Beach Vacation Pics, Tricks and Tips

So I have been wanting to post this FOREVER and not quite sure why it has taken me SOOO long!!! We went on our first family vaca to the beach this summer and had a wonderful time! I was worried with how all of use would do with sleeping arrangements and the beach, but overall it was great. We were right on the beach so someone was always back at the house (grandparents were there too!) which allowed me to be able to lay down Grayson for nap time and get the kids to bed on time too :) Cody was afraid of the waves and ocean in general so I didn’t have to worry about him in the water. He built sand castles all day and swam in the pool (started to swim without his life jacket!!) and Grayson just sat in his bebe pod seat with some food and water and had a good old time! Cody tried crab legs for the first time, we had some great family time and even searched for crabs on the beach… we found some too! We saw a fisherman bring in a shark (not the “I want to eat you kind”, the “I only eat clam shells kind” which made me feel a little better!!) and we saw a HUGE mama turtle trying to find a place to lay her eggs. We really had a great time! Nothing better than leaving the distractions of home behind for some sunshine, ocean waves and peace and quiet!!

The main thing I was worried about from the beginning was PACKING for the plane. I hadn’t flown in quite some time so when I found out that you had to pay FOR EVERY BAG and had to keep your liquids to a minimum, I freaked. Also, Grayson was still on purees and although I made all of his food, I wasn’t prepared to bring that all with us so needless to say I was FREAKIN’ OUT! After talking to a bunch of other mama friends and doing some of my own research, here are the tips and tricks I took away from packing for the fam and planning your plane ride!

• Put the kids outfits in ziploc bags!! One of my neighbors taught me this! The kids clothes are pretty small and tend to topple over and create a mess in the suitcase when you are trying to find an outfit. Save yourself  the mess and the TIME and put each outfit (including undies and socks, accessories) into large ziplocs. This was awesome! It saved me space in my bags AND the hubs could dress the kids in MATCHING clothes without having to bug me about it :) WIN-WIN!
• You are allowed a ziploc per person with your toiletries/ liquids and they have to be under 3.4 oz. MOST of the travel toiletries meet this requirement, but there are some things I have special for the kids so you can also buy small travel containers and spray bottles to fill that are also meet the size requirement (I found mine at Krogers). You can get all the info you ever wanted on the TSA website.
• If your kids are on certain diets etc. check where you will be and see what grocery stores are around you. I was able to call the store and find out if they carried organic baby food and snacks I feed him. This saved me a TON of space in my bag because I didn’t have to buy it ahead of time! I was also able to bring coupons with me for the brands they carried :)
• Strollers and Car Seats are FREE to check, but that is it. Pack-n-plays and all other baby items count as a bag or carry on. I put Grayson in the stroller through the terminal, but had my ergo carrier on for times I needed to have him out of the stroller and be hands free. This was awesome!
• Plan your plane rides around nap times and eat times :)
• Keep a carry on designated for snacks and drinks (you are allowed liquid in their cups after the security check point). Also, for the little ones, have a bib already on them to catch food and for spills etc. Use the snack cups for keeping spilled food at bay and a strap for those cups so they don’t roll onto the floor and behind your seat ;)
• Have the older ones chew somethings… food or gum and have the little ones drink something for take off and landing. This helps with the popping of ears.
• We used the puke bags as little garbage bags which was great and then we just stuck them in seat pocket as we left.
• Have those sippy cups opened and ready for when the flight attendants come around with drinks. They will fill your kids cups for you :)

We stayed at Satellite Beach which I was unsure about at first. It is a private beach and we have always stayed on a “main” commercialized beach in the past.  We all took a vote and we all preferred the private over the commercialized beach. Pre-kids, in my opinion, commercialized is the way to go. There is always a place to party and have fun. With kids, however, you never what you are going to get or see (!) with so much going on. We LOVED the private beach because it was beautiful, quiet and calm. We felt like we had it all to our ourselves… literally! With that being said, we did want to do something “big” for the kids and Orlando was just an hour away. After much contemplating, we decided on Sea World vs. Disney. Disney is something we want to do when we are actually staying there and have days to spend on doing what we want to do. Sea World has more than you can do in a day, but if you plan it out ahead of time you can actually see most of what you want in a days trip. WE LOVED SEA WORLD! It was SO AMAZING! They have any aquatic life you can imagine,  tons of shows, rides, restaurants and times you can touch the animals.

We were lucky enough to go during a day that was overcast so it didn’t get super hot until the late afternoon. There were several placed you could go to get cooled off:

• The turtle exhibit which is inside and they end it with a 3-d show that Cody just thought was the coolest thing ever.
• They have an underground dolphin viewing area that stays nice and cool and is beautiful!
• They have a spray ground for the kids and you can stand by the log flume and get soaked (which Cody and I did a few times)!
• We discovered dippin dots…. YES, I know these probably aren’t the healthiest thing, but they are awesome! They don’t melt so it is the best thing for kids and us  on a hot day! WAY better than a drippy ice cream cone :)

A few things I would recommend doing BEFORE YOU GO:

• Plan ahead!
• Read the Know Before you Go page! This was great for me to decide what rides Cody could go on etc.
• Read the Insider Tips: this helped me pick what shows we really wanted to see
• Once you have done that you can check out the map of the park so you can get a route of where you are wanting to go so you can make the best time.
• Luckily it didn’t rain on us, but we had ponchos just in case. The ponchos there are expensive and you can get some just as good at the dollar store. Buy them ahead of time before you go on a trip and pack them. You may need them at some point on your trip!

We had SUCH a good time at Sea World! Me and the hubs both felt like kids when we left! Overall, I felt like we were able to get the full experience and see everything we wanted in just a days visit!

We had SUCH a great time! First time for my kids to see the ocean and a trip we will never forget! What other tips and tricks have you discovered while traveling with kids?? What have been some of your favorite vacations with your fam?