Surprise Beach Trip!

 "What?!  You mean you're giving us your luxury golf resort villa at the beach for 3 days?  You've got to be kidding me!"

Yep, we were just as surprised as Julia to get this free vacation handed to us a few days ago.  What a gift!  So far we've had lots of fun and relaxation.  Here are a few (aka a ton) of pictures to prove it!

 Waiting for the shuttle to the beach!  This turned out to be an experience in itself...

 The van picked us up and the driver declared we were the first people he had ever picked up from our particular stop.  Apparently most people that stay where we were (right on the golf course) are more concerned with golfing than going down to the beach...or they just drive themselves, which we will most definitely do now that we know where we can park!  The driver and his assistant were older guys from up north, nice and funny.  We got a grand tour of what seemed like every street of the area and then found one family waiting to be picked up...or at least their stuff was there.  We waited and waited and then decided to leave until we saw them strolling casual down the street, loaded down with even more stuff.  Finally we got everyone and everything into the van and made it to the ocean!!  Thankfully the kids were pretty amused with being squeezed into a big van and meeting strangers that the long ride wasn't a big deal.

 The last time we were at the beach, I was pregnant with Julia, so here she is taking in her first experience of the ocean!  She was a little iffy about the sand at first, but it took about a minute to warm up to everything and she decided it was all super fun.

 This guy remembers the beach and has been so excited about our trip.  He claimed he would go out in the ocean as far as he needed to in order to swim, but I think the ocean was a bit more than he remembered.  He loved splashing in the water and wasn't afraid.  He later played a game with the waves where he'd swing punches at them and then keep score of who won.  (Reminded me of some pictures I took from Kim's oldest Andrew "fighting" the ocean when he was 5 or 6... he's now a teenager!)  Final score:  Joshua:  200, Ocean:  2...one wave did knock him over, after all. :)

 Gray loved the water too.  We had this net which was left on the shuttle, but it soon broke.  He had a blast with his little boogie board, though.  He'd throw it in the air, watch the wave carry it and then chase after it, totally delighted.

 It wasn't all happy times, though.  Julia took her first spill right away, but she recovered quickly.

 She ditched the skirt and was ready for more:)

 Oops, she's stopping to pee in the sand.  Yes, I realize this is gross, but there was no warning.

 This is the way a princess digs...so ladylike:)

 Jumping the waves

 Excitement

 Joshua became quite interested in building a sand castle.  He's always been a digger!

 Gray was amused by dumping water into a hole.  So simple, but so fun for him.

 Lunch time!  Then we headed back for naps.

 Later it was pool time.  We walked the beautiful short path through the golf course to go for a swim.  All the kids are enjoying extra time with Daddy, but particularly Miss Julia, who seems to be learning how to wrap him around her little finger:)

 Making Daddy kiss her toy

 Splashing Daddy in the face

 Making Daddy ask to hold her

 Getting Daddy to walk her around the pool

 Happy guy!  His proudest pool moment:  Kicking around on his kickboard in the 1 ft deep area:)  (Later we got him to go a short distance kicking in the 3 ft area...he was resistant, but finally did it!  Hoping he can become a little more competent in the water this summer.)

Joshua practiced swimming a few feet at a time, but wasn't ready for me to film him yet:)  He also enjoyed diving for toys.  He is definitely feeling more comfortable in the water now that he's taller.

We ended the day with dinner and an attempt at walking around Barefoot Landing, which was a fail due to rain.  So we played games and read the book Matt's been reading to the boys.  Fun day!