Disclosure: probably my longest post to date!
We just closed our fifth summer of vacationing at Amelia Island Plantation, and I miss our time together and the gorgeous island terribly! I want to start off by saying that this trip was not sponsored and our opinion on the island, restaurants, etc. is truly of our own. My husband grew up spending his summers at Amelia Island Plantation (before Omni came in and built the hotel and started managing the property). I knew early on while dating my hubby that he wanted to continue the tradition and one day take his own family to the plantation.
Fast forward to when we had Henry, and he was just a little nugget (not even walking) we celebrated our first ever vacation as a family of three there. I knew during those few days that Amelia Island would be a place that would grow with us! It’s just special! Or maybe what’s so special is the time that we spend together as a family and the memories that we make. Either way, the nine full days from sun-up to sun-down will be forever etched in my heart and mind! It wasn’t perfect, and there were plenty of meltdowns, but hearing Henry say that he ‘had the BEST time of his life,’ was well worth the exhaustion and occasional tantrum!
Throwing all of the rules and schedules aside – I think that’s what made this vacation so memorable. We didn’t slave around nap schedules. When Olive would get feisty, I would walk her around in the stroller with a battery operated fan until she was down and she would nap by the beach or pool. If Henry wanted to eat candy after dinner – we let him eat candy after dinner. We played outside all day, every day and ate late meals out as a family. Yes, of course, there was the occasional meltdowns by an exhausted little boy and toddler girl – that’s just life with kiddos, and I will assure you vacationing with kiddos is far from easy. But for the most part, it was pretty darn incredible and a good reminder of how much we needed that time together, uninterrupted as a family.
We’ve been staying at Omni Amelia Island Plantation for our fifth summer in a row. We stay in the Villa’s within the resort and love it so much. We’ve stayed in the hotel, but prefer the feel of the villas with kiddos.
Thanks for all of your love on our Instagram posts while we were gone! We appreciate each and every one of you! You’re kind words mean the world to me… and even the hubby!
Also, you can view a post that I did two summers ago that went into great detail about the resort – so much information can be found there!
I’ll dive right in… if you have any questions, leave me a comment!
Xo!
Previous Amelia Island Posts:
*purchased my coverup through an Instagram ad and I cannot figure out where I purchased – here’s a similar coverup that I also purchased from Amazon!
We’ve been staying in the same villa for years now, and it’s just a short walk to the beach! We usually wake up, have coffee, pack up the wagon for the day and walk the beach. We go from our Villa to where the hotel is located – each villa has their own pool, but the Omni pool(s) is just so much for the kids (and parents). Tanner, the Turtle, comes out daily for a dance party, and Tanner pops. There’s cannonball contests, arts, and crafts, live reggae music, A TIKI HUT (hello!) with the best dang margaritas. It’s about a mile walk, and the beach is SO peaceful during that time! On the days that we don’t feel like walking, we take the golf cart.
Sunglasses | Hat | Camera
Our second night on vacay, we just put coverups on and walked the beach from our villa to Marché Burette for a steak out dinner. These pics are from our walk to dinner.
My Swimsuit | Sunglasses | Hat
*Swimsuit color is “light coral”
Henry’s favorite guy, Tanner the Turtle! I have pictures of Henry and Tanner from when Henry was 7 months old! One of his favorite parts of vacay!
Olive in need of a nap, but can’t skip a Tanner the Turtle dance party!
Olive’s Swimsuit on sale for $20
Olive spent the majority of vacay snacking and napping!
She was not a fan of the beach, lol!
My Swimsuit | Husband’s Hat | Sunglasses | Husband’s Sunglasses
Love this guy and how much fun he has on vacay! Mimosas for mommy and daddy as we walk the beach every morning!
We had a blast one evening when we went sailing with Tony and his wife who own Winward Sailing. It was one of the most beautiful experiences and so peaceful (even with kiddos). We sailed to Cumberland Island where we saw wild horses and dolphins! The perfect way to take in the gorgeous sunset! If you’re visiting the area this is a MUST! It’s a private sailing excursion and just so much fun!
My Shirt | Sunglasses | Olive’s Bubble
My Shirt | My Shorts | Sunglasses | My Hat
*on sale for $16
My Shirt | My Shorts | Sunglasses | My Hat
My Shirt | My Shorts | Sunglasses | My Hat
Olive passed out almost immediately. It was the most peaceful ride.
Right off this dock fisherman caught a 9 foot bull shark, a 9 foot lemon shark and a 7 foot alligator! Yikes!
Henry up almost every morning before the family and dressed for the beach! One of the mornings this is what I came upstairs to! So sweet!
My Sunglasses | My Sarong $8 | Olive’s Sunglasses | My Swimsuit | My Hat
This sweet girl was NOT a fan of the beach so she stayed glued to us the entire time! Hopefully next year she’ll appreciate it a little more!
The morning of the Fourth of July was pretty miserable. We were supposed to run in the Firecracker 5k that the plantation hosts, but we opted out of that… drank an extra mimosa and put our rain pants on for the big Fourth of July golf cart parade! I’ve NEVER in my life seen anything like this. The people that live on the plantation go way out! Next year we’ll step up our game! I don’t have too many pictures because it down-poured!
We spent the afternoon pool and beachside doing what we do best! 🙂
Henry mastered a handstand in the water! 
Kiddos under an umbrella that you can rent on the beach!
We met new friends from Atlanta during our vacay last year. We just so happened to be back at Amelia at the same time this year! Henry is madly-head-over-heels in love with this sweet little lady and we love their parents and hope to continue the Fourth of July vacay tradition for years to come!
These shots were taken at the pool outside of the hotel where all the action happens! They have an adult only pool and then family pool along with a splash pad. There’s a little tiki hut by the pool, outdoor grill and then a restaurant that we frequent often!
Just get Olive a snack and some sunscreen and she’s golden!
Meanwhile… they old kiddos just wanted to flip!
That evening we had dinner at Oceanside and had the best seats in the house to watch fireworks!
Henry completely smitten!
Olive turned into a complete Daddy’s Girl this trip!
Best fireworks show I’ve ever seen!
…and sometimes Olive wants green beans for breakfast!?
My Sunglasses | My Sarong $8 | Olive’s Sunglasses | My Swimsuit | My Hat
My Sarong $8 | Sunglasses | My Swimsuit
Here I am with our friends from Atlanta that we met last year. Love this sweet mama! She’s also an AMAZING photographer and snapped so many pics of the kids flipping in the air!
My Sarong $8 | Sunglasses | My Swimsuit | My Hat
Naps on mama or in the stroller was some of the best time spent on vacay!
Some of my favorite parts of vacay was just walking the beach with the family! We would stop and watch the dolphins and birds and “hunt” for shark teeth!
My Hat | Husband’s Hat | Similar Coverup | My Sunglasses | Husband’s Sunglasses
A few meltdowns during along the way!
My Hat | Similar Coverup | My Sunglasses 
My husband snapped a few picture of me and the kiddos! He used this camera to take them! I’ll cherish these forever!
Olive’s Swimsuit | Olive’s Puddle Jumper
Never met a french fry that she didn’t like!
Summer of 2018… Henry fell in love!
Henry and Tanner the Turtle!
There were lots of surf shows by the husband! If you follow me on Instagram, then you’re fully aware of his amazing surf moves!
Oh, Olive!
Normally the beaches aren’t shelly at all, but last year during the hurricane, it stirred the sand and shells. We heard that Amelia Island is going to bring in sand to replace the shells!
More pool stunts and thanks to our friend, Tara for these awesome shots!
Crab boil night at the Marché Burette followed by a beach bonfire with our friends!
Those are some sleepy eyes! This kid was quiet the champ!
We stayed up past 10pm on the beach. We danced, played in the water, watched people catch fish, ate candy! It was so much fun! 
Dinner stroll in Fernandina Beach!
I have the same picture of these two from last year in these chairs! I actually purchased these chairs last year and they were only $19.99, but for some reason I can only find them on Amazon for more than what we paid.
Hahaha! The one time my hubby got up on the surfboard!
Searching for shark teeth!
Look at what we found! I’m going to put them in a shadow box!
Sad! Last day blues!
Until next time, Amelia Island! We love you!
Thank you for sharing your family and your vacation with us!
Thanks for sharing! We’re actually going there in September and are so excited. We decided to stay in the hotel rather than rent a villa. I found it to be a little confusing to reserve the villa. Can you explain how you choose a specific one? It seemed like I could only choose a price point and then would be randomly assigned. Thank you!!
Friend, these are the most gorgeous photos! Wow!
Take me there now x
Beautiful vacation! What villa did you stay in? I’m trying to look at one for next year sometime.
Thanks hun! We stayed in Turtle Dunes! Xo!