We were fortunate to spend the long weekend and most of this past week with my family at the beach. While we enjoyed a lot of family time and cousins who loved playing with each other, this trip we also had a lot to celebrate. We spent some time remembering those who serve, and have served, our country.
This memorial was set up close to us on the beach
My mom also turned 65 the day we left for the beach. We celebrated her birthday and my dad’s retirement while we were there.
Getting a little help with her candles…
Friday night my parents came in town to stay with us to make their drive a little shorter on Saturday. That night we finished packing. The boys gave my mom birthday balloons and her gift plus some cards they made. They also found a happy retirement balloon at the store they wanted to give my dad.
Our trip got off to quite the start. About 40 minutes from our house, we had to pull over because JL started vomiting. He’s had a couple episodes of getting sick in the car over the past couple of months. I should point out those have only been while Tom has been driving, the same as this time😌At some point we had considered whether he may have motion sickness and it looks like the answer is “YES.” I even bought the Seabands for him to try. I’ve had motion sickness since I was little too, and I wanted to give them a try as well. They did work for me. But I’m afraid JL’s little wrist isn’t quite big enough to put enough pressure on the pressure point.
I’m so thankful my parents were following us and my mom was able to help me get things cleaned up while Tom held the baby and kept the others occupied. We made it the rest of the way with only one other episode thankfully.
Arthur’s way of coping with the smell-hold your nose and close your eyes! He wanted to wear the extra Seabands for his “watches.”
Most of the morning we spent playing at the beach. And after nap time we would head to the pool for a while. It’s amazing what a difference a year makes with a baby. JL did pretty well for his first time to actually crawl around in the sand. He loved the water too. With their ages and all that’s involved to get everyone ready for the beach, we could only go in about two hour increments.
However, it’s such a fun time. There are only so many years where they will repeatedly ask us to surf with them and dig with shovels. We are soaking it up!
We generally eat dinner in the condo and maybe go out to dinner one time. The night we picked to go out was packed and we ended up having a really long wait. Mostly the kids kept entertained playing while we waited. But JL was reaching his limit before we even sat down to dinner. Arthur took to strolling him around for us for a little while. He’s so protective of his little brother!
We headed back home with thankful hearts for this time spent together. It was chaotic at times. It was really loud at times. But it was so much fun! And a really good way to start the summer!
My parents with the grandkids…
We’re home and wrapping up the week getting unpacked, tackling laundry, and restocking the fridge. And most of all catching up on some sleep. I love that every time we return from somewhere, there’s nothing like coming back to your own bed. The kids always go right to sleep and sleep well!
