beach weekend

This past Saturday morning, we (my parents, the kids, and me) loaded up my mom’s mini-van, and drove out to Wilmington, to go to to the beach.

Headed for the beach. The pillow serves a dual purpose: breaking up fights, and car naps.

My brother and his girlfriend Mandy drove over from Charlotte to meet up with us, and Chris and his son also came. (His daughter is out of state visiting her aunt.)

waiting for the waves to come to her

Catie and Chris’s son are the same age – they’re both about to start 2nd grade – and they play really well together.

Catie playing on the beach with Chris's son

Last year, Lucy was terrified of the ocean and wouldn’t even put a toe in the water. There’s a big difference between age two and three, though, because this year, she loved it.

Favorite pic from today: Lucy in the ocean with my parents. This is the first time she hasn't been scared of the beach.

I mean, that face, COME ON.

Lucy loving the beach

We were at the beach for over four hours, straight through Lucy’s naptime. She was having so much fun, but eventually she got tired and grumpy, and fell asleep on Chris’s shoulder. We set up a spot so she could have a little beach nap.

Beached.

Eventually, we headed back to our hotel, cleaned up, and went to dinner. Chris and his son headed back to Raleigh (he had to have him back to his mom early on Sunday morning), and the rest of us crashed at the hotel.

worn out in the hotel after the beach

The next morning, we met up with my brother and his girlfriend for breakfast, before we headed home. (Mmmm, Cracker Barrel…)

I had sort of a surreal moment later when I saw these two pictures, side by side.

Same beach, same swimsuit. Two girls, 4 years apart

Catie in 2010, Lucy in 2014. Same beach. Same swimsuit. Two different kids, four years apart.

It’s funny because I don’t normally think Catie and Lucy look alike all that much, but then I see them like this, and it sort of hits me that whoa, yeah. They really are siblings.

I guess an overnight road trip doesn’t really count as a vacation, but it’s probably as close as I’m going to get to one this summer. And it was great, so I have no complaints. I know the kids wanted to stay longer. Funny thing is, this was the first year that I really wanted to stay longer too. Normally after an hour or so at the beach, I’m all, “Ok, I’m done.” This was the first time that both kids were having fun, and I was able to just relax and enjoy it. Hopefully, next time, we’ll be able to swing at least a two- or three-night stay.

I’ve also promised my mom a trip to the mountains at some point (maybe in the fall, or for her birthday). She’s never been, and I know the kids would love that too. It’s one of the many great things about where we live in NC – you can drive a couple of hours in either direction and be either at the ocean or in the mountains. It makes vacations a lot more accessible when they’re within a reasonable driving distance.

Now, if I can just clean up all the sand we brought home with us…

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