Beach Trip

In July we spent a wonderful week at the beach with Chris' parents and Grandad. They have had a caravan in Swanage for years and have recently decided to put it up for sale. It will be sad to say goodbye to it, but we will always treasure the great memories we made there!

Grandad always spots the best shells!

We each made a list before we went to Swanage of the things that we wanted to do while we were there. Arthur was most excited to 'treasure hunt' on the beach! We came back with buckets full of shells.

Just a warning- none of these pictures are in order! 

This is us on the deck of the caravan right before we left. What an amazing vacation!

The kids with Phil (Grandad) on the beach!

Arthur and Stella spent a lot of time 'surfing' with Daddy in the sea!

Love this picture!

We went for a walk nearby and saw some great fossils.

Great Grandad is such a fun playmate! 

No beach trip would be complete without digging a gigantic hole in the sand.

Hard workers!

Ice cream is an important part of any beach vacation!

Saying goodbye to Great Grandad! He left a few days before we did. We had such a great time with him there. The kids are so blessed to have the chance to build a relationship with their great grandparents and I hope they will always remember the fun they have with them!

Mega-castle!

Sand surfing!

Ready for a meal a the caravan. I'm not sure what Phil was saying here, but it looked so important! Words of wisdom I'm sure! 

I also love this picture because it will forever remind me of the pole dancing rat!

Ship watching!

On this trip we learned the art of loom banding! I picked up a few 'quiet' activities for the kids and kept them in a big bag for those early morning hours when grandparents were still sleeping but the kids were ready to start the day!

Fun on the beach!

We took a day while we were there to visit the nearby Sea Life Center. They were doing a big Octonaut exhibition there, so we had to go!

Flying kites up on the cliffs!

Lots of cool creatures to see at the Sea Life Center!

Kwazi Cat! It took a lot of courage for Arthur to stand this close. He seems to have an innate distrust of adults dressed in humungous costumes pretending to be strange animals, go figure! 

Sea Life Center

Spot the penguins!

This was another big achievement for Arthur! He is not so much afraid of heights, but I think the risk of falling is always a big presence in his mind. He climbed all the way to the top of this frame on his own!

Greeting the monkey!

Monkey handshakes!

This monkey loved playing with Arthur!

Every time Arthur would go from one end of the glass windows to the other the monkey would swing as fast as he could to follow him and then sit and wait for him to race  back again!

We got to to into the Lemur area, which is all open so they can come up really close to you!

I think this was the kids' favorite part! They have had a love for lemurs every since.

During the keeper's talk this lemur suddenly jumped up right in front of where we were standing! He and Arthur stared at each other for a few minutes before he wandered off. 

Thank you Swanage and Grandma, Grandad and Great Grandad for an incredible holiday to remember!