Port Aransas 2011, Part 1

We had a great trip with my parents to Port Aransas right after the 4th. It was really a great and fun family getaway. We did lots of fun, fun stuff, so I'll break the trip down into what I consider the highlights. First of all, we (especially Jake) loved feeding the seagulls every night. Right when we got there, Kevin and Jake went outside to check out the view and quickly made a seagull friend they named Sammy. Here they are with their friend, Sammy...

Jake carefully pulled apart the bread and would also carefully decide where he threw it...

Yeah for the seagulls!I think the biggest highlight of all was the beach! Probably a good thing since this was a beach vacation. My parents took Jake to the beach in Galveston a couple months ago, but this was the first experience Kevin and I had with him at the beach, and it was awesome. I was so proud of him. He is not scared at all of the water. He never once cried or whined, even when a big wave would splash water all in his face. He wasn't even phased by the saltwater. He just seems so brave to me, and it was so obvious he was having fun it made it that much more fun for all of us. Here's Jake's beach bod...He liked to play on a raft we brought. As soon as we got down to the ocean, he would grab the raft and head to the water, regardless if anyone was with him. He definitely kept us on our toes. Once in the water, one of us would hold the raft and bring him out into the waves and he did a great job of riding the waves...

He also loved just going in on his own. Here are some shots capturing that...I can't get enough of the joy he exudes...We also picked up a little inner tube for him, and it turned out to be a great purchase. He loved it and was good enough at holding on that he could float on his on in the deeper water...Jake really didn't want the fun to stop in order to take posed pictures, but Kevin and I took the sneak-up behind approach to document our being there too...And with all the fun, it was definitely important to take some rest and snack breaks. Here are all the boys chillin' on the sand...