Sunset Beach

We are home from the beach, where we spent an amazing five days doing just what we wanted. A whole lot of nothing mixed with a bunch of time spent together.

Our vacation could not have been more perfect. We had a blast - and I've got 399 photos to prove it.

That might seem excessive, and I admit it is. However, here was my goal for the week: to sit back and watch this babe watch the world around him.

And I know you might be thinking that I watch the babe every day. But, I mean really watch him watch his surroundings. Not watch Lane to make sure his diaper is dry; his belly is full; his head is above water; his body is out of harm's way; his clothes are clean; his needs are met.

I mean just observe Lane. When I'm at home each day of the week with my babe, I'm so busy being with my babe that I'm sometimes just too wrapped up in the action to watch.

Last week, I watched.

Good thing for me Papa's goal was to play. To be a part of the action. To take Lane by the hand and show him the way. Because, each day while I'm busy being a mama doing those things, Papa's hard at work so we can spend another day together.

So, it all worked out nicely. I watched. Papa played. We all got what we wanted.

Which was a big dose of this babe in all his beach glory.

I don't think you could have found a happier baby on that beach. From the moment our feet hit the boardwalk for the first time, he was happier than a clam in sand and began chanting beach, beach to each person who walked by and sporting his signature look for the week, which we dubbed "The Pirate."



I love this little beach town we found last year. A tiny little place off the coast of North Carolina. Close to Myrtle Beach but far enough away from the big, chain restaurants, Putt Putt golf courses with exploding volcanoes and bars with flashing lights signaling Open Bar, Open Late.

You'll find none of that here. Just the beach. The boardwalk. The pier. A few family owned restaurants serving fresh seafood. And the sound of the waves.

If your looking for nightlife, look elsewhere. In Sunset, your it. You make your own fun. Just your family and the beach.

And that's just the way our family likes it.

We'd wake up when our bodies told us to. We'd head down to the beach when we got moving. We'd play in the water. We'd head home for lunch and naps. Then, we'd do it all over again that afternoon.

We'd wash the sand and sun off our bodies before dinner and head out for a meal. We'd eat at places with names like Captain Nance's Seafood Restaurant, where we'd watch the shrimp boats bring in tomorrow's night dinner.


Or the Sugar Shack, where we all ate way too much homemade Caribbean food - ribs, jerk chicken, coconut bread for the babe and homemade slaw.

At small places like the Sugar Shack, the babe can go shoeless and wear his new baseball jammies while he eats.

Good food and comfy clothes make him happy.






And you know what makes me happy? This I'm in Heaven - can life get any better - let's never leave here mama and papa - face makes me so happy.

I think he's the most handsome boy alive. And, I know I'm suppose to feel that way because he's mine.

And that makes me happy.



You know what else makes me happy?

Knowing next year we will return to do this all over again. Lane will be one year older. One year wiser.

We hope he'll love the beach just as much.

We wonder what surprises - like the reoccurring Pirate face - he'll have in store for us.

You know what else makes me happy?

Next year, when we pose for this photo, I'll have another babe of my own by my side.

Two babes. An awesome husband. An amazing life.

That makes me happy.




I've got so many pictures to share with you. I went overboard. I realize that. But I could not help myself. I'm in awe of his little mind. The way it works. The way he thinks.


I loved hearing him ask to take a shower each time we'd leave the beach. How he remembered that he needed to shake the sand off his body and wash his feet before getting in the car.

We think he enjoyed the shower as much as he enjoyed the waves.

I love how he's so curious. Peeking in the beach bag wondering what he'll find. Pulling out shovels, keys, water bottles, beach blankets and lotion.

Or what about when we discovered this crab wondering the beach one evening. We watched crab as he wondered by the pier. Lane couldn't take his eyes off of him.

I could not take my eyes off my son.





I had days to watch him. To enjoy him. Looking at him through the lens of my camera. Predicting his next move. Smiling when he did just what I thought he would. Giggling when he surprised me with a new move or discovery.

No, I didn't spend all my time behind the camera.

There was a wide, open beach for us - and I spent a lot of time with my two loves soaking it all in.