Friday, September 19, 2014

sand and sun

Thus far our holiday has been pretty amazing. Everything I hoped it could and would be. The wilds are loving every moment of it, and I'm not sure if they will ever be ready to leave. I have been soaking up every minute and have completely failed to document any of it. So today, I made myself grab the camera. I feverishly clicked away, not wanting to let another day slip away unphotographed. 


We started the day at our favorite coffee spot, Grayt Grounds. It has these beautiful eclectic gardens, with small pebbled pathways winding between flowering arches and quaint hideaways. They serve a gouda grit breakfast bowl, that is hands down one of the best things I've ever eaten. We crave them and wait all year to go back for more.




Kaleb and I have both been fighting off colds, which is annoying. So yesterday I went to a health food store to get some cold medicine, instead they gave me a shot called the heat wave. It's a mixture of ginger, lemon, cayenne pepper and garlic. It looks like melted butter and tastes horrible.  It burns all the way down, but it opens you up and I felt better the next day. Naturally, I forced Kaleb to go and get one today!



We decided to forgo the beach this morning, and let little Eleanor have a nap. She has been such a trooper but she is truly exhausted. We tucked her in, and headed outside to surprise Zain with an early birthday present.


We had been wanting to give slack lining a go for some time, and thought Zain would love it. Pretty much anything that doubles as American Ninja Warrior training, is going to be a hit with our bugs. It is awesome! If they enjoy it even half as much as Kaleb and I do, then it's a success.





After lunch, we finally made it to the beach. It's been interesting to watch our boys this week. Our kiddos have always been close and usually play great together, but the boys have become inseparable little buddies, and it's so sweet to watch. I hope that it flows into a constant and they will always remain so.



A couple days ago, the bugs befriended the sweetest couple. Their own grandkids hadn't been able to make it this year, so they took to ours as replacements. The man had promised he would meet us today to build a sand castle, and he came prepared. He had bought them tools and toys and even made flags that they could each decorate.

We planned, engineered and constructed all afternoon and into the evening, but it was a masterpiece. Complete with a covered entrance and decorated with every shell we could unearth.



We left the beach as the sun was setting, grabbed some boiled shrimp and headed to our pool to finish out the day. Needless to say, we are completely and totally spent. And all I can think of is doing it again tomorrow!

p.s. I realize I'm not in any of these photos. I so hoped, this blog would force me to be in more photos, so there might be some record that I was around, that I existed. Thus far, it's not really panned out. I have really got to teach that man of mine how to use a camera!

p.s.s. Anybody have any tips for hair at the beach? Seriously, I may as well have a bale of hay for hair right now!

24 comments :

  1. wow such sweet and heartwarming photos! looks like such a lovely time!

    lifeisashoe.blogspot.com

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  2. What a great time. I hope everyone is feeling better

    www.highheelsandtutus.com

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  3. Glad ya'll are having a great time! Thanks for sharing. Hope the colds blow away to a distant shore. Be safe. Loves to all:)

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  4. Lovely photos, but I'm curious, what is slack lining? Sounds fun

    Suze | LuxuryColumnist

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    Replies
    1. I guess I would say it's similar to tight rope walking. It a piece of webbing about 2 in wide and your string it between two trees. It's got some give, so if your good you can jump and flip on it also. We're not there, I still haven't made it all the way across yet, but the kiddos are pretty good:)

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  5. I'm really in love eith your pics lovely! amazing

    xx

    isa

    www.un-likely.com

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  6. That sounds like the sweetest, caring couple ever! I want to be like that someday :) I'm sure they miss their grand kids.

    Who takes care of the animals while your gone? We are lucky to have a really great neighbor who doesn't mind looking after our few lambs and checking on the chickens.

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    Replies
    1. Yeah, they were great! We have friends and family who come out and help. For the most part, Kaleb gets them set up so there's very little maintenance.

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  7. These photos are beautiful you can truly see the love and connection! I love looking through your pictures, just so beautiful!

    As for the hair….try a nourishing leave in conditioning mask at night, apply a decent amount, wrap it in a towel and go over it with a hairdryer on warm to warm up the mask…leave it in overnight if you can and rinse out in the morning…it should help! :)

    Layla xx

    www.sprinklesofstyle.co.uk

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    Replies
    1. Thanks! I am so trying this tonight- this hair needs serious help!

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  8. Great pictures! Looks like so much fun :)

    XO AJ
    TheAJMinute | Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin

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  9. Looks like such a lovely time! The photos are beautiful!

    Lauren,
    http://www.atouchofsoutherngrace.com/

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  10. Looks like a FANTASTIC time Makes me want to get up and go to the beach immediately! :O

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  11. Omg your family is so cute! Lovely photos, made me smile.

    I’d love it if you stopped by my blog sometime! xo
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  12. your family is beautiful! great pics!
    http://rueoh.blogspot.it

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  13. Looks so fun. These pictures are beautiful and very adorable.

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  14. Oh slack lining is so much fun, and so much harder than it looks. I'm sure they'll all absolutely love it and be doings crazy tricks in no time. These photos are lovely, as is your writing. Aside from your colds, it sounds like the most amazing trip.

    prosecco in the park

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  15. Those photos of the beach are so beautiful! You guys did a great job on the sand castle. :) I also need to teach my hubby how to take better photographs... he doesn't really have the patience for it... which is a shame. I love being behind the camera, but like you, would like some proof to share with others that I do exist and was actually there lol

    Jessica
    the.pyreflies.org

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  16. This is such a lovely documentation of your family holiday! The sand castles look incredible and have photographed really well and I love the breton nautical clothing theme for your children. This was a very heartwarming post to read through.. I hope you have many more happy family holidays to come in the future! :)

    http://aglassofice.blogspot.co.uk
    - I follow back on Bloglovin' -

    x

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  17. Love these photos! So sweet!

    Heidi D.
    www.wishesandreality.com

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  18. oh no! i hope that you feel better. you have such a beautiful family.
    let me know how that hair mask worked for you!!

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  19. I had a brief moment of horror where I thought you meant "shot" as in "injection" and thought that the doctor had injected you with all of that stuff. But taken by mouth makes a lot more sense, haha! Hope you are feeling better!

    Lovely pics, by the way! Your kiddos are adorable (and so tan!!). Glad they made friends and built a sand castle! Also, my mom did that too - she ended up not being in a lot of photos when we traveled because she was always behind the camera. Invest in a tripod! We always leave ours in the trunk of our car so that no matter where we are, we can pull it out if we need it for a every-in-the-same-photo moment. :) Or just hand the camera to your husband. That's probably easier, haha! It's hard to want to take time away from playing and just being together to take photos. But those photos are so precious too. :)

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  20. i really love the way you capture your day

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