oh sweet vacation. you ended far too soon.
Just recently my parents invited my family to join them on a beach trip to good ol’ myrtle beach – it was us, them and my lil bro, Austin. I can honestly say that this is the first vacation that I came home tanless. Also the first vacation I’ve ever had with a 2 year old and an infant. Vacation was redefined for me this year – of course I wouldn’t change it for the world but it is no longer a sit on the beach with my feet up and a read magazine while basking in the sun sort of vacation.
About 4 days before our journey to the east coast, my sweet lil toddler Caleb fell and fractured his elbow. There is never a good time to break a limb but if  there was such a thing as an ideal time for it to happen this was the least of them. At the orthos’s office I begged for a waterproof cast (because apparently there is such a thing according to my findings on google), there were even tears involved in my request but the doctor said ‘wah wah wah wah – NO,’ (channel Charlie Brown’s teacher) – It didn’t matter to me why he couldn’t have a waterproof cast, I only cared that he couldn’t. There was NO way though that I was keeping Caleb from the sand & ocean. It was his first trip that he could actually dig his feet into the sand & run into the water (last year he was still on all fours)- I didn’t plan on that not happening. So…..I got with my bff, google, & we found the most awesome company called drypro that makes these blue rubber fin-like arm covers that provide a waterproof barrier for casts/splints. I read a bazillion reviews on it and was sold! It worked like a charm.
During our time away from home, it stormed. alot. There were definitely spurts of sunny-ness, but lots of clouds and rain that would come and go. It took what felt like 3 hours to get the family ready to get out on the beach on day 1. We put sunscreen on ourselves, on our kids, packed lunches, floats, towels, toys, paci’s, hats, diapers, the kitchen sink, and headed out then BOOM went the thunder. I wanted to scream and cry was kinda bummed out. It is not easy juggling feeding times, nap times, 2 babies and actually getting our feet to touch sand. BUT we somehow managed it, almost every day 🙂 First day actually on the beach, Josh must’ve made 100 trips to the ocean to fill Caleb’s bucket – he would hand it to him, Caleb would pour it out, only to be followed with the words “more dada.” And of course, Josh happily obliged.
Tuesday night we went to Broadway at the Beach where they have fireworks at 10pm. We gave Caleb a late nap so he wouldn’t be a terror moody during the festivities. I had my camera pointed straight to him for the first firework. His eyes were so wide. He wasn’t sure what to think – he had Thomas the Tank Engine nearby to protect him so he was okay. For the next 4 days I overheard him saying – “POW, fireworks” – so I guess they left an impression. Brooke fell asleep on the way there & was completely unaffected by the booming sounds and bright lights – she enjoyed the backside of her eyelids the entire evening.
Caleb chased birds, built castles, obsessed over the HUGE tractors parked on the beach, played in the ocean and picked up seashells. Brooke graced the beach with her cuteness – they both slept. I can never get enough of sweet cuddly sleeping kid pics. Well, there are many pictures below, but each and everyone represent our time there & I never want to forget…
oh, and as you may notice I am in alot of the pics, which means that I, of course, didn’t take them. My husband, yeah, he has skills…go josh, go josh. go. go. go josh….