Son and Surf

Ah, vacation.  So restful, so relaxing, so peaceful.  A great time to catch up on sleep and all those -- what do they call them? -- oh yeah, books I've been meaning to read.

Hardy har har.  Unless it's Opposite Day, the above paragraph is pretty much a pipe dream for anyone with little ones.  Welcome to parenthood, folks, where vacationing just means...well, parenting in a different (albeit MUCH prettier) location.

I don't mean to complain.  After all, we just returned from a fantastic week at the beaches of Outer Banks in North Carolina.  Gorgeous weather, beautiful sand and ocean, wonderful friends.  Lots of beers in the cooler and plenty of frozen drinks being whipped together in the blender at any given moment.  (And, by the way, every parenting mishap is way better with a margarita in one's hand.  I'm just sayin'.)

But I guess I still can't totally repress those memories of vacations past.  Where being at the beach really meant relaxing and soaking in the waves and the sun's rays.  Perhaps, if I was feeling ambitious, it might involve reading the latest People magazine (instead of the In Style from May 2012 that I toted around all last week without reading a single page). Where "getting away" really meant leaving behind my responsibilities and cares and just ...chilling out.

Funny thing. These days my responsibilities and cares are a bit hard to shake.  Try as I might, I can't seem to leave them behind for very long.  They're like adorable little burs.  Check 'em.

 Bur #1:

And Bur #2:

I know, I know.  Don't cry for me, Argentina.  I am indeed a lucky gal.  A week at the beach with my handsome boys.  All three of them, that is.

This vacation was particularly special because it was Dex's first full-fledged trip to the beach (where we didn't have to get back into the car after a couple of hours).  He seemed to like it, although he spent most of his time in the shade under a sun tent.  That said, he did seem to enjoy the sound of the ocean at least.

Yay!  Ocean!  Pound it!

And Fionn, for his part...well, he is an old ocean aficionado at this point.  Building sandcastles, playing in the water...you name it.  Fionn is your man.  And if the fun includes wearing his Mama's sun hat...well, all the better.  Bring it.

Of course, the week was not just about our family.  We were lucky enough to share the time with some of our closest friends and their kids.  You see, it's becoming a once every three years sort of deal.  A triannual beach trip, if you will.  The last time we hit the beach together was right after Fionn's birth.  He was almost exactly Dex's age now, give or take a few weeks.  Here's a little blast from the past for you.

And here is our group circa 2013.

As you can see, we lost a couple of families along the way and replaced them with two others.  And, obviously, the original kids have grown up, and a few new ones have been added.  Oh, it's so much fun to watch our group grow and change.   Like Miss Lilly Thornblad, for instance, who was just a toddler at our last beach trip.  This year she was a little lady -- and even lost her first tooth during our trip!  (Side note: Why do kids always lose their first tooth in our presence?  It's becoming a bit eerie.)

We also loved getting the chance to get to know sweet Aedan (Big A!) Thornblad and Hailey Mesack a lot better during the trip.  They are both adorable and loved the beach so much.  Unfortunately, Hailey was on a completely different beach time schedule than we were, so we didn't cross paths with her too often by the water.  As a result, the best we got is the following cute pic of her in her pajamas inside the house.

 

The best treat from this beach trip was a visit from our dear friend, Melissa Pluchos, and her gorgeous family.  Melissa had twins over two years ago, and I am embarrassed to say that I had not laid eyes on these precious creatures until the beach trip.  We were all so thankful that Melissa and Chris made the trek to see us, and we loved our time together.  I didn't get a great shot of just their sweet family which I regret.  Here's the best I got.  The Pluchos family arriving to the beach.

Despite all the fun at the beach, I have to say that the highlight of Fionn's trip probably occurred in the car.  But not just any car, mind you.  A Jeep with the top down.  Oh yeah.  It was a wild and bumpy ride with Corrie and Eric as we drove around the beach looking for the wild horses that inhabit the area.  It took awhile to find them which was perfectly fine with our Fionny.  "I like these bumps, Mama!" he declared, laughing, as we bounced our way through the sand.  But, alas, we finally found ourselves some horses.  He seemed pretty happy about that too.

The horses were truly beautiful.  It was amazing to see them just walking around the dunes.  A little weirder to see them sniffing around people's cars and trash cans.  But whatevs.

All in all, the trip was pretty exhausting in many ways but also so wonderful in others.  Watching our kids interacting with the children of some of my closest friends...well, it just doesn't get much better, does it?  

I'll leave you with a picture from our last night at the beach.  I really wish this was me holding Dex in this picture, but my dearest Corrie is the next best thing, I suppose.  You can't complain too much about a rainy afternoon if this is what you find on the other side.  Simply magical. 

I'll write again soon folks because this coming weekend is IRISH FEST!  Erin go bragh and all that.  Until next time...