Last week we went to the beach with the Hatten family. It was a vacation--sort of. We did get to see the ocean but it was far from a relaxing week! Here's a quick breakdown of the highlights:
On Saturday when we got there the air conditioner upstairs was broken. It was a solid 92 degrees up there. The technician didn't get there until 9:30pm to work on it. By then, I pulled out blankets for the big 3 kids to sleep on Steve and Marcy's floor, the babies and I were in a small room with a single pullout loveseat, and Jay was on the couch in the living room. To fix the air conditioner, the guy had to hotwire something together and the air conditioner would not turn off the rest of the week!
On Sunday while doing laundry, the washing machine started to smoke. The new washing machine wasn't installed until Tuesday, at which point we were all down to our last set of clothes and underwear that were not dirty from the ocean or covered in spit up.
When you take two 5-week olds to the beach you pretty much plan to stay inside with them the whole time. There were a few times I got outside with the big kids for an hour or so, but it took a lot of coordination from 3 or 4 adults to arrange it.
It rained a lot this time. Some thunderstorms and some times of just pure rain, which is unusual for August. That did make it a lot cooler than normal but left some children upset about wanting to play outside at the beach. On the rainiest day Jay and the other adults took all the big kids to the aquarium while I went to visit my friend Deborah.
On Thursday morning Jay got sick with a stomach virus. He was in bed all day and missed playing golf with his dad and Andy. By Thursday night, Will was throwing up. Not a highlight for sure....
On Friday things seemed a little more normal. Jay and Will were feeling better so we all ventured out for lunch--the only time all of us went to a restaurant the whole week. We did have a fun time with everyone playing in the ocean on Friday afternoon.
On Saturday we headed home and got stuck on I-26 in the rain. Melissa and Andy's 12 hour drive to Pennsylvania turned into a 15 hour drive with a 2 yr old.
On Sunday night after we got home, I got the stomach virus and was sick all day Monday.
I think the only time Jay and I had a real conversation with each other was in the car ride down there and back. Otherwise, all of our conversations revolved around who was caring for which child/children at what time and where. Jay's favorite new saying: "Eventually we will have fun on vacation, right??" We figure this will be one of our hardest years to take everyone to the beach (or anywhere for that matter).
And we did have fun. It wasn't all bad. Just not relaxing!!!
So all that being said, here are a few pics of our adventures:
Playing in the ocean. The kids really did love jumping and swimming and splashing in the ocean this time. Especially Marshall! That boy will just dive in face first.
The kids loved playing "band" with Marshall. He can sing and play music and dance with the best of them. I foresee a strong musical career in his future.
Catherine got her face painted at the aquarium. Such a pretty design with her blue eyes.
The babies were happy to have extra arms to hold them.
On the day Jay was sick in bed, I hooked up a sprinkler we brought so that the kids could play outside and I could stay close to the babies. Marshall thought it was a nice water fountain! And look how white he turns when you put sunscreen on him :)
On Friday we attempted to get some group shots of everyone.
The grandkids: Catherine (age 6), Elizabeth (6 weeks), Marshall (age 2), Anna (age 2), Will (age 4), James (6 weeks)
The kids liked burying my feet in the sand
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