Thursday - Mayport

Got back today from a 3 night stay in Mayport, Florida. We stayed at the Navy Lodge on Naval Station Mayport in a room right on the beach. The beach on the Atlantic side is not nearly as pretty as the gulf coast, but we enjoyed trying something different for a change. There was also lots to do nearby which was fun. We all enjoyed the trip, we experienced a lot of new things, Amelia slept well in the hotel which I had been worried about, the kids behaved as well as can be expected, and we look forward to similar future adventures.

Thursday we drove down to Mayport. It's only a 4 hour 15 minute drive from our house (we did it in 5 hrs with stops). It was a pleasant drive through a bunch of small Georgia towns. Driving into Mayport we crossed the St Johns river via ferry, a first for all of us. Gavin was pretty impressed (ok, so were we). We ate lunch at a seafood restaurant on the river. Good food, but windy and cool where we were sitting outside. Amelia was restless and didn't even eat one french fry. We ate fast to get her out of there. Rookie mistake - should have let her burn off energy after the long car ride. But my clam strips were pretty tasty. After that we checked in, we got a room on the 2nd floor of the Navy Lodge with a great view:

 There are no boats in this picture but almost constantly day and night there were ships passing by coming and going from the ocean into the mouth of the St Johns river just north of the property. We saw all sorts of navy ships, casino cruise ships, cargo ships, coast guard ships, and we saw one Carnival cruise ship. They pass close enough to see them pretty well, and we could also see a bunch of ships docked on base as we drove around. The ships were definitely one of the highlights of the trip.

 The room was nothing fancy but clean and included free breakfast and a kitchenette. I picked it for the price - $80/night with no tax. Can't beat that for beachfront and clean.

Next we headed out to the beach. It was a little cool and very windy. If we hadn't been on vacation we would not have hit the beach, but the kids didn't mind.

 We are not used to a deep, firm beach - it took six pictures to get to the water:

 Amelia loved the water and did not mind the temperature at all. The water was cold but not as bad as I anticipated.

 view of hotel from water's edge - deep beach!

It kind of looks like another planet:

 Walking over to the jetty at the mouth of the river:

 The stone jetty was super cool. Plus it had tide pools around it's base for the kids to play in. It was so fun we would have gone back to play another day but I was scared the kids would get adventurous and maim or kill themselves. Amelia did get a scrape on the top of her foot but no serious wounds.

 Jake is a trooper. He just doesn't like the beach. But he goes for the kids (and me). And he hauls water, digs holes, and builds sandcastles:

 After beach snack:

end of the day:

April

On April 16th we took the kids to the Peach Cluster Dog Show at the Perry Fairgrounds. It was free to attend, and we spent over an hour walking around watching the different competitions. There were several buildings full of rings and an outside pool for a jumping competition, so there was plenty to see. It was neat seeing groups of a bunch of the same types of dogs. I really liked seeing the giant schnauzers, which I didn't even know existed. The puppy beagles and golden retrievers were adorable. Gavin liked the funny little maltese with long hair and also a great dane we sat by. Amelia liked all of it but got a little bored after a while. Jake got a kick out of some of the dapper fellows in bow ties walking the dogs around. 

 After that we went to check out the new walking trails in Perry. Gavin brought his scooter, and had a wipeout at one point but quickly recovered. Amelia ran, walked, and meandered.

 We only walked some of the trails since we didn't have a stroller, plus it was getting to be lunch time. We ate at Wendy's. As soon as we sat down the kids looked out of the window and noticed our great view of the Burger King playground next door. So we went there for dessert.

 The next day it was still uncharacteristically cool out so we went on a family walk after our after-church naps. We walked around the pond on base and the kids played a little at the playground. We enjoyed seeing the baby geese.

 Random picture of Amelia eating chicken nuggets:

 The next Saturday Jake had to work. The neighborhood across the street was having its annual yard sale so the kids and I walked over to see what we could find. The kids each got a book, and we bought a new game. Then, as we were on our way home, we happened upon the find of the day. At home the kids played in the water to cool off and wait for it's delivery:

 Ta-da! I bought a shuffle board-type bowling game. $40 delivered! I got it for Jake but Gavin really enjoys it and asks to play it often.

 Other April happenings:

tantrums

 New shoes! Aleita loaned me another box of shoes for Amelia, for which I am truly thankful, and Amelia had lots of fun trying them on too!

 These are just the ones that currently fit!:

 Between Aleita and consignment sales Amelia is pretty set on dresses too:

 Found a use for the retro yellow nightstand I bought for Amelia's room last year:

 Any chance she gets she sneaks into the bathroom to "brush teeth!"

 3-4 of our trees are leaning over and need to be removed. They've been leaning a little for awhile but that last big storm (the tornado one) did them in, with one lying on top of the swing set. One Monday a couple weeks ago Jake decided to pull out this tree with his bare hands (and a shovel):

 We also removed the pool fence so we can install a new liner:

 And I trimmed up the peach tree. It's full of peaches this year so hopefully some will survive to ripen:

 Amelia started climbing out of her crib so we brought home the toddler bed from MeeMaw's house. She is doing well in it. She wakes up 30 minutes to an hour earlier, but sleeps through the night and goes to bed ok. She is also still napping, for now anyway.

 It is my favorite time of year in Georgia - lots of days that are warm but no too warm yet. Perfect weather to sit on the back porch and watch the kids play.