Hitting the Beach!!!

I absolutely LOVE the beach.  There's rarely another place I'd rather be.  I love the feel of the sand between my toes and the sound of the ocean waves crashing.  There's a certain energy and peacefullness all at the same time.  And Dylan and Zoe are just as fond of the beach as their mommy is! 

We were able to pack up and head to the beach for an entire week along with Bop and Nana. 

This was our best family vacation ever!!! In the past we had some good vacations, but I think the kids were really a little too young and were on more rigorous, routine-based schedules that made things more difficult to relax.  We were also rather limited in the past as to what we could do and when.  Now that Zoe is 2 and Dylan is 3, we're coming into some new stages.  While we still kept to somewhat of a routine, we were actually able to get up in the morning, have breakfast, and hit the beach for several hours before coming in!  In the past our max beach time was 2 hours on our very best day and some days we just never made it there.  This year we actually spent five hours at the beach and pool one day and we went to the beach every single day!  We were able to play in the sand, jump the waves, have snacks or lunch on the beach, and even have some energy left to go to the pool and the playground.  All that before coming in and putting the kids down for nap.  We pushed nap out by a few hours so the kids usually napped around 3pm and slept until 5pm.  It worked perfectly because then we could go out to dinner, go ride some rides on Broadway, and still hit the pool or take a walk on the beach!  Bed time for Dylan and Zoe was also pushed back to about 10pm which gave us plenty of evening time to do some fun things. 

It was really nice having my parents there.  This was our first trip of a week's duration where it was just the four of us and my parents.  The kids love any time that they get to spend with Bop and Nana, but I actually felt like I got to enjoy some time with them too because the kids and the routine we set up worked so well.  It reminded me of the days when my parents, sister and I would go to the beach.  I really enjoyed sitting out on our ocean front balcony and talking to Bop, Nana and David while the kids napped or slept and I still had energy to be awake. 

I am so blessed and thankful that we were able to have a wonderful week at the beach and I hope we'll all cherish these memories for decades to come.