A cold day at the beach is way better than a cold day at home...

Sometime around September/October I started thinking about getting out of town. I knew the holidays were right around the corner, and I knew they would be tough and probably a bit overwhelming. So, I talked to my parents and my in-laws and asked them if they all wanted to escape to the beach for the weekend. My mom and I checked out some vacation rentals by owner and found a cute oceanfront duplex that was definitely affordable in December.

So, on Friday, December 5, we loaded up the family, a fair amount of stuff, a Gramma and a niece, and drove to Carolina Beach.


Sadly, my parents arrived Friday night, received the call about my grandmother's deteriorating health on the way down, and then left again Saturday morning after breakfast. We were so sad to see them go but knew that was where they needed to be.

Saturday morning after breakfast, the kids had some good beach time outside. The weather was mild- maybe 60 degrees and overcast.






Drew caught a sting ray...maybe about 25 pounds and unbelievable to see out on the beach. And it took two grown men to send it back home.




Then he caught a puffer/blow fish. Completely filled with water when it came out and then deflated itself. Pretty neat to see.






And while Uncle Drew's catches were quite entertaining, we did take a trip down to the Ft. Fisher Aquarium that afternoon to see more sea life.

On the way, Chad and I showed the kids where we used to take trips as youth with the church youth group. We were very nostalgic...the kids were not impressed. :-)



The aquarium was neat. Kinda small, but big enough for the kids. Jake loved this three month old sea turtle.


And Chad and Molly loved the touch tank.


I loved the seahorse.


And all the kids loved the outdoor playground.




We left the aquarium and stopped by a donut shop that was recommended to me by a friend. Wake-n-Bake Donuts was AMAZING.


So many choices to take home, but this Snickers Bar donut had to be eaten immediately.


Those donuts went quite well with our homemade Gramma fried chicken Saturday night.




My samplings...just a bunch of deliciousness right there.


The cousins had a great time together. Claire is growing up so fast and just gets a kick out of chasing after Jake and Brooklyn. They are all so sweet to each other and I love how they get to spend this time together.


Oh, and I cannot forget to talk about the house's elevator. Drew and Brooklyn LOVED it.


I think I am all on board for making this an annual get-a-way.



Thanks, Carolina Beach, for a fun weekend. Though Jake was very sad that you did not have a slushie cart on the beach Saturday morning, we did enjoy the escape from reality for a few days.