If life was a beach, we would have two happy girls. After a wonderful whirlwind trip at Disney, we hit the road and headed to the gulf for a few relaxing days in Clearwater. The weather was perfect and clear and the surf and sand were picture perfect. We took a lot of photos so I had to scrounge through my favorites, but really enjoyed looking back at the memories.
P.S. Sorry it took so long to get these up, with the end of school and dance (recital videos/photos to come) we had a major garage sale and all of us wound up sick. Luckily we’re all on the mend and finally able to enjoy the summer!
Beach Babes
Clearwater was Sienna’s first sea experience and our little Moana was ready! She loves sand and loves playing in the water, so we thought she would be a natural. However on the first day at the beach when she reached the part where the sand and sea meet, she turned to us and yelled (very loudly) GROSS! It was hysterical and happened every time she got in the water. Once she was passed the surf, she was fine, but everyone on the beach knew how she felt.
Luckily her gross out only lasted one day and then she really was our little Moana and couldn’t stay away. Bailey and Sienna loved building sand castles, burying each other in the sand, turning into mermaids, playing with friends and enjoying the sea life. We loved walking up and down the beach looking for shells and even spotted a sea slug which we helped get back out to sea!
Our little beach house was just steps from the sand so we took full advantage of the proximity and got our toes in the sand every day. The beach was exactly what we needed to reconnect and enjoy being together as a family. We are so blessed to be able to share this time with Gigi and Pop Pop too.
Mermaid besties at the beach 
A little boy on the beach told us it was a sea slug 
Bailey and her bodyguard 
Chasing Birds
You can’t be at the beach without a ton of gulls. The girls spent countless hours chasing them down the beach and away from sun bathers. We even spotted a gull with one leg!
The Pier
One of the most famous parts of Clearwater is the Pier and rightfully so. They have parties at the Pier every night with street performers, musicians, artisans and tons to eat and drink. We lucked out and were down there during the Sugar Sands Festival so there was even more to see and do.
We walked down to the Pier almost every night to watch the sunsets and spot dolphins. The girls squealed every time we saw a dolphin jump out of the water. They were a little squirrely so luckily we had back up child wranglers with us.
Sunsets
If only a picture could capture the complete beauty and serenity of a beach sunset…but hey, I tried! What you miss is the sounds, smell and the feel of being a part of something much greater. I’ve been lucky to see a lot of beautiful sunsets in my life, but these were a lot sweeter because we got to share them with family.
Winter
If you haven’t seen A Dolphin Tale you must see it before heading down to Clearwater and meeting the beloved star. We spent an afternoon at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium watching the rescue staff care for the animals and petting stingrays. The girls really enjoyed seeing Winter and Hope catch bubbles and watching the rescued marine life. We heard grumblings of people that were expecting more, but this is a rescue aquarium, not a zoo. But we still really enjoyed it.
Hope and Winter 
Winter! 
Bailey’s Birthday Party with Friends
The day before Bailey’s Birthday we met friends at a beach rental right by us and their girls were the same age. We became besties right away and spent all day playing in the sand. After we left the aquarium we picked up some dinner and treats and invited our new friends down to the beach for a surprise party for Bailey.
We made it to the beach after the sun set and the girls couldn’t contain their excitement when they saw their besties heading our way. We danced, played with light sticks, sang Happy Birthday and blew out candles on a few delicious cookies. Just as we finished the fireworks from the Sugar Sands Festival started up and we had a private viewing party. After more dancing and a ton of hugging, we said goodbye to our friends and wished them well on the next leg of their trip. Bailey was so happy she fell asleep smiling!
Bailey’s Birthday
It seemed that Bailey’s Birthday stretched out the entire week with Disney celebrations and our late night fireworks celebration with our friends. On her actual birthday we let the birthday girl pick out dinner and a toy to bring home from our trip. We ate at Cooter’s and she got the crab legs and picked out Winter, the Narwhol. Bailey is such a joy in our lives and we loved celebrating our beautiful girl at the beach!
Caladesi Island State Park
Our biggest excursion in Clearwater was our day trip to Caladesi Island State Park. It was about a 35 minute drive around Clearwater to get to the ferry but it was definitely worth the drive. The island was named one of the best beaches in the United States, beating out several Hawaiian locales. It was a perfectly sunny day and on the ferry out to the island, we saw a few dolphins swimming near the boat!
The beach was absolutely beautiful and very calm. The seashells that we collected were huge and very unique. The only drawback was the sign that warned of rattle snakes as soon as we got to the island – what??? So, what did we see as soon as we started up the dock to get to the beach, a giant snake! Luckily it was a whip snake, which kills rattle snakes, but let’s just say we hustled it to the sand. The girls thought it was pretty neat and loved seeing the little lizards, sea slug and the jellyfish we saw. I would definitely recommend taking the trip if you are in the area!
Beach Nights are the Best
These girls couldn’t get enough of the beach and luckily we were so close that we could go back as many times as we wanted. Sunsets on the beach were beautiful and the girls always managed to get a second wind as soon as their toes hit the sand. It was a great way to wind down and get some fun pictures!
Family Time is our Favorite Time
The best part of being on vacation was being together. Life gets crazy and we don’t always take the time to slow down and enjoy it. We enjoyed watching the girls explore and discover the beauty of the beach together. It helps us remember what is important and we can’t wait to start planning our next big adventure!
Love this one of my parents 
Cheers to you and your family, we’ll be sharing more adventures with you soon!
