July 4th in Jekyll Island

On Wednesday the 1st, Jonathan decided he wanted to sneak away to the beach for a long weekend. It's not unlike us to take last minute trips, but with three kids, it's definitely a bit more challenging than it used to be! Together, we pulled it off and at 7:30 Friday morning, we were on the road. I'm so grateful we got to sneak away and Jekyll Island was the perfect choice for our little ones. We ate lots of good food, played in the sand and the ocean, mini golfed, went bowling, found cool playgrounds, watched fireworks and just enjoyed being together. We were crammed into a hotel room with two double beds, a pack and play, and a chihuahua so we had no choice but to enjoy being together!

Waiting (not so patiently) on fireworks! They started 22 minutes late and the kids were exhausted. But once the fireworks started, everyone was so excited and mesmerized that the irritation from the hour before instantly dissipated. They were passed out before we got off the island. Or eye-yand as Annabella pronounced it. :) :) :) 

We were exploring St. Simons Island until this huge storm happened! We managed to explore the pier and a local farmers market and of course, we slipped in some super yummy icecream! Then we got the heck out of there and it rained the rest of the night. We ended up going bowling and playing at the arcade! 

All of the rest of the photos are from our last morning there. We grabbed breakfast at the hotel and brought it with us to eat on the beach. The kids ran around in the grass at the pavilion and then we all went down for a walk on the beach. It's always so hard walking away from the ocean for the last time. We miss it so much when we're gone. The kids LOVED it this year and (fingers crossed) we'll get to go back in September! 

A kindergartener, a preschooler and a toddler ride in a car...

...for over 5 hours tomorrow because we're going to the BEACH! We planned the trip last night and we're leaving in the morning, so we're super busy. But I wanted to stop in and let you know our plans for keeping the kiddos busy during the car ride. 

New toys or activities are always key in entertaining them for the long run. If you want instant entertainment for your kids, buying something new is usually key, but it doesn't have to be expensive! I took the kids to the Dollar Tree and we picked out some super cheap toys for the ride. 

I bought 3 cookie sheets, 3 packs of stickers, 2 coloring books, a pack of construction paper, a bag of lollypops and (not pictured) 2 zipper pencil pouches. Grand total: $12. My girls are 5 and 3 and are still in a high back booster and a carseat, so there's not a lot of room or mobility available. The pencil pouch was perfect for them to keep crayons in because they can shove it down next to them in their seats without worrying about it falling onto the floor. 

I did a quick Pinterest search for car activities and the only thing I found that was super quick was to use magnets and cookie sheets! I thought it was brilliant because all 3 of the kids love magnets, so Noah could have some new entertainment as well. These cookie sheets have high sides (are they still considered cookie sheets? I have no idea) so the girls can put papers, crayons and stickers inside of them when they're not using them for magnet play. We bought this magnet set from Amazon for Annabella's birthday this year, so I pulled magnets out of the set for them to use in the car tomorrow. I put letter magnets in Noah's cookie sheet because they were bigger and safer for his curiousity.

Here is a photo of my lovely assistant. :)

I put the stickers and crayons in the pencil pouch and I cut the pieces of construction paper in half and gave them both a big stack of that with a variety of colors. Between the stickers, crayons, construction paper and new coloring book, I think they'll be absorbed in art for quite a while. I put everything in little bags that they already have (we got them for $1 at Walmart last year) and I'll also let them choose a few small toys that they'd like to bring with them. We're leaving super early in the morning, so we're hoping they'll sleep the majority of the time anyway. They already have child sized neck pillows and blankets in the van. 

This is a really simple idea. I'm trying to simplify things lately, especially with the children. There were so many complicated, expensive and time consuming ideas on Pinterest and while they were great, I just wasn't going to go to that much trouble and I didn't have enough time anyway. When we were kids, we'd sit in the backseat and play with a stuffed animal and sleep, right? They'll live. We'll talk, sing, and plan our trip while they're not distracted. Plus, we have lollypops. And lots of other snacks. :) 

Wish us luck! Pray for our safe travels. And have a fantastic weekend! Happy Independence Day!!!  

Are you going anywhere this weekend? Tell me all about how you're planning to keep your little monsters entertained in the car in the comments below! 

BEACH!!

Jonathan had planned on taking a week of vacation off of work where we decided we would get our house in order.  The second floor is currently undergoing a four-room-swap and we have chaos everywhere.  The county fair is also in town and we were excited about taking the girls.  On his last day of work before vacation he called me and said, "Tomorrow, instead of taking the girls to the fair, do you want to take them to the beach?!"  When someone asks you if you want to go to the beach, the answer is absolutely always "LET'S GO!"  By that evening we had already reserved a room in a small family-owned hotel right on the beach, decided to take the dog with us, and were ready to pack.  Wednesday morning we left at 7 am, girls and puppy in tow, headed to Myrtle Beach.  Madelynn and Annabella are excellent travelers. I bring a bag full of car approved toys with us and keep them up front with me so I can rotate them without the girls getting bored during the 6-7 hour trip. They are also great sleepers, so that always takes up a good 1-2 hours on the road.  


Since we only had three days at the beach, we made every second count. Once we got into the hotel, we made sandwiches, changed and hit the beach. Our children are fearless.  Annabella ran into the ocean the second we hit the sand and Madelynn fought the waves with nothing but laughter and squeals. They made tons of sand castles, talked to everyone they saw, and had the time of their lives.  The weather was a comfortable 80 with no wind and not a drop of rain.  

Dexy loved the beach, which was pretty surprising because he usually hates to be anywhere but home.  Even though he didn't like the water, he was more than happy to lay on a beach towel and people watch.

  
Madelynn and Annabella shared a bed for the very first time.  Jonathan and I would turn off the lights and TV and wait for them to fall asleep.  Once they fell asleep, we would turn everything back on again until we were ready to go to bed.  On the first night while we were waiting for them to fall asleep, Madelynn yells, "Tell Annabella to get her stinky feet off of my face!!"  Well, the next night Madelynn got her back.

"This is for the feet!"

The thought of being 5 1/2 months pregnant and taking a dog, 3 year old and 18 month old to the beach is usually not everyone's idea of fun.  But we seriously have the BEST kids and couldn't have had more fun.   They travel and sleep so well that it didn't even faze them that we weren't at home following their normal daily schedule.  It was a GREAT trip full of sweet memories and tons of fun!  All thanks to my awesome husband who isn't afraid to suggest crazy 24 hour notice, 7 hour road trips!