Celebrating My 31st Birthday at the Beach

Even though we just made the short-ish drive down to the beach what seems like yesterday (when in reality, it was four weeks ago), we packed the car full and did it again. This time, there was a clear mission.

We drove down for the closing of our beach house, and to see the second beach house we’re closing on at the end of next month for the first time in person. Yup. We bought a house before ever stepping foot in it, which sounds crazy as I’m typing it, and we definitely felt like “What on earth are we doing right now?” quite a few times, but PJ knew it would be a great investment, so we confidently moved forward with it.

He has such good intuition about these things.

The new house is so cute and so old and needs so much work, which, you know is our favorite kind of house. The wood walls on the inside are gorgeous and in such great shape, so we’re keeping them, but the kitchen and bathroom need a full reno. We’ll post the full tour soon!

The weather was much better on this trip than last month’s, even if on the last night we were all huddled in the bathroom at 4:30a waiting for the tornado warning to pass (!). Still, overall we had hot and sunny weather, which made time spent at the beach that much more enjoyable.

Meanwhile, this trip was significant for another reason other than just buying a beach house (or two): this was the first trip we took with the kids by ourselves. That sounds weird to say out loud, but it’s true! Every other trip we’ve taken with them has been with family or friends, which has, in theory, always made it easier because there are more eyes watching them, or if we have family and friends with us, our family has been able to watch the kids while we go out to dinner with our friends. It’s worked out well for us so far, so we weren’t sure how this trip would go (though we weren’t too worried about it).

And you know what? It was amazing. And surprisingly almost easier because we were on our own time and schedule, doing whatever we wanted without thinking of anyone other than our family. It made one on one time with our kids even sweeter and all around it was just so nice to not have any plans other than to have fun.

We stayed in a condo that faced the beach that PJ surprised us all with. We haven’t stayed in a beach-front condo in years, and I worried there wouldn’t be enough room for everyone, but with a bunk bed and a king, plus a pull-out couch, there was plenty of room and we all fit just fine!

Plus, the view from our balcony was so dreamy:

We spent the days at the beach, with the kids and PJ building a sand castle, digging holes, and attempting to swim in the chilly ocean water. I, meanwhile, was perfectly content reading my new book. It was heaven.

When we weren’t at the beach, we were at the condo pools. We were going so much that we all took naps every afternoon because we were so worn out. I seem to always forget how the sun and water do that every time.

In the evenings we would drive to Rosemary Beach, which is the most idyllic little European town that’s not in Europe at all. Still, it feels like you’re in another world there and it’s our favorite place ever.

The sunset!!!

It was the perfect way to ring in another year. I felt so loved. PJ has a way of making little moments feel big and special. It’s one of his many gifts and it’s one of the things I love most about him. He and the kids surprised me with a cake in the condo kitchen, along with an individual little cupcake just for me because he knows how much I love cupcakes. I don’t know how I would do life without him and our kids.