Sunday, April 24, 2011

Easter Beach Trip

Let me just begin by saying that last year's trip to Rehoboth was much easier. Adam was a newborn nursing baby who slept most of the time and didn't move when we put him down. I'm not gonna lie.... This year was a little difficult. Mike and I kept saying, "What were we thinking when we thought this would be relaxing?". It was anything but relaxing. Definitely memorable, but very far from relaxing.
Instead of writing about every little detail of our trip, I'm just going to write about some memories from our trip- good and bad. I know as chaotic as it is taking two little boys on a trip, one day Mike and I will be sitting at a restaurant all alone missing the craziness of life with our little ones.

Here goes...
+ Trip down went pretty well. Traffic was fine and Adam only fussed a bit towards the end.
How we role.
I gave both boys lollipops on the way down.  It was Adam's first.  I think he liked it.
- We had lunch at one of our favorite spots (Dogfish Brewery) the day we arrived, but had to rush since both boys were cranky and tired from sitting in the car. That night we had dinner at one of our favorite Mexican places, but again, Adam was super tired and fussy so Mike and I took turns walking him around outside. We learned our lesson and decided to stay away from any eating establishment where we had to sit down and be waited on for the remainder of the trip. No use spending money on good food if we have to rush.  The rest of the trip we ate at Subway, and little stands on the boardwalk.  We did eat at Grotto Pizza on the way home since Nana Way got us a gift certificate.  That didn't go too well either (with Adam).  Owen loved it because they have tons of arcade games.  He didn't want to leave.
- The day we arrived we took the boys swimming in the indoor hotel pool while we waited for our room to be ready. Owen got out of the pool and just as I was telling him to walk and not run, he slipped and hit his head very hard on the pool deck. He was hysterical and his head really hurt. I was so worried and stressed I just wanted to go home. Thankfully, there was a doctor in the pool who saw the whole thing. He told us how to check his eyes to make sure he is ok. I also called my sister and she told me what to check for. He had a horrible headache the rest of the day, but thankfully woke up the next day feeling fine.
+ Thank goodness for a warm, indoor pool!
- There were about 20 people staying in the room next to us and they thought it was fun to make lots of noise all night long. After the lunch and dinner fiascos, the head injury, and Adam not sleeping well, we were ready to pack up and go home late Friday night.  We ended up staying and the next night I put a sign on my door that read, "Shhh, sleeping baby."  I'm not sure if it helped or not.  We had a noise machine and the air conditioner fan running so things were more muffled.
+ The trip was kind of bonding for Mike and I. We convinced each other not to pack up and drive home, he gave me time away without the kids, and we reassured each other that things would get better. We could do this. Sometimes, like when Owen took all his clothes off in the pool area in front of tons of people or when he would tell mo-ped drivers that they should be wearing a helmet, or when he accidentally flung a shovel full of sand all over a poor lady at the beach, we just had to laugh.  Laughing helped a lot on this trip.
+ I am in a wedding in October in Hilton Head. We decided not to take the boys. I know I will miss them terribly while we are away, but I am really looking forward to getting away with just Mike and no kids. This trip showed us that we would not have nearly as much fun if we had to care for our little guys while we were away.  It will good for us. I thought I would write that so when the time comes and I am sad about leaving them behind, I can reread this.  I also told Mike that after this weekend I'm not really sure I want to have another baby.  haha!  He was happy to hear that and wanted to record me.
+ Saturday afternoon the sun came out and it got really warm. The boys loved playing on the beach and I loved watching them:)  Mike and I practiced with my new camera.  Sadly, we took a ton of pictures that did not come out so there really aren't any of me and the boys.  I tried to edit them a little, but they came out really strange.




+ I thought it would be funny to buy the boys really sugary lollipops.  They've never had them before.  I like to live on the edge :)
+ Mike and Owen went mini golfing together and had a great time and this morning Owen and I took a walk on the beach to look for seashells for daddy.  We had such a nice time together and I really enjoy spending time with just Owen.  I love the conversations we have when it's just the two of us and he has my undivided attention.
+ Owen's behavior was not the best at the beginning of the trip. After lots of talks, threats, punishments, more talks, and lots and lots of positive reinforcement, his "bwain turned back on and was wurking again.". He made sure to thank his brain for behaving.
Owen and Adam loved yelling "Hi!" to the people walking below.
- We planned to meet up with Paige, Ella, and Sam, but the stomach bug has been making its way through their house and poor Ella was not feeling well,  so we did not get to see them.
+ Adam was up at 5am this morning which meant we were all up too.  We decided to walk to the boardwalk where they were having an Easter sunrise service.  It was very pretty watching the sunrise and walking on the beach.
 

 
 

 





 +  The best part of going away, even for just two nights, is that glorious feeling of coming home.  Seriously, it felt like we were gone for a week.  The boys were happy to play outside with their toys when we got home.  They also noticed that the Easter Bunny had visited our house while we were away and left them each a basket full of goodies :)

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Looks like an awesome, tiring trip! I can't believe how big the boys are getting!

When you're out in really bright sun, change your white balance to the "sun" icon to try to compensate for the harsh light. Pictures taken out of direct sunlight, in complete shade, are best during the hours from about 10 am to 4 pm. And keep your ISO low, between 100-200.

Sarah said...

Thanks Kate. Clearly I need all the help I can get! haha! I wish I had to take a test, then I would learn all this pretty fast.