The Beach ~ Saturday and Sunday

Saturday was our last day at the beach.  Avery and I finally got in our bonut date and went and got more donuts.  The line was to the door that morning, so we had a bit of a wait.  Sam took a good nap, so I decided I would take him to the beach with us when he woke up.  As we were leaving the house, it was sprinkling and I could see dark clouds.  Ned assured me we'd be fine, so we kept going.  If your husband isn't a meteorologist, don't listen to him.  Ned got the tent up and I got sunscreen on before the big drops started to fall.  This was no shower, it was pouring.  Sam, Avery, and I huddled under the tent, which really wasn't doing a great job.  Rain was obviously coming in from the open sides but also from the mesh all around the bottom of the tent.  We had the floor part down, so water was pooling around us.  I had a towel around Sam to keep the rain off his head and laid his shirt on him, but he was still shivering.  Avery was upset and cold and the towel around her was wet.  I realized my beach bag with my camera and our video camera bag were in puddles, so I had those on my lap.  Ned was under the regular umbrella, and I have no idea what we thought we were going to do, but once we heard thunder we had to go.  Ned covered Sam up in the jogger and I carried Avery and my beach bag.  We had to wait for cars to stop for us to cross the road...there were actually people who did not stop for us.  By that time I saw my dad coming with a big beach umbrella and I did what any wet, stressed mother would do...cried.  I had it together by the time our short (long-feeling) walk was over.  Sam was completely dry and happy and proceeded to take a long nap (so I may have contemplated more rain storms), and Avery was fine too.

After that fiasco, we got lunch from The Good Life again.  I went to the beach for a little while during naps, then Ned brought Avery over.  Holes and snowmen at the water's edge kept her entertained.

My parents were with Sam but I sent Ned back so that they could come over.  I ended up having him wake Sam because he had napped so well and I wanted us all to be together.

We stayed until after 5 then went in and ordered Papa John's.  Once the kids went to bed, we worked on getting as much packed as we could.

Avery was up at 6 a.m. Sunday morning, so we put her in bed with us and let her watch TV.  Sam slept until almost 7 a.m. which put me behind since I didn't get up.  It was kind of a mad dash to get a lot done with 2 kids before going to breakfast.  We ate at The Jolly Roger and then went back to finish packing up.  I put Sam down for a short nap, and we had to wake him to eat before we left.  We stopped for gas and ice, and he didn't enjoy that.  He then fussed off and on for awhile, and then it turned to crying.  I knew he needed to sleep, so we stopped and I gave him his pacifier again and his duck.  I'm uneasy with the duck in the seat, but I really don't think it's a problem with the angle of the seat.  He took a short nap and then fussed off and on, but thankfully he never cried.  We stopped for lunch about 30 minutes from home because Avery had to potty and Sam needed to eat.  We were glad to arrive home a little before 2 p.m.  The rest of the day consisted of napping (not the adults), unpacking, a grocery trip, and lots of laundry.

We had such a wonderful time at the beach.  I had very low realistic expectations for this trip because I've never traveled with a 4-month-old.  Some would say that's pessimistic, but it's easier for me to be pleased when things go well than be disappointed when they don't.  We certainly weren't sunning ourselves and drinking tropical drinks, but I can't imagine a beach vacation any different or better than what we had.