tales of the deep

I am so over the moon excited about this week! I've got some fun posts coming up that I love, and the start of a little series. But first, a little explaining. . . Kaleb, the kids and I took our first trip to the beach last September.  Earlier last summer I happened upon a Southern Living article about  favorite beach destinations. One just so happened to be Santa Rosa, FL. The pictures and food reviews had already sold me, but then I saw that distance-wise it wasn't so bad, and they had an amazing state park with little cabins we could stay in fairly reasonably. That was all the push I needed, the next day I reserved us a week stay!

This was a really big deal for us. It was going to be our first real vacation just the six of us, and I was beyond thrilled! Up to this point, the only summer vacations we had done were with my whole family. The kiddos had never been to the beach and I was so happy to get to share it with them. There is just something wholly beautiful about experiencing newness thru the eyes of a child. Their awe and joy is fully contagious!

 

The entire trip was so much more amazing than I ever could have dreamed it. The weather was perfect, the crowd was ideal - people to watch but room to breathe. We hiked, and swam, built sand castles and even had a few surf lessons. For me, I will always remember it as a coming of age, of sorts. For once, I was in charge! I got to pick all the restaurants, I didn't have to wait on anyone else to make plans, it was just us and the kids- a cozy little unit filled up on love and ice-cream.

I will never forget that first day when we pulled up to the beach. It was just barely misting, the sky a little dark. The wild ones hopped out of the car and ran down the boardwalk to catch their first view of the ocean. I'm not sure what they were expecting, but I guess not white sand beaches, they started shouting wildly "It's snowing, It's snowing! Look at all this snow!"

I know I have described it countless times as "the best week of my life" and it's absolutely true. Even now I could recount in detail everything we did, and saw and said. I have stored up these memories tight in my heart and will draw back on them for years to come. Remembering specifics: like Isaac falling asleep at the table every night at dinner, his little body completely exhausted from the play, or the huge grin that lit up Zains face when he rode his first wave. The years may fade it into something broader, but I will always remember it as a week in my life where I felt complete and total happiness. 

Anyway. . . we are headed back to the beach in September, except we decided to stay for two weeks this time, and I am already crazy excited! 

So in keeping, I thought we would do a little mini series here at the reverie. Do you have a stand out beach trip or favorite memory you would like to share? If so, send it on  over to me at hollandsreverie@gmail.com and I will select a few to share here on the blog! 

Looking forward to hearing your stories! 

P.S. Whatever you do, check back here on Friday! My amazingly talented brother is doing a special post sharing his beach tales to kick off the series. Let me tell you, it is crazy good! You will love it, I promise!