We were so happy to take a trip to Florida in late March. We traveled to Jacksonville (a veeery long drive!) for Woody's wedding. Josh was a groomsman at his childhood friend's wedding, and JJ was the little ring bearer. The location of the wedding was really close to our boys' great grandparents' home in Ormond Beach, so we were delighted to spend several days visiting with them and relaxing at the beach- one of the most relaxing places we know! Here are several pictures (and videos at the end) of our mini family vacation.
These first pictures are of the very first time we took a walk on the beach. We were so excited to introduce our boys to one of God's most magnificent creations! They are testing out the wet sand and clinging to daddy for support. :)
It wasn't all that warm...actually, it was quite chilly and the water, of course, was still very very cold. Our boys didn't know quite what to think of it all at first...
Eli didn't seem to mind sitting on the wet sand from the beginning. He quickly found some seashells and of course, the rest of the trip was spent trying to keep them out of his mouth!
Both JJ and Eli greatly enjoyed playing the sand, digging and making castles with daddy. The picture above is one of our favorites-- huge, happy smiles, in spite of the windy, chilly conditions.
Woody and Kristi's wedding was beautiful and we were so happy to be a part of their special day! We just wish we lived closer to each other now! JJ looked so cute and loved playing with his little partner, the flower girl. It was great to see Josh's childhood friends and best buddies at the wedding, too.
The day before we had to leave to head back home, God gave us a beautiful, sunny day (after chilly, rainy days), so we quickly headed to the beach. JJ and Eli absolutely loved it this time!
Watching daddy about to fall
Like father, like son :)
It was still not hot hot and the water was still cold cold...I was surprised at our little JJ and how he bravely just took off towards the water
The only picture I was able to get of Eli with his sunglasses
Such wonderful memories to treasure, seeing my husband playing with his boys in the sand and all three of them having sooo much fun!
JJ's excited little yell! He really fell in love with the ocean and wanted to go to "la playa" all the time. The cold water was not intimidating to him at all. He kept telling daddy he wanted more and go further in, and everytime the water hit him he would yell, "COLD WATER!" and laugh and laugh. It was the cutest thing!
Eli went in the water with daddy, but definitely preferred crawling around the sand, finding seashells, digging and putting seashells and sand in his little mouth! :)
We were also able to enjoy some time by the pool. The water here wasn't warm either, but JJ especially did not mind, again. He still wanted to put his feet/legs in it and splash happily.
Brothers playing with Buzz Lightyear by the pool
Eli deciding to test the water :)
Such a happy boy!
Mami having fun with her boys by the pool
Serious faces
We went for a walk along the beach after our eventful beach day and got this great picture of the men in my life!
These were all attempts to get a good shot of our boys together at the beach with their cute outfits sent from Papaw and Mamaw in Charlotte.
JJ following the footsteps of a speedwalker on our walk...look at his little arms go!
Another attempt...
JJ smiling big now that he's free!
Eli left behind
Finally a decent shot!
We waited too late to try for a picture with mami.
This was the first time Eli met his great grandparents...and he absolutely loved them!
Our boys enjoyed their great grandparents sooo much...from sitting on their laps, being chased by them, being fed bananas and animal crackers by them, playing with the toys they got them, playing in their car, playing with their musical stuffed animals on their bed, etc...
We love Papaw and Mamaw and are so thankful for all their love towards us and our boys! We miss you both already!!!
JJ, visiting great grandma's friends and neighbors :)
We were able to stop by the Jacksonville Zoo on our way back to Louisville. Our boys absolutely love animals and the zoo is one of their favorite places to go, so we were excited to take them to a different zoo.
This zoo was beautiful! It was really neat how everything was elevated and you could see the animals from all different angles. The elephants are always a favorite of our boys.
We were all introduced to Bonobos. We had never heard of these monkeys, but they were so much fun to watch!
The highlight of this zoo trip for JJ was getting to feed the giraffes. He bravely walked up with his little branches and fed the giraffe all by himself! He was proud of himself, too! :)
JJ trying to navigate us around the zoo
Eli just waiting for us to get going
JJ didn't seem too scared at the big snake, but he kept pointing and saying, "look mami, that's scary!"
The following are 2 videos of our boys in the water. The first is just of JJ and his first experience ever with the ocean. He ran towards it, excited, but when the water (which was freezing, by the way!) hit him, I made the mistake of telling him to run and that caused him to fall in the freezing water, which made him cry...
JJ's next experience in the water was much better. It was a warmer day and he could not get enough of it. He kept yelling, "mas, mas, daddy!" and "cold water! with a big laugh"...he did not mind the coldness and just wanted to go deeper. Eli didn't mind it for a while. He didn't show much expression at first, but he was all smiles when he got to play in the sand. (This second video cuts off, so we apologize for that, but we had our hands full with two little boys in the water)
