Guess where we went last weekend. Here, let me give you a hint:
Need another one?
You guessed it! We got to go back to the beach! Ken announced several weeks ago that he had a sales meeting in Pensacola, and before I even had a chance to guilt him into taking the kids and me, he invited us along. I didn’t even have to beg. We are just that lovable, I guess.
We had such a great time, and once again, I left with the same feeling as before: I love this stage in our family’s life. I enjoy my kids now in a way that I haven’t been able to in the past. Roark is finally old enough to be in on the fun, as oppose to being a lump of dimpled thighs and chubby cheeks that tags along in a stroller. I think part of the reason I have enjoyed my kids so much this summer is because for the past several summers, I’ve been the one lagging behind, pushing the stroller while I watch Ken creating memories and playing with Edie. But now, those stroller days are over, and Roark and I finally get to join in on the fun.
We arrived at the beach on Thursday afternoon, and of course, the kids where in the pool within thirty minutes of our arrival. We stayed in the same Hilton that we were in when we visited last May, and I must admit, we will probably stay there from now on. We really love it. Ken and I love the fact that we can stay there on Hilton points, and the kids love their pool and easy access to the beach. So everybody’s happy.
After swimming, we went to eat dinner at a place a couple of buildings down from the hotel. The food was so-so, nothing to brag about, but that didn’t matter because we happened to get there in time for the Hermit Crab Races. This was a new sport to us, but then again, most sports are foreign to us. It started with a crusty, old beach bum calling all the kids to join him at the outdoor stage and to circle up around the wooden table. Then the kids each got to choose a hermit crab. Roarkie named his “Mater.” Big surprise for a kid’s whose favorite word these days is “Dad-gum!” I can’t remember what Edie named her crab. It was something that sounded like she made it up on the fly, like Magenna or Madeena, but the beach bum just acted like it was as good a name as any. Each of the kids chose crabs that had shells painted like ladybugs. There were only two in the crab pile that looked like ladybugs, and for some reason, both my kids thought ladybugs meant “speed” in the hermit crab world. Sadly, they were wrong, and neither of them were anywhere close to winning the the race. But I love the memory I now have of each of them cheering and clapping for their crabs because the beach bum told them that their crab would move faster if they yelled at them.
The next three days were spent building sand castles and swimming. There was a red flag flying on Friday. So we weren’t able to play in the ocean. It was just the same to me. Since Friday was the day Ken was at his meeting and I was manning it alone, I’m not sure I could have handled both the kids and the waves. So we played in the sand and then headed over to the pool.
The kids did learn a valuable lesson about oceans that day. I spent our entire beach time saying every two or three minutes, “Don’t get in the water past your ankles!” Even though I had explained over and over that this was for their safety, somehow they still just thought it was another one of my mean rules like no jumping on the bed. Well, I got the last word on the matter when we were cleaning up our stuff, and I stepped into the waves to wash off our sand toys. I didn’t realize that I had been followed until I turned around just in time to see both of my kids being tumbled around by a wave. They now know what it feels like to be a pair of underwear in a washing machine. Both of them immediately stood up SCREAMING at the top of their lungs, covered in sand. Roark looked like he had a sandy comb-over. You’ll be happy to know, that I saved the “I told you so” speech for later and spent a good five minutes calming them down and comforting them. They now understand why that flag was red.
Saturday, the beach authorities downgraded the flag to yellow, but it was still just a little too rough for us. Edie tried some body surfing with her father, and Roark laughed his head off as he jumped in the crashing surf. But after awhile, we decided to head over to the bay side where things were just a little bit calmer. Before we left, I had bought Edie a snorkeling set, and she had been dying for her father to show her how to use it. We got to the bay a couple of hours before sunset, and honestly, it was just one of those perfect moments. Ken and Edie snorkeled, while Roark and I played boats, and after awhile you didn’t even need the snorkels to see the fish. With it being sunset, minnows and fish were swimming all around us. It was like National Geographic, and our kids ate it up. We watched the birds diving for their dinner, and the fish jumping to get away. All the while, the sun was setting, and everything just seemed peaceful. It felt like vacation.
We had to check out on Sunday, and as luck would have it, the flag was finally green and the water perfect for swimming. So we packed everything up except our swimsuits and beach chairs and decided to drive home afterward. It has been a long time since I’ve seen the water that perfect: crystal clear, no sea weed, and small, relaxing waves.
Of course, no beach trip is complete without someone coming home with a sunburn, and unfortunately for him, Ken drew the short straw this time. He got FRIED. Now as the mom of our little family, it’s my job to put sunblock on everybody, and I accept it. But really, I’ll just say it, this is a bad idea. You see, I don’t really get sunburned. I’m one of those that fair-skinned people love to hate. So thinking about reapplying sunscreen just doesn’t come naturally to me. Now, I’ll remember to slather everybody before we go out, but once the fun in the sun begins, I don’t really think about it again. So why Ken got burned and little snow white Roarkie didn’t is a mystery to me. Both got SPF 55 applied to them at the start of the day, but came out with very different results. Ken’s burn is just proof that I’m not a perfect mother/wife. Of course, I was fully aware of this before the sunburn, and still maintain that I did not ask for the job of “Sunscreen Queen” and don’t argue with the fact that I suck at it.
All that being said, we really had fun. Of course, when we got home, Ken made a point to tell me to stop talking about how badly I want to go on a vacation. And I plan to honor that request…at least, for the next couple of months.
After traveling through Pennsylvania Dutch country, we continued to head East towards the coast. Our next destination was Ocean City, Maryland.
Now I will be the first to admit that when it comes to beaches, we are spoiled in the South with the Gulf, but there is something about the Atlantic Coast and it’s boardwalks that I love. It makes me feel like I have just stepped into a movie or something. I just need The Drifters playing their hit in the background, and the illusion is complete for me. Edie, on the other hand, didn’t even need any Motown. She was moved just by watching the street vendors. When she came upon some techno music outside a body piercing establishment, she let the beat overtake her and spontaneously decided to put on a show.
This video also includes footage of Roark’s first beach experience which explains why their is only a little bit of beach footage. He refused to behave and kept insisting that he wanted to play in the sand. Despite my manhandling and trying to keep him out of it, he somehow managed to get sand all in his diaper or as I always say, in his nooks and crannies, and then decided that he was done for the day. Edie had a blast at the beach like she does most places, but unfortunately for her, it’s still going to be several years in our future before Roarkie is ready for the sand and sun.
Several months ago I was lamenting about how I hadn’t been on a vacation in over a year. Well after a month of traveling all over the eastern side of this great country, I am officially ready to be home and settled back into my mundane routine.
I’m sure in a couple of weeks those words will come back to bite me, but for now, I’m ready for normal bed times and my makeup back in its designated drawer. The past few days I’ve been taking pleasure in the simple things like a baby-proofed house with toy stations in each room or just knowing where all the dishes are in my kitchen…and don’t forget, the Tivo. That by itself was worth coming home to.
This past week, my mom and I took the kids on our annual trip at the beach. Every September Ken goes out of town for work, and it has become our little tradition to pack up and head south with my mom. We have only one rule for the trip and that’s to relax.
That’s not always easy to do when you bring two children with you, but this year was one of the best. Edie is finally at an age where she loves playing in the sand and jumping in the waves. Most years she’s been scared of the ocean or frustrated with the sand on her hands and feet, but now, at the ripe old age of three and a half, she’s a beach lover.
Roark, on the other hand, not so much. I was already prepared for a wrestling match with him on the beach since he’s crawling now and refuses to stay in one place. We tried bringing a little pool for him to splash in and layed out several bamboo mats for him to play on, but he was rolling around in the sand within minutes. One good handful of sand to the face, and he was done with the beach. After that first day, we decided that our beach time would be during Roark’s morning nap, and my mom was sweet enough to stay indoors in the condo with him.
Edie has become a master at meeting new friends, and each morning she would find a playmate already soaking up some fun in the sun and ask to join in. This was wonderful because then I got to do something that I haven’t been able to do since these precious babies came into my life: sit with my toes in the sand and read a good book. It was as wonderful as I remembered it. Don’t worry…I kept a good eye on her while she played, but I also totally took some time for myself to just enjoy sitting on my bum. Something I rarely get to do, as in, never.
We’ve had a blast this past month that we’ve spent traveling. My only regret was that I haven’t been able to record all the memories that we’ve made over the past few weeks. However, my motto with the blog (and camera) is that I don’t want to ruin the moment by trying to capture the moment. I had to be reminded of this more than once when I would get down on myself about not blogging or having the camera handy. So instead of recording every little thing we did, we just lived it and made memories. Maybe I will find some time to post more about our trips. But honestly hat seems doubtful seeing as how we have been thrust back into life immediately upon our arrival back home…maybe I can post some pictures. Yea, pictures will ease my guilt.
We returned home Friday afternoon from our little getaway at the beach, and for reasons I will post about later, I am not getting around to writing about it until now. When we left for the trip, Edie was all pumped up that it was “jus’ da’ girls” going. However, all week I kept hearing about how much she missed Pop (my father) and Daddy. Somehow whisking her miles away to a tropical paradise, she still knew she was actually the one that got left (Ken spent the week in NYC hobnobbing for MediaMerge). In fact, when Ken left for work yesterday, I had to pry a screaming toddler away from the door, and make it sound like today was something special because she got to spend it with Mommy-AGAIN.
Anyway, despite the little moments of sadness she would let herself fall into, she totally loved the beach, and if you ask her about how she has been doing lately, she will go into a rambled monologue about castles in the sand, swimming in the ocean, and her mommy clobbering her in the face. It was a memorable trip for her.
Last year, the only thing she remembered about our vacation was feeding popcorn to the sea gulls. So what was top on her list to do this week but FEED THE SEAGULLS. As I was trying to make this happen, I got a handful of popcorn in my hand. I could see that Edie at my side and out of the way, but let’s face it. She is little and short, and sometimes can be overlooked when trying to catch a flying sea gull’s attention. As I reared back to throw popcorn in the air, my hand swung by my side and suddenly a shooting pain went up my arm, and then my little angel was lying face down in the sand, screaming her head off. I had basically socked her in the jaw with a fist full of popcorn, and neither of us were a fan. Within five minutes, she had forgiven me and was distracted with throwing popcorn herself, but a week later, I still have a twinge of guilt when I see the little bruise my distraction left on her chin.
The highlight of her trip was a “Dolphin Excursion” where we took a boat ride out to the bay and watched dolphins jump and play in the wake of our boat. She LOVED it, and honestly, I did too. One of my favorite things about parenting is watching her reaction to new experiences. The boat ride alone was an adventure to her, but when the dolphins started playing with us, she couldn’t take her eyes off of them, and I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. With every jump, she would say, “There’s one! There’s one!” like it was the best game of “I Spy” she had ever played, and she continually rubbed the boat for good luck like the skipper had asked. I guess afraid that if she stopped, the dolphins would stop as well.
I love the beach. I always have. My ideal is sitting on the coast, letting the waves wash up on my feet, and getting lost in a good book. However, those days are gone for awhile when you bring a two year old with you, but it is still fun all the same. It’s been a long time since I have built a sand castle or dug a hole just for the sake of digging, but as I watched her swim, and run, and play, I knew there was another beach lover in the making.
For about a month now, I have been hyping Edie up on how lucky she is. You see, my mother and I have been planning a “girls only” beach trip for the past month now, and along the way, I have been asking Edie questions like, “Are we going to build sandcastles?” or “Are we going to collect sea shells?” She is so excited about going she is beside herself.
Well, the day is finally here, and we are leaving in about an hour. I refrained from mentioning it to her all yesterday. I didn’t want a repeat of the day we went to the lake, and she was up WAY before the sun, asking if we could go now.
I won’t be posting during the week because I am not even taking my computer. I am not sure if we even would have internet access, but when you go with all girls, you’re not really suppose to bring your laptop with you anyway.
