Port A Trip

I have anticipated taking Clayton to Port Aransas since before he was born because it is such a special place to me. I grew up in Port A and it feels like home. We finally got to go down there for Memorial Day. Lisa and I drove down with Clayton and Addyson on Thursday morning and the guys came down on Friday night. Most of my family was also down there, so we all got to share in the many "firsts" for Clayton and Addyson.

Clayton was so happy when we went to pick up Lisa and Addyson, it was like he knew we were about to do something fun

The kiddos about to embark on our 7+ hour drive

Clayton and Addyson both did great in the car. We had a bit of a malfunction with Addyson's DVD player on the way down, so we had to stop at a Walmart on the way down and purchase a new one. This ensured our sanity in case she started having a melt down. :) She ended up not really even needing to watch her DVD's though because she was so excited about going to the beach.

Clayton's first ferry ride to Port A


The weather was absolutely beautiful the entire time we were there. Clayton loved spending so much time outside on the porch overlooking the harbor. He loved all of the sounds of the boats and birds.

Hanging on the porch

The first day we were there, we took the kids on a walk to the pier and then hung out by the pool.

Ready for our walk

Clayton and Mr. Pelican

Clayton was so good the entire trip and did a great job just "going with the flow". We were able to lay out by the pool almost every day and he just slept in the shade the whole time.

Sleeping by the pool

Relaxing with Gammy

On Saturday, we went to the beach. It was great because Clayton was so used to the waves on his sound machine that the real ocean sounds put him right to sleep. We brought a beach tent so he would be shaded and he was so relaxed laying in there. It was so neat getting to see Addyson experience the beach for the first time. She absolutely loved it and loved going out with her mommy and daddy into the big waves. I look forward to next summer when Clayton will be able to play in the sand and actually realize he is at the beach.

First time at the beach

Hanging in the beach tent

The Vicari's and The Dwinell's


One of the funny things during the trip was Addyson's fascination with "Ariel", aka my sister, Laura. The first time Addyson saw Laura, she looked up in awe and said "Look Mommy, it's Ariel!". I think she had been watching a lot of the Little Mermaid and she was convinced that Ariel had come to see her in the form of Laura. The entire time we were in Port A, we all called my sister "Ariel", and whenever we wanted Addyson to behave we would say "Ariel's watching you" and she would immediately be a perfect little angel.

Addyson and "Ariel"

On the last day of our trip, Clayton got to go on his first boat ride on the Hideout. It was a lot of fun putting around with our friends and family and relaxing on the boat.

Ready for the boat ride with Papa and Gammy

Just before sunset

The Fam

We had such a good time on our vacation. It was actually a lot more relaxing than I thought it would be with a newborn. I owe that to my wonderful family, who love spending time with Clayton and loved entertaining him while we were down there. I know that we will have so many great times ahead in Port Aransas. We will be spending lots of time fishing on the docks, swimming in the pool and building sand castles in the upcoming years.

I look forward to our next trip down there in July!