The resort we stayed at was actually a few miles from Cocoa Beach, so it was much more secluded and quiet than Cocoa Beach. We had the perfect spot as far as our actual room because it was steps away from the pool and the boardwalk leading to the beach. We could leave everything in the room or our porch and go back and forth very easily. The resort was very nice and y'all had a blast. We were not that impressed with Cocoa Beach because it was very busy, crowded, and wilder than we prefer. I was glad we chose to stay outside of Cocoa Beach instead of right there at it. The beach in front of our resort wasn't crowded at all and consisted of families and locals who live at the resort.
We stayed outside as much as possible. The two of you absolutely loved every bit of it. Y'all never complained about being hot, tired, or asking to go in. Actually, it was the opposite... Y'all hated to hear when it was time to go inside. The first day we made the mistake of not coming in for a nap after lunch, and had two extremely ill children by 5:00 PM. Y'all were seriously asleep for the night by 6:45. From then on we made sure to come in every day for a nap around 1:30 and would go back outside to swim and play afterwards. We were the first ones out every morning. Y'all wake up at home around 7-7:30 but at the beach y'all wanted to get up around 6:30. We tried to keep you in bed until at least 7:00. By the time we ate breakfast, put our swimsuits on, and lathered down with sunscreen it was 8:30 and y'all were about to bust down the door to go outside.
I made oatmeal, spaghetti, tacos, meatloaf, peas, and mashed potatoes at home before we left so we would't have to eat out very much. We also brought sandwich stuff and snacks with us. For one, it saves us a lot of money and two, it gave us more time to do what y'all love which is playing on the beach and swimming. Let's face it, taking two children under the age of 5 to eat at a nice beach restaurant after swimming all day isn't pleasant. Instead we stayed in our room to eat and played all day and caught crabs at night. By the way, there were so many crabs! Sumner, you were awesome at catching them. Crab hunting is one of your favorite things to do at the beach. I seriously think you caught about 80!
We only went out to eat one night and it was a neat place right beside where the cruise ships depart. We were able to see two huge ships and y'all thought it was the neatest thing. Now y'all are ready for us to go on a cruise! We ordered pizza one night and had it delivered to the pool. That was a lot of fun and y'all enjoyed swimming at night. I think we finally have daddy convinced to build us a pool after seeing how much we enjoyed it as a family! Maybe next year we'll have our own pool and can have a "stay-cation" instead of a beach trip for Spring Break! :)
Sumner, you learned to ride on your body board and loved it. If we would have let you, you would have gone far out into the ocean to ride the really big waves. Your daddy or I stayed with you the entire time and you also wore your Puddle Jumper. You loved building in the sand. I don't know how many trips you made back and forth to the ocean to fill your bucket up with water. Nor do I know how many holes you dug or how many castles you built. You loved every bit of the beach! The pool was something else you enjoyed! You learned to swim last year and I wasn't sure how well you would remember to swim since you hadn't practiced since September. I was shocked to see how quickly you picked up on it. By the end of our trip you were swimming from one end of the pool to the other without any help. You would jump in at the deep end and swim to the steps in the shallow end. You also learned how to swim to the bottom of the shallow end and pick things up. You are a great swimmer!
Anna Ruth, you were not as crazy about the beach and ocean as you were last year. You preferred to be in the pool and hot tub. You had a bad rash last time we went to the beach in September and the salt water burned. I had forgotten all about it, but you hadn't. You were so scared to get into the ocean and kept repeating "it will burn my legs, it will burn my legs!" I finally realized what you were talking about and showed you it wouldn't hurt like it did the last time. You were skeptical, but trusted me and went in with me. You were glad it didn't burn, but you still didn't care for it very much. You have a worrying nature about you (unfortunately) because you couldn't stand Sumner riding on his body board. You would scream and get upset every time a wave would knock him down and beg him to get out of the ocean. It was sweet to see how much you care about him. You loved swimming in the pool, helping me look for seashells, and playing with the beach ball. You wanted to swim without your Puddle Jumper like Sumner, so we let you some. You are also a great swimmer, especially for a three year old. There were several people in the pool and it made me nervous to have both of you swimming without floats which is why I didn't let you swim without them as much as you would have liked. You have no fear of the pool whatsoever, and loved running and jumping in the pool. Everyone at the resort loved you to death. You have a personality that just pulls people in. You are so funny and keep all of us entertained! You had a love/hate relationship with the crabs. You liked looking for them but once we found one you would get scared and climb up my legs until I picked you up. I am not going to lie, I had the same reaction. I loved finding them but then I got scared and ran away (with you on my hip) when one got close to my feet.
Our check out time was 11:00, and with you two early birds, that gave plenty of play time still. We packed up everything except what we needed to wear home the night before so y'all could swim in the pool for a few hours before leaving. After we checked out we went to play Putt-Putt and eat lunch. We headed home around 2:30. Anna Ruth, you were happy to be coming home because you missed your "anamals" (real and stuffed). Sumner, you were sad to leave but also happy to be going home.
Dear Sumner and Anna Ruth
We had a wonderful trip. I loved every minute of our time together, My mind starts messing with me by making me think about how these years of vacationing with y'all are passing so fast and before I know it, y'all will be teenagers and not enjoy going with us. I hate feeling this way and worrying about stuff like that so I pray immediately for God to help me with my emotions and just enjoy the moments I have. I can't help but also pray that God will help us to always be a close family, even when you do grow up and move away. I love both of you so much and thank God for blessing me by allowing me to be your mama. I thanked him over and over again while we were on our trip for allowing us to go and be together. The two of you and your daddy are my favorite people in the whole world and there is no one I would rather spend my time with. And by the way, you have an amazing daddy who loves you so much. Every time we ever go anywhere, I never see other dads playing with their kids as much as yours does. You never see him sitting back and just watching you play. If y'all are playing he is right there with you. This trip was no different. I am sure he is worn out from all the swimming and throwing he did over the past week, but I guarantee you, he loved every bit of it! Please, never underestimate how loved you both are! I love you both as high as the sky and the ocean is deep and more and more and more!
Love,
Mama
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