We managed to make it out to Bolivar again this summer. :) My favorite beach. And, I guess I'll say it again like I do every year...I know it's not the prettiest beach, but it's the beach I grew up going to, so it will always hold a special place in my heart. I just love this place, and I love the time spent with family. This year's fun activities included the usual ferry rides, big slide, Rain Forest Cafe, and beach time, but we added to it mudding (we might not keep this one on the list of annual activities), crabbing, kayaks, perler beads, and a new baby! I also let Anna shop for souvenirs at the Big Store for the first time. On the whole, I think this was one of our best trips yet. I love this standing vacation, and I can't thank my Mom enough for making it happen.

Our first walk out to the beach. It doesn't matter how early my Mom and I leave home, we can never manage to make it to the beach before about 6:00pm. This time I blame the hour and half ferry line. It also took a couple of hours in the grocery stor… — Our first walk out to the beach. It doesn't matter how early my Mom and I leave home, we can never manage to make it to the beach before about 6:00pm. This time I blame the hour and half ferry line. It also took a couple of hours in the grocery store... Oh well. Good thing we stay for a week.

I explicitly said "don't get in the water." Next time we'll just wear our swimsuits for the car ride.

He was so glad to finally be at the beach.

We spent the next day playing in the sand and the water.

He talked about wanting to the buried in the sand for weeks before the trip. So, this was literally the first thing we did.

Carson worked hard on giving everyone fish tail designs in the sand.

Wallace was a trend setter. Everyone ended up getting buried in the sand this year. Lol.

Jenny brought her kayaks, which this was the perfect year for. We had like 5 days of very calm water.

I'm so glad Carson and Hannah got to come along this year. We kept finding them in my mom's giant bathroom at the beach house doing their nails with Anna. Haha. It was adorable.

The new baby in the family is Bristol! She's got some sass! And she kept us all cracking up with her insatiable appetite and random words. It was nice having a little baby around again...even if my kids did try to give her a black eye and fat lip...… — The new baby in the family is Bristol! She's got some sass! And she kept us all cracking up with her insatiable appetite and random words. It was nice having a little baby around again...even if my kids did try to give her a black eye and fat lip... My kids don't really know what to do with a baby anymore, so they assume she's as durable as a big kid. "/

So, like I said...we went crabbing this year. I remember doing this at least a couple of times with my parents and sisters when I was little. I recall getting sooooo excited when I'd pull up a crab, and it seemed so easy. Much easier than fishing, which I've just never really gotten the hang of. Plus, my Mom always followed it up by making stuffed crab, which was just super awesome! Anyway, I've been talking about doing this again for the past couple of years, but I finally just started buying stuff to make it happen this year. I'd considered getting the nets on Amazon, but I'm glad I didn't. Shockingly, they appear to be the only item you can purchase on Bolivar Peninsula for a fraction of what it costs online. Well...nets and chicken necks. They are well stocked on chicken necks at the Big Store. Haha.

We tried crabbing at Rollover Pass to start, but it was just such a bust. We were staring right into the sun, and all we were catching were hermit crabs.

Wait! Hold the phone! I totally forgot to talk about the actual first place we tried to go to. It'd been so long since we crabbed that we literally had no idea where to go. So, we started off by just looking for any old street to take us to the bay side of the island. What a mistake. The first one we went down was apparently what people at work like to call a "paper street". As in it only exists on paper! It was just a big wetland. And, like an idiot I just kept driving and driving down it thinking a street or some gravel would just materialize at some point. I've never used my 4-wheel-drive as much as I did that day! I can't believe none of us got stuck, I was leading a 3-car caravan! Jenny was the only smart one who didn't just take off driving into the wetland. We finally found an old foundation for I guess an old house that had blown away in a hurricane (probably with the road) and used it to turn around. The only thing remaining on that foundation was an old toilet, which Meredith saw and immediately decided she needed to go pee in it. She was so mad at me for not letting her. I didn't get any photos of this particular excursion. I was just freaking out thinking we'd be trying to call a tow truck or maybe a boat to get us out of there at any minute. Lol. Like I said...we won't be repeating that one next year. But, my kids were literally talking about the "potty street" today, almost 3 weeks later!

Anyway, back to the crabbing...

As I was saying...Rollover Pass was HOT!

Meredith had had it within about 5 minutes and went and sat in the car. Still mad at me about the toilet I'm sure...

So, after about half an hour, we gave up and looked for a new spot.

We found this great little pier at the end of a real street, and it was perfect.

There were frequent barges, and it was cool to watch the water rise and fall around us when they'd go by.

Dallas caught the first blue crab, but it was way too tiny. We were super pumped he caught something other than a hermit crab though!

Wallace actually caught the first keeper! And we were all shocked and excited! Just like I remember from when I was a kid! I was literally jumping up and down screaming for a bucket. I know he looks all calm, but Wallace was just bursting with excit… — Wallace actually caught the first keeper! And we were all shocked and excited! Just like I remember from when I was a kid! I was literally jumping up and down screaming for a bucket. I know he looks all calm, but Wallace was just bursting with excitement over the whole thing. He still talks about catching the first crab, and then the biggest one too.

So, Josh had to work this year and wasn't able to make it on the trip, and I think honestly the crabbing was probably the hardest thing for him to miss. I sent him a photo of Wallace as soon as he caught that first crab, and he quickly called back to facetime with Wallace and have him tell him all about it. And he kept telling me to take them back to keep crabbing for the rest of the week. Lol. If he's able to make it next year, I think this is one event he will definitely want to be a part of.

Crabbing is so easy! And this location was soooo much nicer.

Anna and Hannah had some bum luck. Everyone else managed to catch a few crabs, but these two only caught a fish. What a stupid fish too...How the heck did it get hauled up in a little crab net?

Anna was so pissed about not catching any crabs that we ended up going back the next morning to try again.

Barge traffic... So cool to see it all up close.

Even Meredith got into the crabbing! Little miss sit-in-the-car.

Hannah managed to catch one crab the next morning, and that was it. Anna had a tough run-in with some oyster shells. "/ Maybe crabbing isn't for her after all. Oh well...better luck next year.

Oh, and I when I say we were catching hermit crabs...they were no joke! Hermit crabs on the bay side are HUGE!

So, we all enjoyed some stuffed Sebastian that night, and we all got to help out with it in some way. It was great! People...take your kids crabbing!

Anyway, that was our last day with Hannah and Carson, and we'd tried cramming in all of the non-beachy stuff while they were with us, so we just spent the next few days bumming around in the sun.

Anna made the prettiest sand castle. It was tiny, but her use of shells put it on top.

The wind picked up and the water got a little more rough. Lol

Like I said. She's posing a lot. I have sooooo many photos of Meredith from this trip.

Meredith actually took this one! I didn't trust her with the camera for long. She kept acting like she was about to put her super sandy sunblock soaked fingers on the lens!

Wallace took a few trucks with the expressed purpose of playing with them in the water...which he did for hours.

We built him a little ramp. It was great.

There was a golf-cart parade. Bolivar is a bit different than when I was a kid. In the 80's and 90's there were just TONS of cars driving up and down the beach (in my head it seemed like it was just bumper to bumper all day long) in the "zoo". But I… — There was a golf-cart parade. Bolivar is a bit different than when I was a kid. In the 80's and 90's there were just TONS of cars driving up and down the beach (in my head it seemed like it was just bumper to bumper all day long) in the "zoo". But Ike wiped all that away. Haha. Now it's perfect.

We weren't expecting the parade...In fact, I'm not sure how much of it may have passed us before we realized it was happening. You know...no marching band or fire trucks...and golf carts aren't that loud...

Anna figured out she'd get more beads if she hid her stash behind her.

And, Hunter and Wind made it down for the last night. Which was good too because they pretty much Jenga'd everything back into my car for me.

So, the beach trip is a keeper. :) I can't wait to go back next year. And I know at least three little kids who can't wait either.