Saturday, June 19, 2021

Beach Week 2021 - Arrival!

 Everyone converged on the 2021 beach house Saturday. Matt and Renee left bright and early and arrived first (1:30 PM). Nana and Pop picked up Megan, B, and Sammy from the airport on their way and arrived next (6 PM). Shane and I arrived around 7 PM. It was a little over 6 hours.


We listened to Book1 of  Warriors: Dawn of the Clans for a chunk of the drive. Near the end, Shane couldn't contain himself and I listened to him bounce around bleating out his rendition of Into the Hall of the Mountain King.

I have proof.


Shane nearly ran off the moment the car parked. He would have entered any house he could, but I was able to steer him into the right one.

We met B who reciprocated the excitement! The boys bounced around together while I said hi to Megan and Sammy.


We all went upstairs afterward for a tour.


Pop was busy organizing the kitchen.


Nana was laying down and got swarmed by grandkids. She made Shane pinky shake two times to become "Best Friends Forever," so that he'd have to listen whenever she wanted to read a book together!


The boys didn't want to read any books, though. They wanted to swim!


They got ready quick, but the adults started talking some...


...and the boys discovered the pool table. Specifically, they discovered how gloriously loud the pool table was whenever all the balls were dropped into it at once.


It reverberated. Matt and Renee had already put Graham and Aiden to bed, but thankfully they're sound sleepers.

When we couldn't take it anymore, Megan and I pushed the boys towards the pool and Matt and Renee went up to bed. 


B's become a swimmer. He practices swimming at school and it shows! 


Sammy's not there yet and needs to be watched more carefully. 


The hot tub was the next thing to check out once the pool met with everyone's approval.


And then we headed off to the beach!


The 2021 beach house is the closest we've ever been to the sand. 


We let the kids go barefoot. They started running the moment we crossed the street.


It took Sammy a moment to realize the other boys were leaving him behind.


Then he took off running, too!


Sammy's run is more of a plod. I had to bypass him and jump the rail to catch up with the older boys!


I thought I might have to yell, but they stopped when another boy called them over to show off a hermit crab.


It was completely random, but also something I could see Shane doing if he found a hermit crab (Moreso even - He'd try to gather a crowd!).


I zoomed out and tried to take a panoramic before the boys ventured too deep.


The surf was rough, the sky was dark, and the wind was blowing!


Neither Megan or I had our swimsuits on.


We'd wanted to do a quick visit to "check things out." Everyone got too excited for that and no one came home dry!


Sammy was the only one wearing any safety gear.


There was a strong northward pull in the water, but the beach itself was shallow.


There were pockets that surprised me and splashed my shorts, but the boys could easily stand when they weren't being goofs.


The water was so warm it felt like a bath. Standing up exposed wet parts to the wind, so the kids stayed low.


As did Sammy's pants!


Megan kept pulling him (and his pants) up. The older boys were able to manage the waves on their own!


Shane kept wanting to push out further and further, but I wasn't having it. I did my best to distract him by pointing out birds and where B was.


When it was time to go we raced back...


...and jumped in the hot tub!


The kids discovered there were some fancy lights to play with.


Everyone warmed up from the run back and hosing off the sand...


...and then hosed off a second time to take care of the chlorine.


You'd have thought everyone would be exhausted from traveling and playing....and maybe they were, but excitement overrode it. 


Megan offered to have a sleepover for the first night.


She gives her kids electronics in bed to wind down and Shane was all for it.


No one went to bed early. I took this picture at 9:45 PM. 


I'd have done it differently, but it's vacation. Some rules can and should be bent in favor of building fun memories together. Everyone went to bed eventually. That's what counted!

No comments:

Post a Comment