BEAUTIFUL BEACH DAY

The temperature crept into the 70's today, so we were able to take the kids out to the beach for digging and sand castle building and dune jumping and wave chasing. They had so much fun that the only way we could convince them to leave (1.5 hours past nap time and 2 hours past lunch!) was to promise them we could go back later. Sure hope the projected mid-60's tomorrow will be OK for at least an hour's worth of beach play or we're going to be in big trouble with James...

We went to our usual (favorite) spot, a mere 3 block walk from Gramma's house.

I love toddler toes in the sand...

(She loved the sand "bricks" she could break off up in the wind rippled dunes)

(He showed off lots of superhero poses while awaiting the waves)

Cora, however, was terrified of the waves...

We told her that mama's coffee was in the safe zone (because mama obviously didn't want to lose her awesome Contigo mug), so she stood solidly next to it and repeatedly cried to be picked up. She was at least 10 ft from the waves.

Jay gave in and picked her up.

Then she hid in the safety of daddy's shadow.

She eventually got brave enough to sneak up to the water's edge and drop a few handfuls of sand and seashells into the water like her brother was doing.

(How the heck is Jay holding him here? Like a sandwich?!)

Brave little man ended up going in waist deep, no fear at all, and no issue with the cold water.

Posed for Gramma at the 18th Street sign post.

TREE CLIMBING AND BIKE RIDING

Sharing her giant gummy shark with daddy

THANKSGIVING BLESSINGS

We needed a break from activity today, so we spent our Thanksgiving mostly at home (Jay and I did run this morning), helping Jean put the feast together and playing with the kids. This year, as in years past, we are most thankful for our little family - a happy marriage, healthy kids, and a good life together filled with enough fun and adventure to keep things interesting! We were also thankful today to get to spend the holiday with Gramma, and for the technology that allowed us to Skype with family in California. We are very blessed to have such a loving family in our lives (on both coasts, north and south, and in between) and an amazing group of friends near and far that are as much family to us as our relatives. So thank you, to all of you, for being a part of Team Lindsay.

Cora's pre-feast appetizer. She ate over half a can of green beans before lunch..

...and she was still hungry. She climbed up to the table as soon as we started setting things out, fork in one hand and spoon in the other, saying "I'm hungry! Feed me! I want to eat!" Other than green beans, she ate FOUR deviled eggs, some turkey, some mashed potatoes, some yams, a bunch of marshmallows, and a little Westgate Salad. (And yes, she had a costume change with her bow. She decided she wanted to wear pink for the "party".)

Jean, Jay, and I ate some of everything, with Jay and I eating seconds (and even thirds) of a lot of things. Needless to say, we did not eat dinner tonight. We just ate pumpkin pie and fudge instead. It's ok, we ran this morning, remember?

After lunch we all took a 2-hour nap (except Gramma, but she should have!) and the kids were low on energy until we gave them fudge. And juice. And cookies. Then they were ready to Skype with the Cali crowd.

TURKEY TROT + DRINKS IN THE STREETS

The Beaches have an annual tradition of meeting for drinks in the streets while the turkeys cook at home on Thanksgiving morning. I remember working at Shelby's coffee shop and serving the folks starting as early as 7:00 AM! Jay and I had a 5-mile run on the schedule for today, and Jean suggested we go downtown for a drink while we were out, so we did a 5K, then joined the crowd to enjoy the festivities. The whole way down there, through the neighborhoods, we smelled turkeys and other delicious Thanksgiving feast items cooking away. It was quite motivational.

Mimosas at 10:00 AM are perfect, even in the middle of a run.

Then we decided to go into Pete's and get a couple of vodka cranberries - BAD idea. Pete's makes them WAY too strong (or at least way stronger than we're used to, since we generally just drink beer and wine at home). We had to go into the coffee shop and buy some orange juice to dilute them with. And a muffin to sop up some of the alcohol... Then we put our feet up and people-watched for a while.

Needless to say, the mile and a half home was a little tricky on near-empty bellies after two drinks. I discovered that it's pretty much impossible to run and giggle uncontrollably at the same time. But fun! Thank goodness Jean had sausage and eggs and coffee waiting for us! - Thanks Jean!!

OUR THANKFUL TREE (2012)

This was a school project for James that the whole family was assigned to contribute to. I was proud of myself for spending longer than 5 minutes on it, some of the answers from the kids (and Jay) cracked me up (I had to reword "thankful" for Cora to ask her what makes her happy or what she likes, hence her answer of "Pickles!"), and I definitely need a pattern for leaves next time so I don't freehand weirdo foliage...

HOLLY JOLLY TROLLEY

After the Alligator Farm, we journeyed across the bridge to St. Augustine for clam chowder and a trio of appetizers, another splurge on chocolate and caramel apples and fudge, and a trip on the Holly Jolly Trolley (a trolley tour of the St. Augustine Christmas lights complete with Christmas tunes blaring over loudspeakers and caroling by the passengers).

Cora slept entirely through dinner. She hasn't done that ever.

She woke up in time for a chocolate Santa on a stick though. And a minivan potty break before jumping on the trolley.

James enjoyed the "snowflake glasses" (they made all the lights look like glowing snowflakes - it was super cool, but only tolerable for a few minutes at a time without getting nauseated).

Little man didn't sleep all day, so he was really dragging toward the end of the tour. Plus, it was already past his usual bedtime at this point. He has been such a trooper on this vacation, and completely spoiled too. Sure hope we haven't completely broken him of napping on this trip by letting him skip it so often...

Sporting her Holly Jolly Trolley sticker.

ALLIGATOR FARM ADVENTURE

Jay finished both comp exams and his presentation and homework assignments at 2:00am last night, so we were able to head out on a family adventure today down to St. Augustine to visit the Alligator Farm. The kids really enjoyed seeing the alligators and crocodiles, snakes and turtles. Next time we go, Jay and I are bringing appropriate footwear so we can do their 2-hour zipline course (Soaring above alligator pens? YES please!) We watched a gator feeding, fed some gators ourselves, did some climbing and playing, and lots of animal viewing. Neither kid napped all day, and by the time we loaded into the car at 5:00pm Cora's eyes were closing before we even had her buckled in. Sweet girl was asleep before we started the car. Gotta love adventures that result in happy, tired kids - especially when they learn new things. James recounted his day to us the whole way home, even pretending to call Grambot and Pawpaw on the phone (We didn't have reception along A1A or we would have really called you guys!) to tell them about the gators.

That's Maximo, the Alligator Farm's current largest gator

Feeding the gators

Trying to convince me that Buddha is a girl because he has nipples...

Her hair is getting so long (finally)!

Checking out "Kevin" from the movie "Up" (according to James)

GRAMMA'S LITTLE HELPERS

Helping Gramma clear the palm fronds from her yard

FORT CLINCH

After a day of park play, a spontaneous museum visit, lunch at our most favorite seafood restaurant in Atlantic Beach, feeding our leftovers to the gulls and grackles, and a ferry boat ride, we ended up at Fort Clinch State Park. The kids explored the tunnels and stairwells and old buildings, and Jean and I burned off enough calories chasing after them to justify our shrimp, hushpuppies, fries, and sweet tea lunch. (And Jay stayed home to work on two of his comprehensive exams, the slides for his final graduate school presentation, and a poster - he's not busy or anything...) 

Excellent day!

Sword fighting silhouettes

She tried out every single bunk...

MAYPORT PRINCESS

(I have a picture of myself in front of this boat from December of 2003, when we were living just south of Mayport into Atlantic Beach in our very first home, so I couldn't resist the opportunity to photograph the kids)

Making faces at her mama as we waited for the ferry to launch

This is the look most often gracing James' face these days. Our boy is just extremely happy and excited about everything lately, even more so than usual. It's really quite beautiful to witness.