the start to our summer break

It's been how long since I have blogged? I guess this is my third week...and I was doing so good! What does that mean? It's summer!!!! I like to hit the road running when it comes to summer vacation. For one I'm that crazy mom that starts planning out her summer in April, signing up for all the camps that I can budget for and lining up vacation times! Six weeks of break go by very fast thank you!

We took the boys out of school for the last week (really three days of school and please...you know they don't do squat - well have fun with their friends - but we didn't tell them what they were missing) to go to the beach with some friends. It's been two years since we've been so we have all been very excited! Here are some pictures to tell the story of the week. In a nutshell it was a lot of fun and the boys loved swimming in the ocean. There were no jellyfish like last time, only stingray but that was very exciting for my adventurer husband! And no oil at the time, although I just heard this week that they closed our beach due to it. Elizabeth loved being in the ocean and riding over the waves while held securely in our arms. She learned to spit the sea water out like a champ! She was not too keen on sitting still on the beach and 'digging' or 'playing in the sand' like most little kids. So we took turns following her around back and forth from our hangout to the ocean. I'm not complaining though, it was exhausting but it was so much fun to watch my kids enjoying themselves. The big highlight was when Nate got the boys' nets and caught about 12 giant crabs in the ocean. He was hilarious to watch diving down and chasing these crabs. He got a lot of attention from local bystanders. We ate them up that night and they were the best seafood I had ever had.
Oh, and please enjoy the posed and not so posed pictures of our family all dressed up on the beach. That was the dreaded morning that we planned the photo shoot with our friends. I had slaved over picking out the right matching clothes before we left; we got up at the crack of dawn and got dressed before breakfast to catch the perfect light. Thank God the kids actually did okay for at least one or two good family shots on the blanket and the rest were just candid walking - I like those best. Even though everyone hates them they make great memories of the kids for me.
So, now the beach is nothing but fond memories of salt water, sand in bathing suits, chasing crabs in the night and watching stingray swim beside us (and trying not to rip out Nate's neck as I crawled up him!). And dreams of what the future beach trip may hold in whatever year we decide to return...yes, that dream includes me and Nate sitting on the beach reading books while all three kids play by themselves without getting washed away by the waves! hee hee...
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