Our spontaneous family beach trip!

On Sunday, Andrew and I woke up thinking we were going to go to church. As I was getting dressed, we were discussing the idea of perhaps taking a day trip to the beach. By the time I had all of my church clothes on, we had decided to go to Wilmington for the day. I changed clothes, we packed Anna a diaper bag for the day, and off we went.

Our first stop was the Oceanic Restaurant. This is our go-to place in Wilmington. We've eaten there twice before and this time we had lunch. It was a gorgeous day; not too windy, nice and warm, and clear skies. It was a terrific meal, view, and time together.

We love the panorama feature on Andrew's new phone, by the way! :) While we were at lunch, I checked my Facebook and saw a picture my mom had posted of the battleship in Wilmington. I called her and we discovered that she was only 20 minutes away! We met in the parking lot for a few minutes, since we were in a hurry to get home (which will be explained momentarily).

Andrew's parents had gone to North Myrtle Beach for the weekend, so we called them on the way to see how they were doing. Rena mentioned that they had their room for one night longer than they could stay, and offered it to us. This would mean going home, packing a bag for two nights, sleeping one night on the sleeper sofa in the room, and then having the room to ourselves the next night. While we were at lunch, we decided to go for it. We drove home after meeting my mom and packed in a hurry, and then made off for Myrtle Beach.

We stayed that night on the pull out couch in John and Rena's hotel room. Anna, for some reason, did not want to sleep by herself. She woke up at 11:30 and after about three hours, I gave up trying to get her to sleep in her bed and snuggled up with her between Andrew and I. Not very comfortable for me, but I do love snuggling my sweet pea. :)

On Monday, we spent time in the hotel room in the morning before we headed out for lunch. We drove down Ocean Blvd. for a little while until we found a little restaurant on the pier. We ate lunch, which was simple but very good!

 

After lunch, John and Rena had to go back to the hotel room and pack up to go home. Andrew and I hung out in the hotel room for most of the afternoon. We went for a drive around supper time, and ended up going to a restaurant called Damon's for dinner. Last time we visited Damon's, Anna refused to let me stop walking and it was not a very enjoyable time. Thankfully she was good this time, especially because it was pouring and it would not have been fun to walk her around outside. We went back to our hotel and went to bed; Anna was good, mostly. She woke up once around 12:00 but (miraculously) went back to sleep in her own bed. She woke up at 6:30, but I suppose I can't complain too much. ;)

Today (Tuesday) was our last day.We had planned on going to play mini golf, but it was cold and drizzling, so we passed on that plan. Instead, Andrew decided it would be fun to take the Southport Ferry to Ft. Fisher and go to the NC Aquarium. 

Anna really liked the ferry! She loved watching the water go by, and the people in the car next to us loved watching her. ;)

The aquarium was (for me, anyway) the highlight of the whole few days. I always love going, and I loved watching Anna look at the fish! She's starting to get the age where she's interested in the things around her more, and she liked watching the big fish swimming by!

We also took a wonderful family picture:

I love that so much <3 I remembered that Andrew and I took a day trip to the aquarium last summer, and we took a picture in the window of one of the tanks. I saw that same window today and just knew that we had to have another picture! It is so amazing to see how much we can grow in such a short time.

That was our vacation! I enjoyed having some time to spend with my wonderful family, and I am so thankful that the Lord gave us this opportunity! I know I'm posting late, but I am now nursing Miss Fussy-baby-that-doesn't-want-to-stay-asleep for the first time tonight, so we'll see how much longer I'm awake tonight. :P Heh heh, I love her so much.

I'll post this last picture: I loved this fish! I didn't see him the first time I walked by his tank, but I did a double take and noticed him blending in to the rock! He is such a good hider! I marvel at the expertise and perfection with which God created all of His creatures. :)

So thankful for all of the opportunities and blessings the Lord sends my way. :)

Psalm 107:1 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!