::tap tap tap::
Anyone still out there?
I can’t believe it’s been almost a MONTH since I’ve checked in with you all, and I must say, I truly appreciate those of you who have reached out to check in and make sure we’re all doing okay over here. You guys are seriously the best!
The good news is that all is going great!! We’ve honestly just been enjoying a fun and busy summer, and I took the pressure off from sitting down at the computer too often.
Summer is such a short season around here, so we’ve been spending lots of time outdoors, hanging with friends, family, and neighbors, and letting the kids enjoy some later-than-usual bedtimes. And while I certainly do miss those earlier bedtimes and extra quiet time, we’re busy making memories and that’s what matters most. <3
And speaking of memories, we actually just returned from our annual, week-long vacation to Wildwood Crest, NJ!
Once again, we totally lucked out with weather, and could not have asked for anything better. And after a bit of a rocky start on the ride down (thanks to Alex getting car sick, not once…but twice), it was smooth sailing the rest of the week.
The majority of our days started off at the beach. And this year was quite different from previous ones, since Lucas has become quite the little fish and constantly wanted to be in the water. Thankfully, between Jay and my dad, they were able to keep him somewhat occupied with lots of boogie boarding.
By the end of the week, Alex was finally starting to get brave enough to get into the water a little bit, too; but before that, we had our beach pools and lots of sandcastle-making to keep him happy.
At least for a little while…because don’t get me wrong. I can’t even begin to count how many times I heard “I’m bored” or “I don’t know what else to doooooo” while we were (trying to) sit and relax with our toes in the sand. ; )
Since Alex still naps, we’d often pack up lunches for the boys to eat down at the beach, and then I’d head back with Alex so he could nap up in the room (kiddo just can’t nap on the fly).
And then eventually everyone would make their way back up to the condo and we’d spend a couple of hours at the pool.
And for the first year ever, I was actually able to spend some time in the pool without Alex constantly attached to my hip!
I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again…vacations with (my) kids are never easy. BUT, they are fun AND improving a little bit every year, so we’re taking those positive improvements and rolling with ’em!
In addition to our beach and pool days, we also had a few outings, including a much-anticipated trip to the boardwalk.
The boys were SO excited to go on all of the rides, so we spent a couple of hours there one evening letting them check ’em all out.
And then, after promising them we could stay until it was dark so they could see the rides all lit up, we ended the evening with some Kohr Bros cones.
We also took another trip to the Cape May Zoo this year, and it was freakin’ HOT.
The boys were complaining of the heat less than 5 minutes into it, but it really was brutal and I couldn’t blame them, so we zipped through everything in lightning speed in order to find solace back in the air conditioned car!
Luckily, it wasn’t a wasted trip, and we all really did have a great time checking out the different animals. We just did it while sweating our faces off.
That same evening, my parents offered to take the boys out for mini golf and ice cream so Jay and I could enjoy a little date night!
We decided to skip our usual spot in favor of a new restaurant we had spotted last year but didn’t get the chance to visit, MudHen Brewing Co.
We arrived early enough to enjoy the tail end of happy hour at the bar, so we ordered a couple of drinks along with their BBQ Pork Dip, and goodness gracious, that thing was out. of. this. worlllld.
Then we got more drinks because…vacation. They had a “Fruitie Patootie” beer on tap, which was a blonde ale with bursts of strawberry, and it was absolutely my favorite. A perfect summer brew!
And then we eventually headed outside and grabbed a table on their patio area for dinner. While we waited, we played some corn hole, which was so fun!
Dinner arrived shortly after, so we ate that, and then we were back for a couple more intense games of corn hole.
Freakin’ Jay beat me. I was THIS close…
One of our final outings of the week was a trip to our favorite ice cream spot, The Sea Shell!
And in true Sea Shell fashion, our sundaes were prepared with no less than 5 generous scoops of delicious, homemade ice cream.
No shame in my game. Gimme allllll the ice cream and caramel topping.
I’d say by about Thursday/Friday, the kids were nearing meltdown mode, so while it’s always sad to leave the shore, it was definitely time to get them back home and into their normal routine once again. All hiccups, and tantrums, and whining, and lack of listening aside, I am so thankful to be able to take these vacations with the boys and my parents.
We’re all making memories that are going to last a lifetime, and will most certainly be topics of discussion until we go back again next year!
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