Notes from the Nelsens: Seagrove Beach Trip

***I started this post on Monday and planned to share a few other things this week as well, but then life happened. I will get back in a consistent blogging groove eventually, so don't give up on me! 😉***

Last week we took our third-annual family beach trip to Seagrove, Florida, and our first trip as a family of 5!

We had such a great time being with my family all week and by the second-to-last-day learned how to do a beach day with all 3 successfully. 😂

All of our family was so great about helping with our kiddos. Ryan and Maddox were joined at the hip most of the week and Noah and Natalie were so cute together. If our little ones turn out half as sweet as my sister's boys, we'll be set.

Honestly, this post could have easily been broken into 2, but since it's now Frida, I'll give the full photo/memory overload today. 😜

Highlights from the trip include:

**Ryan riding a spider man bike that was conveniently waiting at the beach house this year. That was his first time riding a bike!

**Natalie saying the names of her family: "Ghee-Ghee (Gigi), Nah-na (Nonna), Oh-a (Noah), MaaMaa (Maddox)

**Emily sleeping on the beach 🙌 and dipping her toes in the water.

**Knocking out the fastest family photo session surely in the history of family photo sessions. We got to the beach mid-sunset and got all the group shots and one big family shot in before the sun was down.

**Hunting for ghost crabs on the beach our last night there. We woke up Natalie (just like last year), put Emily in the wrap, gathered flash lights, nets, and buckets, and took an hour or so on the beach searching for the white little crabs. Ryan was in heaven. It's most likely the first thing he'll tell you when you ask him about the beach.

**Natalie pretty much sat on my hip or held my hand the whole week, but on the last night, when we went ghost crabbing, she let Gigi hold her the entire time. My sis loved it and it made my mama heart happy to see her having fun with her Gigi.

**We celebrated my birthday while we were there and planned to go out to dinner that night. Every year we say we'll go out to dinner one night, but then we realize (every year) how much we all love eating home-cooked meals, being in comfy clothes, letting the kids run around and swim in the pool until meal time, and getting the littlest ones down right after we eat. So we dressed up and took pictures on the beach and then went back to our house for Mexican Lasagna (my sister makes the best!) in our comfies. It was the perfect way to spend a birthday!

Can you hear Natalie saying "Cheeeeese" ?!

A birthday's not a birthday without Pie Face... 😉

Ryan especially got so excited!

"Shhh...your sisters are asleep!"

Sweet buddy- bug-catching/fishing nets and all

Morning walk! This was the first year Ryan either walked or rode a bike instead of sitting/sleeping in the stroller. And these two are two peas in a pod.

First pig tails! And this girl looooves to have her picture taken, haha- which I why there are so many of her from this trip! Any time a phone came out, she would say, "Cheeeeese"

Sweet Noah wanted to take Natalie on a bike ride, so we let him go up and down our street (with me and my sister running right alongside 😂 )

First time this sweet pea wore a bathing suit! All summer in our pool she was napping outside while we swam!

thumbs up = sleeping baby on the beach

Nap time relaxation for this fun daddy :)

While our kiddos were napping, Noah and Maddox snuck out to a store to buy Ryan and Natalie stuffed animals. They are the SWEETEST!!

Donut morning!

Sleep girl :)

Ryan loved helping carry things to the beach- sweet buddy.

Love this smiley girl so much!!

Emily and Gigi! (Disregard the shadows and black bathing suit that make my sis look naked 😂)

In a brief moment, Matt and I found ourselves standing next to each other with no babies. One was sleeping and the other two were happily playing with our people. It was a beautiful minute. 😜