#59. Life's A Beach

The post is a little off the timeline, but has pictures from our winter vacation that I wanted to make sure to post to the blog.  It marked the first trip for the twins on an airplane since we left (more like escaped) Thailand in August, 2014, and it also was the twins' first trip to the beach (at Daytona Beach).  

The twin's get their first taste of American airline security...yep, get used to waitin'

We hit up our usual spot for a pre-flight snack...Chili's at O'Hare

The last time these two flew,

they slept most of the trip...

Not so much this time around!

There were many more distractions,

including, thankfully, Papa's cell phone,

and Dad's never-ending desire to take selfies

Despite a handful of 'epic' moments, two dads were rewarded with sweet slumber for a few minutes of the flight

 Soon we were in Charlotte for what turned out to be a regrettable 3-hour layover.

We only look excited to be at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport for 3 hours. Who needs a nap anyway?!?

Luke enjoyed saying hi to everyone in the gate area and pointing at airplanes,

while Clare 'rocked out' to pass the time during the painful layover.

Soon, it was time to board (as in walk out to the plane on the tarmac...a process that put Clare to sleep for a 2 minute nap that resulted in an angry 45 minute outburst before we finally went wheels up) our flight for Daytona.

As mentioned in a previous post, we enjoyed spending the holidays with family while in Daytona.  One afternoon, we hit Daytona Beach.

Luke didn't seem too sure about the beach at first

Since it was the day after Christmas, we decided to let Luke stroll the beach 'Santa Style'

Clare initially clung to Grandma Steffie,

but warmed up soon enough and even took her first steps in ocean water

Papa tries to explain how the tide works

It's easier just to sit on Papa's lap

Eventually, both got used to their surroundings and enjoyed using their short legs to stroll along the beach (and point at unknown things...Luke).

The most exciting activity at the beach was, of course, building sand castles!!

These two took their work seriously, 

but did take a second to pose for a quick photo (thanks you two!)

Did I say sand castles??  I meant burying Papa's foot

Two twins all tuckered out from a day at the beach

First family beach photo, Daytona Beach, December, 2015