A Week at the Beach

I apologize for the marathon blogging technique that I seem to have acquired. Nothing like sharing a week of pictures let alone catching everyone up on three months of what our family has been doing. This summer seems to have been particularly full of activities and fun things for our family to do.

So, here begins the vacation to Hilton Head Island, SC. We went with the whole Rankin family and all shared a house together right on the ocean. It was a memorable experience that I hope our children will always remember. The first time to see a beach, to see the ocean, to see dolphins, and to ride on a boat. Smiles were abundant, exhaustion was common, and sleep was welcome at nap time and at the end of each day.

Day 1
The first ocean/beach experience. Ainsley loved it. Andrew wasn't so sure. He liked the sand and then he didn't like it. We got there mid-afternoon so it was a short taste of what we would experience all week.

From Rankin Family

From Rankin Family

Day 2
Loving the beach! We spent the morning building sand castles, walking the beach, and running in the water. By the time we returned for the afternoon nap, Andrew was exhausted and Ainsley was ready to get washed up. Though it was just the beginning, sand was everywhere on both the kids when we returned home. Each day the crevices the sand got in seem to get worse. Ears, toes, nose, you name it...sand found it. Happy Birthday to Chanie!

From Rankin Family

From Rankin Family

From Rankin Family

From Rankin Family

Ainsley's first rescue, a starfish. She picked it up and gently placed it back in the ocean. We did find a few with missing arms throughout the week. Ainsley knew not to be sad though, she knew they regenerate their broken pieces and that gave her even more reason to rescue them.

From Rankin Family

Day 3
Twins, nothing like a pair of matching suits to show you are related and good buddies. We saw a sting ray on the beach and stood by while we watched someone else rescue it. Poor guy had been hooked and gotten flipped over. We got a lesson on the spike at the base of the tail and the proper way to hold one. Happy Birthday to mom!

From Rankin Family

From Rankin Family

Day 4
Bring on the pool. Nothing like a noodle leash :)

From Rankin Family

From Rankin Family

Afternoon on day 3 brought the rescue of shark number two. (Mom didn't have the camera for the first rescue.) Yes, this is a real shark, yes my daughter is holding it, yes it freaked me out both times. This was a highlight though for Ainsley. Feeling the skin, looking at the teeth, letting it go back in the ocean. Every person who has asked about vacation has been told the story of the shark rescue.

From Rankin Family

Andrew loving every minute is never short on the smiles!

From Rankin Family

This is probably the best family photo we have had to date. So, I'm sure you all may see this again at Christmas.

From Rankin Family

Day 4
Brought us out on the ocean. We went on our very first dolphin cruise with Greg Russell. Officially it's called the bubblegum boat tour. We had live kids music, up close dolphins, old lighthouses, and even one tarpin!

From Rankin Family

Nothing like a little natural product. Between the sweat and the sunscreen, Andrew always had a pretty cool hairdo.

From Rankin Family

Here's our hermit crab castle. Ainsley found a hermit crab and wanted to bring it home with us. After researching and determining that it was in fact an aquatic hermit crab, we built a home for it so it could naturally be taken back out by the tide. This made the parting much less sorrowful.

From Rankin Family

Day 5
As vacation is wrapping up and you've seen the biggest highlights, here are a couple of favorite pictures of the kids. The beach and ocean always offer such stunning backgrounds!

From Rankin Family

From Rankin Family

Tennessee Aquarium

Our trip to the beach is underway and we are driving cross country (20 hours) to get there. We decided early on that this trip would definitely call for a stop along the way. We had planned this trip for a few months and in preparation started studying things about the ocean. So what better than to start off vacation with a trip to the aquarium. So, here we are at the Tennessee Aquarium.

We saw all sorts of ocean and freshwater animals. Ainsley loved every minute and seems to want to be an animal scientist more and more each day.

From Rankin Family

The aquarium is rated number one in the U.S. and we can see why. Exploring river fish like sturgeons and petting them was definitely a highlight.

From Rankin Family

The ocean exhibit was a huge hit with both kids. Ainsley loved the penguins, sharks, and sea turtles. Andrew liked everything but definitely seemed to like the sea turtles the best.

From Rankin Family

The kids each left with a stuffed souvenir and didn't let them go for the rest of vacation. Andrew has "turtle" and Ainsley has "Betta" the Macaroni Penguin. (Betta came from the soon to be Rankin family pet. A pet fish...."shimmer sparkles" the male betta.)

We have been packing for our big trip. The sunglasses came out and the kids are looking forward to catching some rays.

From Rankin Family

From Rankin Family

Swimming Lesson

I signed Ainsley up for 4 weeks of swimming lessons this year. We are prepping for our big family vacation to Hilton Head, SC. I had no idea how quickly she would take to swimming. She learned how to freestyle, backstroke, and swim underwater. Her confidence skyrocketed and I was much more at ease taking two children to the pool once she had a few strokes down.

From Rankin Family

From Rankin Family

Ainsley started in Level 1 and by the end of the four weeks she has now graduated to Level 3. We will have to decide if we want to start lessons again in the winter as a break from the snow or if we will hold off until summer. If Ainsley had her way she would swim year round! Looks like a swim team could be in her future.

Big BUGS!

We love Powell Gardens and they always have some fun, neat things for us to explore. We went for a trip to see the BIG BUGS exhibit with Nana. It was a warm day and incredibly sunny with blue sky. We couldn't have a more beautiful day both with Nana and the weather.

The bugs are made out of different types of wood and are bigger than life. The kids wondered at them and Ainsley loved taking pictures. Here's a photo from our budding photographer.

From Rankin Family

Look at the size of this bug, mom!

From Rankin Family

Running on the sidewalk. Andrew is enjoying the ability to explore the garden. He isn't quite sure what to make of all the space, plants, and the bugs.

From Rankin Family

Ready for Battle

Who needs toys when you have kitchen supplies? Andrew is gearing up for battle with a helmet that tops them all. After sporting this look he began running around the kitchen island and growling. Somehow he's becoming more and more of a little boy with every passing day.

From Rankin Family