Sandy Toes & Sun-kissed Nose

Little Jetsetter

We packed up our bags for Memorial Day weekend and flew to Tampa, where we met up with mom, Aunt Ro and Megan & Scott on Anna Maria Island for Murphlanaharoulx family vacation #1 of the summer! It was Blair's first time at the beach and she had a BLAST. Girlfriend had so much fun that she needed two 90-minute naps a day just to keep up with everyone... Which meant more time for me and Mike to kick back and relax!

The house we stayed in was incredible. It had a gorgeous pool in the back complete with a swim up tiki hut bar, lots of shade and a little shelf with 6-inches of water that was perfect for our little toddler to "splish splash" and dump water on herself.

We spend the whole weekend in the pool!

Friday night us girls went to the Sandbar restaurant (fantastic crab cakes!) and watched sunset on the beach while the boys went to a Tampa Bay Rays baseball game. Megan and I were armed with our cameras to document Blair's very first sand experience, which was mostly just her throwing it in the air and licking it off her fingers. Shudder.

MeeMaw and Blair at the Sandbar

She wasn't a big fan of the water at first, but loved squishing the wet sand in her fingers. The humidity and ocean air made her little head erupt with the cutest little crazy curls and my heart melted into a giant sandy puddle every time they blew up in the wind.

This is one of my favorite pictures from the trip!

Those curls. GAAAAH.

Karagh arrived at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning (after leaving Denver at ONE IN THE MORNING) and the Murphy Girls were officially back together again. The last time we'd all been in the same place was my cousin's wedding in October! It's hard living so spread out across the country and I wish we could see each other more often, but FaceTime is good to keep in touch and "hang out." And it helps Blair remember everyone the next time she sees them!

Goofing off with Auntie Karagh and Mickey Mouse!

We headed out to the beach, just a two-block walk from the house, towing a trillion things, including a tiny baby beach chair, sand toys, two umbrellas, beach sheets, snacks and ALL THE SUNBLOCK. Blair and her Aunties went right to work digging holes in the sand.

I feel like I need to add a disclaimer that I tried my damnedest to keep a sunhat on that child's fair little head, but I could not prevail against the tidal wave of mule-like stubbornness that she undoubtedly inherited from her father (okay, and maybe me too!) I obsessively sprayed her head with sunscreen, rubbed sunblock all over her and I'm proud to report that our little Irish Rose escaped the sunny weekend without even the slightest sunburn. #palemamaproblems.

We had tons of fun splashing in the Gulf, Blair came out into the warm water on my hip and liked watching everyone swim around. After a couple of hours it started to cloud up and we took her tired little sandy tootsies back to the house for another nap.

Honestly, we spent most of our short time there in the pool. Everyone (except Aunt Ro and yours truly) took a turn on the crazy water slide, which whipped you around at the end and flung you into the pool. I'm risk averse to a fault when it comes to the possibility of physical harm (one too many childhood broken bones!) and couldn't be persuaded to try it, but I'm told it was equal parts terrifying and fun.

Mike, Blair and I left on Sunday night to make it back for the rainy Kingston Springs community picnic on Memorial Day. Blair and I stopped by to play a little Bingo and cornhole and then I let her run around in the rain for a bit and get soaked before we went home to snuggle and recuperate.

Bingo at the City Picnic

Big fan of putting the bean bags in the hole

Post-vacation snuggle selfie!

It was a relaxing weekend and it was so great to see everyone. I just love to watch Blair interact with the family now that she's older. I have such fond memories of annual family vacations with my sisters, aunts, uncles and cousins and I'm so glad we are able to find moments in our busy lives to spend time making more memories together. *insert content, teary smile here*