This year for Christmas Day, we decided to do something we had NEVER done on Christmas day before... we went to the beach! Even though we were both missing extended family and going "home" for the holidays, we wanted to make the most of our situation and do something we would never be able to do in Washington or Wyoming.
After we spent the morning opening presents, we packed up our beach gear and headed to the ocean (we live about 15 minutes drive from the coast.) Even though it was in the 80s outside, the wind was quite strong when we got to the beach. We had wanted to check out one of the state parks, that supposedly had cool trails and paths out to the beach front, but sadly when we arrived they informed us that due to the wind and rip currents, people weren't allowed out on the beach. So we decided to head a little down the coastline to Dania beach where life guards were on duty.
We wanted to check out the pier before setting things up and were surprised to find that it cost 2-3 dollars to simply walk out on the pier. We were both a little annoyed but decided we'd check things out this once. The pier gave great views back at the city skyline and we also saw several kite boarders out on the waves.
Daxton and Daddy enjoying the sun and wind...
Snuggles from Daddy are the best!
It's always so much fun to watch these two interact.
Daxton was fascinated by the kite boarders while we were walking up and down the pier.
There were also several people fishing off the pier, which brought in a multitude of birds wanting to steal whatever they caught. Daxton had a blast watching them all and screamed with delight when one of the fisherman fed leftover squid to a bird.
After exploring the pier, we headed down to the beach to play in the sand. Due to the wind and rip tides, we weren't super interested in swimming, but we all ended up getting wet anyway. As we were all building sand castles, Dallas and I had our backs to the ocean (one of the biggest rules not to break at the beach!) We were in the middle of taking pictures when a sneaker wave came up and literally washed us all down. Dallas was quick to rescue Daxton (after it had washed up to his shoulders) so I made sure the camera and sand toys didn't get washed out to sea. We couldn't help but laugh after as we were covered with water and sand. Daxton was such a trooper and immediately begged to get down and play in the sand again. He's definitely turned into a beach bum while living in South Florida!
Building sand castles with daddy and his favorite Finding Nemo sand bucket we got on Disney's Castaway Cay.
We all had so much fun building in the sand. Dallas would build several towers in a row to form a wall and Daxton would pretend he was a monster and brake each one, usually by stepping on them. It was pretty funny to watch how excited he got while causing destruction! In the picture below, you can see how windy it was by the palm trees swaying.
Below is one of my favorite pictures of the day...
My two loves having so much fun together on Christmas Day.
After we got pummeled by the sneaker wave, we waded into the ocean to clean ourselves off. Daxton was a little nervous of the waves after what had just happened...
Building more sand castles...
I swear one of Daxton's favorite parts about going to the beach is showering off afterwards! He was so funny playing under the water and giggling as his face got drenched.
One of the main problems of being the photographer is I rarely am in any of the pictures. I ended up taking a couple on my iPhone just to prove that I was there as well.
It was quite the fun morning and afternoon, thus the exhausted toddler. We really wore him out for sure! And in return he gave us the best snuggles.
After the beach, we came home, changed, and headed to our Aunt and Uncle's house for Christmas dinner. They were so kind to take care of all the yummy food! We loved spending the evening with them and their three children. They are such a blessing in our life here in south Florida. It's so wonderful to have family so close, I just wish we were able to see them more often. I am so mad that I didn't get any pictures there that night. I didn't think about it until after dinner and right as I was about to force some family picture time, Daxton tripped over Dallas's foot and face planted on their wood floor. He immediately formed a giant goose egg on his forehead and we had to keep ice on it for the remainder of the evening. It was a very sad way to end such a perfect day! Besides the head bump, Christmas was a total success, especially since it was our first Christmas staying at home instead of traveling. We are already thinking of new and fun traditions to add to the holiday season next year.
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