Randoms From Last PA Trip

We snuck in a trip to my moms before the boat trip and OBX. Here are some pics making good use of the pool!  This was just a few short days before Brooke said bye bye to her swim vets!

Where's Brandon??

OBX 2011

It was such an amazing week.  I loved being surrounded by family all under one roof, for the whole week.  Each year it gets harder and harder to leave.  The kids had am amazing time as well.  They survived the 12 hour car ride down, with the last 3hours (50miles) being the worst traffic of the whole ride.  Once we got there, they took over the top floor of the house getting all their energy out for the whole day in just a few hours. 

The location of the house this year was an upgrade from last year.  We were on the ocean block, with ocean views on either side of the house in front of us, and only 2 houses down from beach access.  We were even able to see dolphins from our decks off the front of the house.

Its amazing what a difference a year can make.  Last year Brandon had to be held in the pool and the ocean the whole time, and both neither one of them were really happy for all that long at the beach.  This year they LOVED the beach.  We went every morning until 12:30 or 1, having to bring them home against their will most days.  Brandon even got a few face fulls of ocean water without too much distress.  They played with sandcrabs, mini clams, non-stinging jellyfish (collecting at least 40 in a bucket the one day), sand castles, and of course the waves.  I was actually able to sit and relax at some point every day on the beach because of the help from the family and the kids overall happiness on the beach this year. 
The pool was no different, the swam and jumped for hours.  The first day we were there I convinced Brooke that she should take her swim vest off, which she reluctantly did, followed by showing everyone how she could swim BY HERSELF!  I am not sure who was more excited Brooke or me.  It was one proud mommy moment.  The rest of the week she took turns swimming to everyone in the house.  She put her swim vest back on a few times only to play tag with the big kids or to cruise off on her own.

Brandon's pool experience was just as different this year.  After the boat trip the week before, Brandon insisted on jump in and swimming on his own without help.  This is when I went to target and was saved by a life jacket/swim vest called the puddle jumper.  With the extra support on his arms he was able to keep his balance while swimming all over the place.  He was as happy as could be swimming on his "own just like a big boy, kicking his little feet behind him.  He would even jump off the pool steps and swim to everyone on his own too.  The independence was great for him, and made things quite  a bit easier for me as well.

Just like last year, Brooke had her hair braided.  It's really a win win.  She loves it and it spares me from doing her hair every day!  While Brooke and I were doing that, Eric and Brandon found go-carts (racecars).  Brandon was in heaven!  With a little white lie (saying Brandon was 3) they were off to the race track.  I am pretty sure it was his favorite part of of OBX, considering he still talks about it and asks about them.  He rode on them twice that day and once two additional days. 

Last year we never made it to the beach at night.  Whether it was because I didn't feel like dealing with the sandy over tired kids or something else, I'm not sure why we didn't.  This year we went 3 different nights, and had a blast even if two of them resulted in baths at 9:30 when we got home and a bed time of 10 for both kids.  We did kite flying, fireworks, and even night time crab catching.  I am not sure where these white crabs come from, but they are all over the beaches at night and the kids loved looking for them with flashlights.  I wish I brought the video camera to capture their squeals as they spotted them on their own.

My kids are pretty good sleepers even when they aren't at home because of so many trips to my moms house, so I wasn't concerned this year, even with the fact they were sleeping in the same room, in bunk beds.  OK, maybe I had a few reservations, but they LOVED it.  Brooke got the top, while Brandon enjoyed the ladder.  He was surprisingly good and only climbed it when we were in the room.  There were only 2 nights where Eric and I had to go down and tell them to stop talking/playing with each other.  Boy did that bring back memories from when I was a kids.  In reality, it was pretty cute hearing them have conversations with each other in the room when no one else was around.  One of the nights we had to ask them to be quiet, Brandon started fussing, and we all overheard Brooke trying to sing a lullaby to him to make him happy.  Cutest thing ever, even though I'm not sure what the lullaby was all about.  A few nights we put Brandon down first and let Brooke stay up with all the adults.  Boy did she eat all the attention up!  Most nights I put her down by 10, but she was being so good, I could have let her stay up later if I wanted too.

They were spoiled with attention, the occasional soda, lots of oreos and the ice cream truck....every single day!

The week was such a great time that I am already thinking about next summer.  I can't wait to do it all over again.  Memories that will last a lifetime.