Just the 5 of Us

I like to think of myself as a "fun" mom and keep the kids busy with things such as library time, going to the pool, and sometimes even bigger adventures such as going to the beach. Most of the time these trips include me and the kids- but not dad. Our weekends tend to fill up with normal things such as weeding, cleaning (important, nonetheless!), sports, etc. Daddy does like to take them to the Y, Home Depot, or for donuts. Our bigger adventures with the whole family seem to also include other families. Boating, for example requires us to have another family to help with the flagging. :-) We have a yearly beach trip that we have been doing for 8 years and we go camping once or twice a year, and it's always with another family. We love spending time with other families and our kids love having their buddies around, but I think it would be a good thing to get some time with just US every once in a while.

That long winded explanation gets us to this weekend. (Do you expect anything less from me?!) I was feeling pretty sick on Friday and spent much of the day in bed. It was beautiful weather and I was sad to be wasting it inside. I got this crazy idea that I would rather be laying on a couch at the beach! I asked my good friend, Ranell if her beach condo happened to be available. It was and I looked on my calendar and amazingly enough, we had nothing scheduled!! I mentioned it to Jeff and he didn't seem too thrilled, but I realized it was because he had a few things he wanted to get done. So, on Saturday morning, I woke up feeling a little sick still, but went for a run and came back rejuvenated! Jeff took the kids with him to play Ultimate Frisbee and I went to work cleaning the house. When Jeff got home, he worked on his project and then he was ready to take off.

(This view is what I was dreaming of! There is nothing more soothing to me than being at the beach. It is so calm and peaceful and there is nowhere I would rather be. I know a lot of my love of the beach came from my dad, so it means even more to me now to be there.)


I packed as little as I needed just to make it less stressful. It is nice knowing the condo is well stocked with fun things to do. We went to my favorite beach first and played on the sand. It was a little colder than I had imagined in my head, so we didn't stay too long.


We went out for dinner and then headed back to the condo for my favorite part- a late night swim!! No pictures because I just wanted to enjoy it and not worry about my camera! It is a warm pool that looks out at the ocean. It was wonderful.

Today we slept in, played some tennis, played board games, read books, and just relaxed.


We went for a walk to Devil's Punch Bowl and then cleaned the condo and headed home. We spent time discussing our goals as a family. We did have some whining and that gave us a chance to talk about how we feel when we aren't appreciated. Overall, I think we all had a great time. I look forward to coming back and staying for a few days this summer. It is my favorite place to stay at the beach. Lots to do or nothing to do- it is all your choice! I love my little family and I am glad we got to all be together!