Tybee Island 2017

Last week we went to Tybee Island for our annual summer trip to the beach with Daddy's family.  Annual means we do it every year, in case you didn't know.  This year was the best ever!  For the first time, I went in the big water (that's what I call the ocean), and I LOVED it!  I wanted to stay in the water the whole time!  Liam went out in the big water a few times too, but he mostly liked hanging out and playing in the sand and the shallow water.  This was Aidan's very first time to Georgia.  He wasn't too sure about the beach, but he really liked hanging out on the porch and playing with GiGi and Daideo and Sean.

Family picture at the beach

We drove to Georgia this time, so first we stopped to visit my friend Ellie on our way there.  We spent the night at her house and then got up in the morning and went to the aquarium.  They have a really big aquarium in Atlanta where she lives!  There were lots of people there, but it was really fun.  We got to see a new sea lion show.  My favorite part was standing at the big window and looking in the really big tank with the whale sharks and manta rays.  The window takes up a whole wall!  A big sea turtle swam right up to me and Ellie while we were watching.  

Looking at the penguins up close through a special window
that we had to crawl to.

Checking out the dolphins
They kept swimming right in front of us!

Looking at the big window
They call it the "wow" window because it makes people say "wow!"

Jellyfish

We love visiting our friend Ellie when we come through town!

After the aquarium, we got back in the car and drove the rest of the way to the beach house.  We were so excited to see GiGi and Daideo and Sean!!!  It was about dinner time when we got there, but we went down to the beach to play in the sand and see the water for a little while after dinner before bed.  

Sean LOVES the big water.

The sand is so fun to play in.

We had a lot of fun running across the boardwalk to and from the beach.

The next day we got up and went down to the beach for our first big beach day.  I stayed down at the beach the whole time for 5 hours that day!  I was a little bit nervous at first, but I really wanted to get in the big water.  Daideo carried me out past where the waves break, and I had so much fun bobbing up and down with him in the waves!  Daideo told me that I should try to be a little bit more brave every day, and I was!  By the end of the week, I was walking out into the waves by myself, jumping over them until I couldn't touch any more.  My favorite part was when Daddy or Daideo would take me out into the deeper water and throw me over the really big waves, though.  Sean likes that, too!

Heading out to the big water with Daideo and Sean

Running down to the water

Walking into the waves with Daideo

Daddy and Daideo throwing us over the great big waves

Sitting in the water watching Daddy and Daideo cast a fishing net

It rained a little bit each day the rest of the week, but we still got to go down to the beach at least for a little while every day.  Liam is going to be a really good beach bum one day.  He loves sitting in his chair, eating snacks, and watching the water.  He also had a lot of fun knocking down all of the sand castles that we tried to build and running down to the water and then turning and running away when the waves came up to him.  It was pretty silly!  We took boogie boards down a couple of days, and we had a blast riding on our bellies in the shallow water.  Liam called it surfing.  

Building (and crashing) sand castles with GiGi

Nap time at the beach

Liam liked using the big shovels to dig.

Watching the water with Daddy

Bocce ball

Practicing my surf skills

Liam heading out to catch some waves

Aidan liked listening to the waves crash.

"Surfing" in the shallow water

Beach bum in training

Liam and Daddy

Posing by the big water

Mommy and Aidan

Our family

One day we went to the Tybee Island Marine Life Center, which is like a small aquarium where they do work to help the creatures that live around Tybee.  We saw fish, sea turtles, tortoises, crabs, alligators, a sting ray, and even a snake.  Afterwards we walked up to the pier and had some ice cream.  It was yummy!

Looking at the sting ray's white belly.

I had fun touching everything in the touch pool.
I wasn't scared at all!

They rescued this sea turtle.

Happy ice cream smiles

Liam was the messiest, as usual!

We also get to visit with a lot of the rest of Daddy's family when we're in Georgia, which is always fun.  We got to see Matey and GGDaddy a few times.  They even came down for dinner one night and brought me a cake and some presents and decorations for an early birthday party.  It was an awesome surprise!  We always have lots of fun playing visiting with Matey.  She loves to play and smile and laugh! 

It was Matey's first time meeting Aidan.

Posing for a picture with Matey.
Liam didn't want to be in it with us.

Playing on Sean's bed

Most of the time when we weren't down at the beach, we were back at the house hanging out on the porch or playing in the pool.  Sean and I had a LOT of fun playing together this trip, especially in the pool!  We would play in that pool all day long if the grown-ups would let us!  On our last day, we came up from the beach and Sean, Liam, and I got in the pool and had a photo shoot with GiGi.  We would take turns jumping up in the air and she would take our picture before we landed in the water with a big splash.  It was so much fun, and the pictures are so silly!

Family selfie on the new porch swing bed,
one of our favorite spots to hang out!

Mommy and Aidan swinging 

My whole family can fit on the swing bed at once!

Daddy and Aidan hanging out on the porch

Sean's turn to swing

Hanging in the pool with my buddy, Sean!

The 3 "big kids" in the pool
We're gonna need another pool next year when Aidan is swimming, too!

Riding the boogie board

One day it started raining really hard while we were up from the beach having lunch,
and Daideo came out to swim with me in the rain!
It was very silly, and I will probably remember it for a long long time!

We ate lots of popsicles in the pool!

Photo shoot time!  Sean is a really good jumper.

Liam's turn

So fun and silly!

We had a lot of fun and made a lot of good memories this trip.  I was super sad when it was time to leave, but I'm happy that I will get to go back next summer and every summer after that!