Beach Bum

On the Friday of our Florida trip (two weeks ago already!), Ellie got her first taste of a real beach. Sure, she put her toes in the sand here on Memorial Day, but that was at a man-made sandy area in a park along the river. Was it charming and fun? Yes. Does it count as a real beach experience? Nope. We're from Florida; we have standards.

My mom and stepdad Gary joined us for the big beach outing. We all met at Indian Rocks beach and lugged all our chairs, towels, umbrellas, diaper bags, etc. out to the sand and set up camp. At first, Ellie did not seem impressed.

First time at the beach!

I'm not sure what she makes of it.

She may not be excited, but she sure is cute.

After a quick meal, she spent some time playing with her Grammy.

Ah yes, it's this crazy lady again. I remember her.

Ellie and Grammy at the beach

We also tried to make an impression of her footprint in the sand using a kit I bought online. You're supposed to make her footprint, place a frame around it and then pour in some plaster. When the plaster dries, you have a 3D impression of baby's foot. It was...okay. It wasn't what I expected but it wasn't a total bust.

Can you see her little footprint in there?

After arts and crafts, it was time to hit the water! Ellie put her toes in the surf for the first time, then her Daddy took her out to play in the waves.

Welcome to the Gulf of Mexico, baby!

Oops! I think that wave was a little bigger than expected!

In the water with Daddy

Hold on to your hat!

Family beach time

We took a break from the water (and the sun for Ellie) for a little while and spent some time hanging out on our blankets.

Our beach setup

Handsome man

Ellie and Grammy

After a bit Eric and I took a walk down to the water for a few minutes by ourselves. Ellie started to get fidgety back at "camp," but we didn't want to walk her around in the sun, so Gary came up with a great plan of action and Eric and I soon saw this walking towards us:

Problem solved!

So, with giant umbrella in hand, we went for a little walk.

Someone actually came up to us and asked if she could take our picture for us because we were so cute!

Ellie found beach-going to be quite exhausting and passed right out.

Sleeping baby - a beautiful sight.

So sweet.

By that time we were about finished at the beach, so we packed up all of our stuff and marked this outing down as a very successful first beach experience for the little one.

That afternoon, Gary and Eric went golfing while my mom, Ellie and I went over to my stepsister Julie's house to visit. We enjoyed a Steak 'N Shake dinner there before calling it a day. We were exhausted, but it was such a fun day!

I think there are lots more beach bum days in Ellie's future, don't you?