Anna Maria island

We haven't been to a beach on the west side of the state since Gabriel was born. I think we went in 2003 and took three dogs with us, one was a foster dog. We got back to the Gulf side today.
We stopped at a McDonalds on the way and the kids played for an hour in the gerbil tunnels. It was a big, fun play area for them. We pried them off the play equipment and meandered to Anna Maria.
The calm, shallow, blue teal water was gorgeous. The sand is lighter in color than Cocoa or Daytona but it's the kind of sand that sticks to your skin for hours and that's annoying. I always forget how loud the beach is when we haven't gone in a while. For that reason alone, it's great for our children. No one can complain or give me a dirty look when my children are being noisy because they can't be heard over the surf
Gabriel got a lot of sensory input from the water while Alex used his boogie board. Lane enjoyed digging in the sand.
We had a nice day at the beach ad a family. I won't make a decision on which side of the state I like better. Clearly I need more time to soak up the rays before making that decision. I think I will like both but for different reasons.
In the photo, Gabriel wanted to show his lost tooth. He's becoming such a big kid right before my eyes. He has told me many times that he wants to become a baby again because that was more fun. To which I reply, you will ALWAYS be my baby, no matter how big you get. You know what, he really will. He still snuggled up next to me at night and it feels no different than it did 7 years ago.