We had a fantastic trip to the beach two weeks ago. We saved a bundle by going before Memorial Day and sharing a house with the Sherwoods, but the only downside was that it was a little cold. Not cold enough to not wear our bathing suits, but cold enough that when the wind blew, you wanted to wear your towel as a blanket and the girls' teeth were chattering every time they went into the water. But they didn't seem to mind. In fact, we had a hard time keeping the girls out of the water! When the sun was shining, it was perfect - not too hot, not too cold, and GORGEOUS!! I recommend going with another family if you have kids. We had built in babysitters, and the girls had a great time entertaining each other. In fact, when we got home from the beach, Shaelyn woke up every morning looking for Clara. I think she thought it was a a permanent arrangement. I guess we know who will be roommates in college!
I took over 100 pictures while we were there, so I tried to narrow down the shots - hope you enjoy!
Here's the view from our back porch. We loved that we were so close to the water!
Cute little girls playing in the sand. Last year Shaelyn was terrified of everything - water, waves, sand, wind. This year she had a blast!
Can you spot Peter Pan? Hint: Look at Nicolle's shadow, and the fact that she is wearing green.
Lovin' the sand. She decided that the dunes were a slide and wanted to slide down them, so of course we encouraged the behavior. Because of erosion, you're supposed to stay off the dunes - whoops!
Gotta enjoy a juice box while at the beach!
Here's the girls enjoying the water. Clara loved lifting up her feet right before the wave would hit. Both girls LOVED the water!This is a long video, but Shaelyn was so hilarious playing in the sand alone. She started looking over her shoulder really fast. The only reason we can think of is that she was seeing her shadow move. Any other thoughts? Even without the reason, it's pretty funny!
To give the girls a break from wind and sand, we took them to a playground we found just over the bridge that takes you to the mainland. Shaelyn loves slides, and this playground had the highest slides she's ever been down.
She loves those pink shoes, but unfortunately (for her, fortunately for Mom), they slowed her down a bit.I went down the slide and was actually scared. It was very high and the bumps were very steep and the sides not so high. But Shaelyn had no fear:
But who says you can't make a playground at the beach? The girls loved being towed around on Greg's boogie board.
The girls loved doing everything together: baths, eating, playing, and having stories read to them.
Michael and I got away one night for a date. We had a picnic by the water, rode bikes up and down the main beachfront road, and danced on the beach. We both agreed it was the best date we've been on in our 7 years of marriage! Thanks Sherwoods for watching Shaelyn!
This was Shaelyn when we got home. She was watching Muppets clips on YouTube. She seriously didn't even know we were home for at least 5 minutes. Hey, at least we know she's not afraid of Greg!
I liked this picture because it reminded me of one of those celebrity sighting pictures you see in tabloid magazines, where the celebrity doesn't want to show their face while they're trying to have a family vacation. Not that I'm saying I look like a celebrity...
