ahhhh.....vacation

Last week was spent with my whole family on our annual week-long beach vacation. It was not the usual Memorial Day week in the Outer Banks due to a number of reasons:

~pregnant sister

~2 teachers

~1 OT working in a school district

~2 people w/new jobs [read:not a lot of vacation time]

~2 kiddos in school fulltime

SO, we decided to keep it a little closer to home this year and rented a house in Ocean City, NJ. We were within 1 1/2 blocks of the beach and walking distance from the boardwalk amusement rides. The house was great ~ a little smaller than we're used to for so many people, but it worked out. The beach was gorgeous and the water was perfect! Many days we were some of the last people off the beach after 7 p.m.

The kids had a blast. Evan spent the entire vacation boogie boarding. Ryan was quite brave in the waves this year....going in up to his armpits and jumping the waves as they rolled in. Nathan had little to no fear either and split his time between water and sand. Needless to say, it was not a very restful, relaxing vacation for mom and dad. [Especially since Ryan had a knack for waking the entire house up around 6 a.m. EVERY day ~ I don't know where that kid gets his energy!]

A good time was had by all. Time spent together as family is never wasted. The kids enjoyed their cousins and the morning walks for donuts and the rides on the boardwalk and the evening walks for ice cream. Who am I kidding?!? The 'big' kids enjoyed it all, too! :)

Here are a few of my favorite pics from the week:

YES....The Beach

Yes, we went to the beach for the day on Sunday.

Yes, it is only the end of April and we were all in our bathing suits.

Yes, we all got some sun.

Yes, it was a record-breaking 93 degrees in the city.

Yes, it was 10-15 degrees cooler on the beach.

Yes, the boys went surf-fishing with Daddy.

Yes, we played Yahtzee in the sand.

Yes, the boys built sandcastles with Pop-Pop.

Yes, it was well-worth the $70 spent {gas, bait, & pizza for dinner}.

Yes, it was a relaxing, fun, family day at the shore in April.

{I had to add that again because I can't believe it myself :)}

Terrific Tuesday

Well, I have some catching up to do. It's been a while and I can't figure out why I haven't had the chance to sit down and blog. I've had lots to blog about, but I guess no time to do it.

Last Tuesday, we had the privilege of taking a day trip to the beach with my wonderful mother-in-law, Bern. She wanted to treat us - and boy, did we have fun! We spent the day playing in the sand and splashing in the water. Then we showered and went up to the boardwalk for pizza and rides. Evan & Ryan had a blast on the rides - Ryan had NO fear - he even wanted to ride on the little roller coaster and almost met the height requirement - poor little man cried because he was too short. [Gosh, I hope he grows soon :)] Nathan was content to hang out and watch from his comfy stroller seat. They enjoyed ice cream and blue cotton candy to end the evening. We didn't get home until midnight!! :) They were so wiped out, they didn't wake up until 9:00 the next day [maybe I should do that every night] Thank you so much, Bern! We had a blast! Here's a few pics of our "adventure" as we called it:

Today, we went to the park where they've started their summer preschool program. It's a weekly event through August and it's FREE - gotta love that! We saw a magic show, which was part comedy act and part balloon animal tricks. I think the kids liked it - most of the comedy was for the moms :) Afterwards, we had lunch and played on the playground with our friends. We were the last ones there [it was so stinking hot!] Hoping the kids sleep well tonight!

IMITATION CROC UPDATE....the last lost shoe has been found. In the playroom. On the floor. With all the millions [o.k., maybe I'm exaggerating, but not much] of toys. You may be asking yourself why it took us over 2 weeks to uncover it there ~ drum roll, please ~ I've given up cleaning the room because it stays clean for about 2 seconds. There - I said it :) O.K. Maybe not given up completely...every once in a while we clean up to vaccuum, but that's the extent of it...

Oh, it's what you do to me

Well, it's been a while since I've posted - my apologies for that and for what will probably end up as a LONG entry! Our 6+ hour road trip to Massachusetts turned into an 11 hour trip - traffic was just horrible! Thank goodness the kids weren't....

We had a very relaxing time with our friends, Mike & Shelley. They were wonderful hosts, especially considering the fact that we brought along all the accoutrement that come with traveling with 3 kids: snacks, toys, lots of diapers and wipes. After our visit, they might just put off starting their own family for a while! Ryan was an eating machine while we were there. He polished off an assortment of juice boxes, waffles, scrambled eggs, and his favorite, crackers. I don't know where he puts it all. Hopefully that means he's getting ready to grow (one can only hope!) His shirt says it all in the photo below - RASCAL... The kids made some new friends while we were there. Liam and Nathan are only 2 days apart, and Brenden is 2 1/2.

This past Friday, we went to Ocean City, NJ for the day - normally wouldn't do this, but my parents were there for a week and knew we'd have a place to clean up after the beach. On the drive down, we were listening to the radio and one of our favorite songs came on - Hey there, Delilah by Plain White T's. Mark turned it up and then we heard this little voice from the backseat singing the chorus, "Oh, it's what you do to me. Oh, it's what you do to me..." Here, Ryan was singing his little heart out (through his binky, I might add) SO DARN CUTE!

My poor parents had the worst weather of the summer - it rained Sunday through Thursday, but Friday ended up being a decent day - partly sunny and not too hot. The kids all LOVE the beach - the sand and the water. Even Nathan got into it this time - he loved sitting on Pop-Pop's lap in the surf and splashing in the water. Megan & Jim were down with Abby, Chris, and Alex and the kids had a blast playing together. I love when we all get together like this - I'm so thankful that my kids have cousins their age. We played on the beach for a few hours, showered up, had pizza, and then hit the boardwalk. I love that Evan is old enough to ride the rides. He and I went on the tilt-a-whirl and on his first roller coaster - and if you know me, the kiddie coaster is about my speed. He LOVED the roller coaster and wanted to ride again. One the tilt-a-whirl, I got a little nervous because he said, "This is making my stomach feel weird." Ryan got to ride some little rides for the first time this year. He was all business about driving the dune buggy and ringing the bell on the boat. Everyone was zonked out in the car on the ride home, including Mark. It was a great day - thanks, mom & dad, for letting us invade!