Beach Trip: Fun in the Sun

Vacations take so long to arrive and pass so quickly.

We did enjoy ourselves immensely though I've been struck at how things have changed in the last few years. As a teen I would have stayed out the majority of the day, reading multiple books, playing in the water, snackin' on Crunch 'n' Munch. This year I played mom to a baby who took a few days to adjust to the sand and the sea; this year I never cracked the cover of a book (though I did get caught up on People and other celebrity gossip magazines scattered around the beach house); this year I only sat at the edge of the water; this year I traded the peanut-laden snack for kettle korn from the local farmer's market (hey, not all trade-offs are bad).

The big boys enjoyed the time with the cousins, and in turn, Andrew and Stephen entertained them. For once others got to experience the mindless, ceaseless, verbal water-dripping of my eldest: "Matthew is a blue-bulb baby to a diaper baby" or "You are a diet coke chicken nugget." Imagine these phrases repeated no less than 20 times an hour for days on end. It explains a lot about my mental health.

While Andrew frequently ventured into the water with Doug, Stephen refused to even walk at the water's edge (as if he might suffer the same fate of the Wicked Witch of the West). One day as we were getting ready to head to the sand, Stephen declared, "I won't go to no beach" then promptly and cheerfully changed into his trunks. He preferred the canals and trenches that Doug, Josh and Robert dug.

Matthew finally adjusted to the sunny but windy beach, though he definitely had a preference for the arms of mom. He ate his fill of sand and debris which continues to exit his system. He did like the county water park we visited and delighted in splashing.

The paper-mache ant arrived in one piece only to be obliterated by the party-goers. It was certainly worth all the trouble. We celebrated Stephen's 3rd birthday and dad's 60th.

And even though Hanna forced us out a day early, we had an excellent and memorable vacation.