puppy dog eyes that he had never been to the beach before (which he had..he was one) so he caved. I let Ben pick the place, and what a cute little place it was. St. George Island is a 22 mile barrier island without the usual highrises that are stacked on the beach like sardines. Another perk is Apalachicola, a quaint little town with trendy shops, restaurants, and restored hotels and B & B's, which was only a fifteen minute drive from the island. I only wish we had spent more time there. I really can't say enough about this place. If you want to learn more about it, visit their website.


Here was our home away from home.

The kids went crabbing the first night.
Feeding the seagulls from our balcony was one of the kids favorite things to do.

This video shows a seagull snatching a piece of bread from Wilson's head.

Now that the boys are a little older, our beach trip was much more enjoyable with the boys than the last. I remember Wilson crying because he couldn't walk in the sand or because he couldn't keep the sand off of him and Davis crying because the waves knocked him down or he got salt water in his eyes. Also this was our first beach trip without diapers. :)

Heath and Vance

Ben brought crab traps and rented a kayak to anchor them a short distance from the beach. This picture is of Wilson and him kayaking out to trap to check it for crabs.

Kylie and Mary Clark found a sea star. The boys took turns holding it before we let it go.

Another great thing about the house we rented was that they had just installed a pool.

Ben was our chef for the week when we weren't dining out. One negative thing about St. George Island is that they don't have a lot of restaurants and the one's they do have were just mediocre.

The boys dining Al Fresco

I do want to point out that the restaurants in Apalach were much better than on the island. Apalachicola is noted for having some of the finest oysters. This was Ben's lunch from Boss Oyster in Apalachicola. I don't recall the name of the dish, but it sure was pretty.

This was my lunch , shrimp and grits. I'm not a seafood lover, but I will go all wild and crazy every now and then. When in Rome... It was excellent might I add.

Photo op by the Apalachicola Bay. The only camera I had was the one on my phone. I discovered the day before we left that my Canon point and shoot was no longer working. I guess dropping it will do that.

Bird watching was another great thing about this area.

Enjoying some gelato in Apalachicola

I neglected to take any of the cliche' khaki and white pictures on the beach of the boys. This is the best I did.

I promise we do feed him.

Our house from the beach.

Sadly, this is the only blue crab we trapped other than a baby that escaped. The man we rented the kayak from said we would have had better luck in the bay.

Our last day on the beach we found a sea turtle nest that had been marked off. I wish we could have stayed around to see them hatch. Ben and I actually spotted a sea turtle one morning while we were kayaking. It was one of the highlights of my trip. Unfortunately since we were in the kayak I didn't have my phone to take a picture.

St. George Island lighthouse

We stopped by on our way home and unfortunately they hadn't opened yet so we didn't get the chance to climb to the top.
Like I said, I can't say enough good things about this place. If you ever visit there, be sure to go to the state park. I didn't have my camera when we went so I don't have any pictures of it either. The seashells on the beach were much more abundant and the beaches were just beautiful. I hope we go back one day soon.

Daddy, I Can Swim

These are baby frogs on their noses that they found swimming in the pool that day.

Both of my boys have really come along way with their swimming since last year. At the end of the summer last year, Davis was swimming under water in the shallow end only, and Wilson would barely stick his face in the water. Now Davis is jumping off diving boards and swimming in the deep end without his life jacket, and Wilson is finally swimming under water. I attached a video of Wilson, but Davis was less than cooperative so you'll just have to take my word for it.

Lemonade Stand

Davis had been begging me to have a lemonade stand since we got out of school. I finally said "What the Hey..Let's do it!" I got out some paint and posterboard and Davis handpainted a sign. We set up shop outside of the Panola office and with some strategic planning were able to get some business from the friendly farmers just coming in from the field.

Open for Business!

Uncle Scott was our first customer. After he was served lemonade and sent on his way Davis leaned back and said, " My first customer..Life is good."

Davis told Wilson it was his job to stand by the road with the sign. You can tell how happy he was about this.

Finally, he decided a little teamwork might help.

No Shirt...No Shoes..No Pants...No Problem!

The Tucker boys saw our "advertisement" on facebook and decided to surprise us. They were in such a rush to catch us during business hours, getting dressed was the least of their worries.

Nothing like an honest day's work!

Thanks to some generous farmers, family members, friends, and neighbors the boys didn't do too bad.

Enjoying Summer

We've been out of school now for almost three weeks and have been enjoying every minute of our summer break.

Eating snow cones at the ballpark

while watching Davis play ball

a little fishing

Some swimming

Bible school

Bike-riding

Playing cowboys

More swimming

Helping Daddy in the garden

And more swimming

So far it's been a great summer. I hope it doesn't go by too fast!