Walks With Ida : Tybee Island Beach

During some free time during our trip to Savannah last week, I took a little walk on the beach with Ida. I was hoping to get Cora to come with us so I could take some sister pictures, but she was too busy playing with her cousin. Good thing Ida is always up for adventure!

Ida was timid putting her hands in the sand because she was fully dressed. She warmed up and was running all around the beach... until she completely bit it in wet sand. She laid there for probably two minutes then slowly started digging her hands in the sand. At that point she was already wet and sandy, so she had no problem going into the waves to try and wash off her hands.

We had the perfect little walk on the beach. I got to spend a lot of one-on-one time with Ida during this trip and I love that I have these pictures to remind me of our little date.

A Quick Trip to Savannah

Last week, we took a short trip to Savannah for a memorial for my Grammy. My parents got a house on Tybee Island about a block from the beach. It was a much needed getaway and an awesome time with family. 

We drove overnight and arrived first thing in the morning on Thursday. We quickly unpacked and headed to the beach. The last time I was at Tybee Island was Cora's first trip to the beach so I was feeling a little nostalgic thinking about baby Cora along with all the many trips we took here while visiting my grandparents. This was Ida's first trip to the beach. Since she loved sand so much on our Wisconsin trip, I knew she would enjoy it at the beach. Ida wasn't really into the waves creeping up on her, but enjoyed the ocean when we brought her deeper in the water. It was no surprise to me when Ida wanted to spend most of her time playing in the sand. 

We spent a couple hours at the beach then headed back to the house where we had lunch, relaxed, and took naps until dinner time. That evening we headed out to AJ's Dockside for dinner with whatever family was in town so far. We called it an early night and set the girls up with a short movie. I love how they cuddle up to each other and get along 80% of the time.

Friday, we spent the day celebrating my Grandma's life. We had a mass at her church. We used to come down to visit my grandparents for spring break, and this was the church we spent many years celebrating Easter. Mass was followed by a reception and a trip to the cemetery for the inurnment. We had a couple hours to rest before spending the evening in downtown Savannah.

Friday evening, the entire extended family went on a riverboat cruise on the Georgia Queen. It was a really cool experience and a perfect tribute to my Grandmother, who went on quite a few paddleboat cruises with my Grandpa. We had a private room, so it was less stressful than I thought river-boating with kids would be. Cora immediately ran off with her second cousins and I barely saw her the whole night. There are 3 other girls cousins around her age and they are all the cutest! It was a great evening filled with good food, music, and even better company... Grammy would have loved it!

Saturday, everyone met up at the beach and we all played and swam and chatted. My girlies were exhausted from the night before so they were a bit whiny. Cora headed out to lunch with my parents and the rest of the crew slowly trickled off to their various plans. Eventually it was just a couple of us hanging out at the beach. I was just saying how nice it was and I turned around to notice the sky behind us was filled with black clouds. We quickly gathered our things and speed-walked back to the house before the storm.

We had another family gathering that evening before we all hit the road. Ben and I headed out around 9 and drove through the night. It was a quick three days, but we packed as much stuff as possible in during that time. I loved catching up with family I haven't seen in years... and the beach was a good bonus!

Georgia Trip: Cora at the Beach

This was Cora's first trip to the beach so I was a little nervous to see whether she would like the beach/ocean/sand or not. Cora has done swim lessons and loves baths so I wasn't worried about the water portion of the trip.  The first beach day, we went to was in a small bay that was less crowded and there weren't many waves.  Cora liked the water and loved splashing around with her cousin.  The sand seemed weird to her since it stuck to her hands, but she got used to it quickly and found a couple rocks and shells to carry while she walked around the beach.

The rest of the week we went to a different beach.  We call this one the wedding beach because my cousin got married there a couple years ago.  This beach was a little more crowded and had more waves.  Cora DID NOT like sitting on the beach and letting the waves hit her.  She liked going in the water, but would cling tightly to me.

When I was getting Cora ready, my cousin mentioned that she had a watermelon swimsuit too.  She threw it on so they could match.  My cousin is great with Cora and they had a fun time playing with each other throughout the week.  Aren't they adorable?!

We ventured to the beach almost every day of the week.  Towards the end of the week, Cora was getting used to going to the beach and loved waving at the ocean when we got there.  I'd take her in to swim a couple times, but she mostly enjoyed hanging around under the umbrella and sticking her fingers in the sand.

On the last day at the beach, she got a little more adventurous and started to walk off on her own.  She was a little wary of the whole situation at first, but once she got more comfortable, she really enjoyed swimming in the ocean and playing in the sand.

We had a great time visiting the beach during our trip and it was such a relief that Cora loves the beach since beach time is pretty much 50% of our vacations.  I enjoyed watching my cousins and other kids playing on the beach and dreaming of future days when Cora will be running around playing in the ocean with her cousins and siblings.  Sigh... perfect!