Virginia beach

We were up early Saturday morning. babes in hotels will do that to ya. (; we had a leisurely breakfast of eating all the foods we'd all brought to share. Muffins, fruit, donuts, cheese, bagels, and juice, all so yummy! We slowly got all ready and headed to the beach!

When we started looking for hotels we realized that something would have to give. It would either have to be hotel cleanliness, cost, or proximity to the beach. We decided proximity to the beach wasn't the most important thing, since we wouldn't be coming and going from our hotel, we'd just be going. So we stayed about 15 minutes away. We found a great parking spot at the beach, and got our semi-broken (doh!) canopy set up, along with all of our chairs, coolers, and food. We lathered up and Alecia and I hit the waves!

I told her I was good to stay and play in the water all day if she wanted, or I would also follow her back up to the beach. It was so fun to just play together! Shelly came out as far as her cute preggy self could. Then Sarah and Leisa were able to come out while the babes were entertained. We felt like teenagers with no responsibilities, it was awesome!

We had such a good time. And the ocean was seriously cray-cray. I've been to a lot of beaches in the last month, and this water was nuts! The sets were fast and furious. I swear I've not gotten slapped by crashing waves so many times in my life!

Not to mention that I probably stepped on no less than 100 crabs. Ok, that's probably an exaggeration, (but maybe not) but there were lots of crabs and other various creatures underfoot. Each time we touched something we'd squeal like little girls and swim away or tread water till we felt safe.

The lay of the land was crazy too! You'd walk into the water, get a little deeper, and then, boom - sandbar. Repeat 4 or 5 times. We would be out super far, but just in water to our waists because of all the sandbars.

And the currents! It was like a not-so-lazy river, (so just like a river, I guess) and as the day wore on, we just gave up on swimming back after being carried downstream. We'd body surf to shore and walk back. It was crazy and fun! The day was nice and the water was warm.

We swam and ate and talked and swam. It was a really great day. The only thing that would have made it better would have been to stay longer. 

But alas, we had to be home that night. We wrapped things up by writing "Alecia's birthday bash!" in the sand and asking yet another stranger to take a pic of us.

it also happened to be Petra's first birthday, so we drew a birthday note for her too. (:

After the beach, we drove to the boardwalk and found a hotel with an outdoor shower. Then we managed to weasel our way into the bathroom to dry off and change. Then on to Cheesecake Factory! Sarah had talked to Alecia about what she wanted to do on her birthday and she said "I just really want to go to the beach and to Cheesecake Factory." Cha-ching!

I love sharing food! We got 3 appetizers, 1 salad, 2 entrees, and 3 desserts. It was all so delicious, I was totally satisfied, but i didn't feel like I wanted to throw up. It was perfect!

Our server came and sang to Petra for her special day. They brought her a bowl of whipped cream and Leisa let her have at it. It was pretty cute!

We had an amazing time, despite a couple of sunburns. :/ And we got some funny looks after we all sat along this booth. You've got to be ready before you ask for a picture to be taken, that's all.

And another one for good measure.

We got on the road by 7, had a super easy drive, dropped all the ladies off, cleaned the van windows, and then rolled up at home around 11:30. It was exhausting, but oh so fun!

And my month of beach going is pretty much over. I do want to check out a local beach here, but as far as big, 'real' beaches go, that's it. After we left NC, I felt like, it's ok, I get 2 more beaches.  then after Mexico it was still ok, because i still had Virginia beach to look forward to. And now, after 3 different beaches in 2 1/2 weeks, my 2015 beach going days are dwindling down. Feeling so blessed to have enjoyed such an amazing summer!

So we pulled off the surprise of the year and had an absolutely amazing time doing it. And I call that a successful birthday bash!