We went to church and afterwards we were talking with friends. Dave and Sonia came up to us and invited us to go along to the beach with them and two other couples from church! We were excited and hoped that it would work out with Mike's work schedule!!! We texted Dave's that evening and said that "yes" we would come and join the fun!!!
I had a really busy day on Friday packing and preparing for our weekend. I had an overwhelming feeling about taking a seven week old baby to the shore but made up my mind that even if I didn't get much time sitting on my beach chair, I would be OK with that! :) (Sometimes I have to tell myself things like this!) I felt again a bit overwhelmed when I went for our 'beach things'. The beach chairs were at the house, not here. I needed a cooler, which was at the house and not here. I needed extra bedding, that was at the house. Sand toys were in the barn. Do we take our bikes and if so, the bike rake needed picked up at the house. I made a list of things that I needed to get at the house, but with a baby and toddler, I said a prayer and hoped my day would go well!!! I knew that this would not be 'a vacation' but a very fun trip! Each family was in charge of one meal also. Thanks to Costco, my meal was easy!!!
Mary Sue came to my rescue on Friday afternoon and kept Austin for me while he took his nap! That gave me some time to pick up Hadassah at Black Rock Retreat and make some road stops. We got back home at 2 PM and we got right to packing up the suitcases. Matthew came home from school on the bus and he helped us too! When Mike got home from work, he loaded up the Yukon and off we went! For our weekend at the beach!
We were all so ready to be at the beach house and see our friends that already were all settled in and relaxed! :) Dave's, Gerald's and Elvin's stayed in a house together while we rented Merv & Carol's house. Both houses were in the same neighborhood at "The Angola by the Bay".
Matthew and Chandler hung out the entire weekend together! Matthew slept at their beach house both nights. They went crabbing. They jumped waves together. Dug in the sand together. They had a real blast!!! Thanks Chandler for being such a fun friend all weekend!
Hadassah was with Jess and Maleah! They had such a great time too!!! Laying out, jumping the waves, sharing ice cream, going shopping at Old Navy and Marshalls and sleeping all three girls in a full size bed is something these tweens enjoyed! :))) They had so much fun!
Eating nachos and whoopies on the beach!!!
When we went shopping they slipped into the changing rooms and then told us moms to come have a look! Look what we saw! :) Crazy ... and no they did not buy these! :)
Ashlyn enjoyed the beach time and had fun with her friends too! Sabrena, Shani and Alaina included her with all their toys and fun! Thanks girls!!! Ashlyn loves the ocean water too but just getting her toes and legs wet! We would hold hands and let the waves come crashing in on our legs! I love watching her giggle and laugh!!!
Austin did great!!! Super!!! He slept the whole time we were on the beach. Hours! The ocean sounds kept him sleeping soundly! It was very relaxing for me and I was very grateful! I did panic just a bit the first day though. We set up our chairs after dragging the stroller, chairs, cooler, towels and toys onto the beach. (I did mention it not being 'vacation' but a fun time, right?) We sent the kids up for an umbrella and they came back saying they are sold out!!! What? We could not have a seven week old baby in the sun all day! We NEEDED an umbrella!!! Well, if Austin would not sleep or get settled in the stroller, we would go back to the beach house. But, he did great!!! He slept until we were ready to leave!!! Both days!!!
On the way down to the beach, Mike stopped at an Mexican Restaurant for some food. It had no windows in the building and I thought he was crazy buying food at a place with no windows. He came out not long after going inside and had a big bag of tortilla chips, two containers of salsa and guacamole! It wasn't a restaurant but a store. Everyone dug into the dips while we drove to the shore! We even got to eat some on the beach the next day!!!
The whole trip was fun ~ with some work to make it all happen ~ but we were happy!!! I was thrilled to go the beach again and taking the family with me!!! Thanks so much for inviting us Dave's!!! Let's do it again next year!!! :)
