Memorial Day Weekend...milkshake style

We had a fabulous Memorial Day weekend. I am so afraid this post won't do it justice. We savored every last drop of this weekend like the last of a Chick-Fil-A cookies 'n cream milkshake.  It was straw slurpin' good, baby. The Hubs had Sunday through Tuesday off, and we lived hard! 

Disney Pics and Some Ice Cream
Sunday Aunt Corndog and Uncle J met up with us at Grandad and G-Mama's house to share some Disney World pictures and videos.  The Hubs and I started dreaming of a family trip to Disney and decided we'd better start saving now for all the turkey legs he wants and all the Mickey Mouse shaped cotton candy I want. After the Disney recap we went downtown for ice cream and had a fun day in the park.

The Beach
On Memorial Day we hit up the beach for Newbie's first official Beach Day.  It was blazing hot outside, but the wind was blowing like crazy, so we ended up working in a Plan B after our first beach visit.  Our first stop was at a remote beach we love, but the wind was whipping sand in Newbie's eyes, so we hopped in the car and headed 12 miles down the beach to a little town and enjoyed their boardwalk for a while before hitting the beach again where Newbie loved playing in the sand.  The water was too cold for anything but a quick toe dip, but he adored playing in the sand and waving to people from his wagon as we made our way down the boardwalk. 

The Best Park Ever Round 1
Later that evening after Newbie and his mama took an afternoon nap, we met up with some good friends of ours for a picnic dinner at our favorite park.  I made up some homemade sloppy joes and beans and we had a delicious meal in the shade.  Newbie enjoyed his first watermelon rind and showed his daddy the ropes on the playground.  We love this park because there are four HUGE playgrounds in varying sizes for littles and there are tons of lakes and boardwalk docks to explore.  We make it a point to get out to this park as a family as much as we can because it is so darling and full of family fun opportunities.  We are all about the family fun.  There are nature trails all over the place and it is the perfect picnic spot.  And that's just the outside of the park.  We waited until Tuesday to hit the inside.

The Best Park Ever Round II
We hesitated to commit to another day in the sun on Tuesday, but when the temp hit 80, we were lathering on the sunscreen and out the door in a flash.  It was time to take the Hubs and Newbie on their maiden voyage to the best kept secret of the best park ever.  This park is a fabulous place for picnics and walks for most of the year, but in the summer, in the summer it has the best secret: Past the playgrounds and the nature trails is a gated entrance where you pay a steal-of-a-deal four bucks per adult to get into the beach and splash pad sprinkler park.

I have taken all the littles I nannied for to this beach since the park opened a few years ago, and the summer camp I worked at always hit up the beach for at least one field trip a summer.  It. is. the. best.  There is a TON of sand and a fantastic lake where kiddos can wade in to their hearts' content.  The best part?  On a good day, if you look really close, you can find minnows and even bigger fish in the water.  SO fun.  The worst part?  No lifeguard.  Major downside, but when you're a helicopter beach parent like myself, its no biggie because you're all up in the littles' biz splashing in the water and playing in the sand with them anyway. 

I was giddy with excitement when the Hubs and Newbie walked through the gates because I knew the Hubs would love it and finally see the summer secret I have talked about since I discovered the place for the first time myself.  Oh, the fun!  The Hubs kept saying how awesome it was and how surprised he was that we'd never been there together.  I reminded him that it was probably because we didn't have a kiddo old enough to enjoy it with us until this summer.  And boy, did we ever enjoy it together! We hit the splash pad first where Newbie went berserk running through the sprinklers and splashing in the water.  He was absolutely fearless!  There is literally water spraying from every direction on the splash pad, and that boy was LOVING it. 

After the splash pad, we headed a stone's throw away to the beach.  Newbie had a blast wading in the warm, shallow water and building a sandcastle with his daddy.  HELLO, SUMMER!

And because I simply can't resist, here are a couple videos.  The first one is one I took while Newbie and the Hubs explored the splash pad.  Pay close attention at the end...I was running under a bucket of water that tipped and poured all over me with a force that whooshed my sunglasses right off.  Impeccable timing. It might be worthy of an instant replay.  =) The second is of Newbie and the Hubs checking out the lake at the beach.  *Be sure to scroll down to the bottom of my blog and pause or mute the music so you can hear the fun!





We had such a wonderful weekend together.  I hope you all had a blessed weekend as well and are working your way through a great week! 

Happy Wednesday, friends!