Ahh….I can finally call my summer complete! I grew up about 50 miles from the coast and summers always included at least one trip to the beach. I never feel like my summer is fully complete until we make it back. This was our last free weekend before Dillon starts two a days for football so we decided to grab some friends and head to Port Aransas for a long weekend. So, so glad we did it was the perfect getaway!
This is one of the only decent pictures I was able to snag with my big camera and I’m so glad I captured these smiles! These girls had so much fun and were riding waves non stop for two days!
The house we rented was the Wright Place and being that I love a great play on words it was meant to be! Plus for just a little extra they allowed us to bring dogs up to 20 pounds so much Dutch Buddy and fur grandbaby Pesto came along. Dutch loves the beach! He also loves his mom and probably would have drowned trying to follow me out into the waves!
Holly created a
Beach Bucket List (because she’s awesome like that) which included flying a kite! This Walmart kite was a huge win and flew at our site both days!
Building a beach volcano was also on the list and we only needed a teeny bit of help from the husbands on this one. Of course thankfully we made it home from the store with baking soda because I actually wrote down bacon soda on my list. Texan…when the way you say it is NOT the way you spell it!
Moment of truth…..we added vinegar and tada….a beach volcano erupted!
Keith took the girls out for a little afternoon boat ride and Carly Jo even caught a fish.
Riding the boats was more fun than fishing though!
The boys headed out to fish at the crack of dawn so we took the opportunity to lay around the house and just enjoy some down time. Dutch wasn’t complaining!
Nor was Pesto! Jordan, Holly and I all had our heads stuck in a book all weekend. Jordan was reading
Angels & Demons
. You can see from all the tabs she read this in high school….she is my literary girl! Holly was seriously close to finishing
The Royal We
and now I can’t wait to begin my copy because she seriously could not put it down! I took
Nantucket Nights
and I’m kind of irritated by it to be honest but will probably finish this week regardless. It was NOT my favorite book by Elin Hildebrand.
Back at the beach for more fun in the sun! I am remembering now why I always wear a hat…..my scalp is so sunburned!!
Boogie boards and besties…..they seriously had so much time riding the waves all…afternoon….long!
Seriously, we have so much fun together! Friends are the family you choose and we are all so happy to have each other!
And this girl….it was so fun having my big girl along for our vacation. She still has as much fun at the beach as she did when she was little and I love it! We brought Malibu and OJ to the beach and when the OJ ran out we found red gatorade and malibu was really yummy! We figured it was a win win since we were also hydrating!
And don’t think little sisters can’t hang! This baby girl did not slow down until her head hit the pillow each night. Do not tell her she is not just as big as the rest because she will prove you wrong!
Right back out to the waves for more hours of fun! Look at their faces….pure joy!
Ehh…maybe not pure joy on this guys face but he was a good sport. He lost his hat and best sunglasses the first day as he flipped over in Dillon’s kayak. When he is this close to water he would definitely rather be fishing but he tolerated our beach fun.
Hmm….not many pictures of these boys. They fished early the second morning and then decided to stay at the beach house watching the olympics and maybe hunting pokemon. It is also possible they somehow ended up climbing on the roof.
How in the world Dillon has gotten so stinkin’ big?!! I still just see him with his sisters and it’s shocking!
Another one of Holly’s strengths is finding the prefect theme pictures and recreating them! When the kids were small and we first started hanging out often as a family, one of the kids referred to our family time as the McJanacs (a combo of both our last names) and it stuck.
My darn good camera refused to cooperate at the beach and continued to fog up so this is the best we got. We were missing Riley but in true form he entertained us with his comments to my instagram post. The best….he wrote for those of you who are wondering, that is me in the background wrestling a tiger shark in the shallows. I always aim to keep my family out of harms way. Y’all, I didn’t even see that guy in the background but after I did I could not stop laughing at his comment!!
This may be my favorite picture from our trip! Thankfully our kids have been trained and trained well! Another Holly creation and tell me this isn’t A-dorable?!!
I had to laugh at this scene. The boys + Dutch all snuggled and watching the olympics.
When you and your bestie show up in the same pj’s without even planning it!! These two minis surprise me with the way they love each other.
Sunday morning I headed down with Holly and her hubby to watch the sunrise while the rest of our family missed out slept in! It was a little cloudy but God never disappoints!
One last Holly pic….truly two girls who have come together to support each other through the sunshine and the rain. She holds a sweet place in my heart and I’m so thankful to have her to share moments like this with!
Bonus, the trip to Port A takes me right through my hometown which meant we were able to have Hinze’s BBQ for a late lunch! We also dropped Carly Jo off for a week with Nana for one last week of summer fun.
Another one of our Summer Bucket List items has been checked! I’m sad to see summer go but the memories will always be mine to hold onto!
What have been your favorite summer memories?
Click the image for all my faves!
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. You can see from all the tabs she read this in high school….she is my literary girl! Holly was seriously close to finishing The Royal We
and now I can’t wait to begin my copy because she seriously could not put it down! I took Nantucket Nights
and I’m kind of irritated by it to be honest but will probably finish this week regardless. It was NOT my favorite book by Elin Hildebrand. 
Looks like a fabulous holiday. A bonus that you can take pets too, I need somewhere like that!
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Looks like such a beautiful weekend !
Such an awesome time. Friends are the family you choose. Oh I love that quote so much. Now I really can't wait to hit up the beach!
We really hit the jackpot when our two families meshed Beth! Cannot wait to see your beach vacation….it's really the best!
Thanks Kimm, it really was so much fun and just what I have been needing.
It really was a bonus….we just hate leaving them!
I cannot even tell you how much I love these pictures! The one with the sand bucket is so so cool! I love all the smiles on the beach and I love that you added Malibu to Gatorade! So great to see you relaxed and having such a great week of family and beach time!
Friends turned family are the best. They make life more fun and fulfilled.
Ha! Loved all your snaps over the weekend! #beachettiquette and Riley's IG comments totally cracked me up! Think he was a little jealous?
I too loved your snapchats! What a fabulous weekend with Framily and you KNOW how I feel about the beach! I am headed back over to my Happy Place in a couple of weeks. I love the beach!
The beach volcano is so cool! I'll have to remember that for our next beach trip. My son would LOVE that! So funny about "bacon soda!" Ha!! I love Riley's IG comment, too! One of the ways you know you're "Adulting" is when your family goes on vacation without you. 🙁
The trick is to put the "bacon" soda inside a water bottle and bury that and then pour the vinegar into the bottle. We tried first without the bottle and it was a flop. Riley is crazy….and he hates the beach anyway but he made sure to be pathetic and send me text about how he couldn't believe we went without him the entire weekend! haha
People just don't even know how to act at the beach sometimes..or just in life haha. Riley was definitely feeling like he was left out but in true Riley form made sure I knew it every day! If I had to choose the baby of our family it is him…he has been in the spotlight the most of all 4 but he thinks he gets zero attention. lol
Girl…for real…desperate times called for desperate measures and it's always fun when you find a combo that actually is a surprise! The gatorade and malibu gets a thumbs up in a pinch. Wishing I was still on island time!
I agree Stephanie! We had so much fun and zero spats with the kids meant lots of happy parents!
Your time at the beach looked like so much fun from all the snaps – sunrises might be my favorite thing to see! xo, Biana –BlovedBoston
oh my goodness! I was already missing the beach and this made me miss it even more!!! Such a perfect weekend! Loved hanging out with you guys! Let's get the next trip planned! 🙂 I'll start working on photo ops and a bucket list, k?! 😉
We may just have to start picking the kids up from camp and heading straight for the beach! So much fun!
Me too Biana…I could watch the sun rise every morning.
Looks like you had a great trip! I am from San Antonio so that was the beach I grew up on. Great memories there!