Beach - Day 1 & 2

I was surprised when my mother-in-law invited us last minute to join her at the beach. We'd be gone Saturday through Wednesday. The first thing I thought of was school, since we'd just missed a week due to Spring Break. I also had things going on that week, but in the end I knew it was a good thing to do.

This decision also included the realization that it would mean me packing, traveling, and executing a vacation with no help. Just me. 

Whew. 

Off we went. 

The 4 year old really struggled on the way down. He literally asked every 5 minutes if we were "there yet?" and he finally melted down into a huge pile of insanity.

I wanted to turn around and go home. 

We pressed on, and after several bathroom stops (and one stop for some disciplinary action) we made it there in a scant 5 hours. 

*sigh*

Okay.

We ran to the grocery store for supplies and dinner, got to the beach house, ate and went to bed. 

That was day one.

Day two was Sunday, and it dawned like this:

We realized that my mother in law sleeps later than we do, image that, so we scampered out of the house for a coffee run, which was a couple of miles northward of the beach.

After I had my hands on some caffeine, we decided to go see the beach. As we drove southward, we noticed the fog thickening until the point where I was struggling to see. It had been fairly clear just an hour before. We slowly picked our way through the fog until we got to the beach. We parked the van and were absolutely in awe at what we saw. 

I had never seen the beach this way. It was eerily beautiful. The noise of the ocean even seemed muted by this heavy veil of fog.

It was so captivating that I couldn't stop taking pictures.

You could feel the mist in the air. It was literally like moving through a cloud. 

The kids were just elated to be at the beach. This pictures brings tears to my eyes, simply from the excitement they had. They literally raced toward the ocean, just so so excited. 

And yes, they were still in their pajamas. This was only the first of our wardrobe offenses at the beach. 

In awe. Swimming in an appreciation of the grandness of the ocean. Of God's creation. Okay, I was at least. I'm not actually sure what they were thinking...

I was also very thankful for this. My kids don't sleep well on the first night of a vacation, I realized. 

Laney dropped in the sand and wrote this. I'm thankful.

Family portrait.

We somehow managed to peel ourselves away from this beauty and head back to the house.

We were going to church!

I was excited. I was eager to experience a different worship environment.

My favorite part was when the 15 sermon was over, and my kids looked up at me with wide eyes and said, "It's over?"

That part was a little different than the hour long sermon we are accustomed to. 

It was a very thought provoking service for me. I think I am most appreciative for the faithful presentation of the Word we receive each Sunday. If we don't cling desperately to the Word, and only to the Word, what do we have? 

My mother in law was so very kind to take us all to lunch after church to her favorite beach resturant. I was more than excited. Seafood is my favorite, but seafood at the beach? Oh. My.

She treated us to alligator. It was really good. 

While we were waiting on our food, Zane drew a portrait of Grandmother. She was kind enough to pose. He gave her the picture when we was done so she could draw her glasses. That was a little above his skill level... 

We had to do the touristy thing.

Getting my previously not-a-tomboy tomboy into this dress was not easy. I had to document the occasion. 

After lunch, Grandmother took us to a really cool park. 

Laney is up in the tower. You can see her arm...

The kids loved the park, and I could have taken a hundred pictures.

After the park we rested at the house for a bit, and Grandmother even taught the boys how to play chess. 

(Or "chest" if you're 4 years old. And if you're 4, you don't really understand how to play and you will probably drive your older brother a little crazy. But that's okay, when you're 4)

And that was day one and two. Just typing all that out makes me tired again! More days, with lots of photos, to come...