Busy at the Beach

One thing that I found out very quickly when I joined Jim’s family was that their vacations are anything but relaxing!  They pack so much into a week at the Jersey shore that I practically need a vacation from my vacation when we return home.  But now that I’ve gone every summer since 2002 (except the one when I was on hospital bed rest with the twins), I wouldn’t have it any other way.  I love every bit of the trip, from the frantic packing of sand toys and towels, to the late night runs for Ocean City coffee and soft pretzels, to the early morning walks to Bashful Banana for banana whips, to the bike riding for Brown’s donuts and afternoon shower to rinse the sand from our burned bodies before we hit the boardwalk for Hula Grill dinners.  And I love watching our children fall in love with the spot as well.  It really is as good as it gets from a kid’s perspective, especially when you throw in mini-golf, a water park, endless arcades, and more family and friends than you can fit in a wide-angle lens! 

Here’s a few of the highlights of our busy activities these year:

A surrey ride to breakfast, powered by none other than Jim and Jon:

The girls got their caricatures drawn as a wonderful surprise gift for me:

The kids flying kites for the first time ever:

Alli and Becky waiting patiently for our Hawaiian Chicken at Hula Grill:

The girls all gussied up before an evening walk to the amusement park:

A wild and crazy game of miniature golf with the four big kids, with each one perfecting their individualized swing and then shouting, “I got a hole in one!!!” every time they threw/dropped/rolled/kicked the ball into the hole:

We joined some of our family and friends at a local basketball court for some ball play:

Here were a few of the enthusiastic cheerleaders:

Bike riding for donuts:

A view of my early morning stroller walk with Danny, since he decided to start every day of the vacation around 5:30am:

Splashing in the puddles with cousins:

Posing at the water park on a beautiful sunny day:

How many days until we can go back? 🙂