Beach Week: The Beginning (August)

Shane caught some sort of crud while working at VBS.

Nana asked me to COVID test him just in case (Negative!).

To Shane's chagrin (and Carrie's relief), I decided to wait a day to drive Shane to the beach. 

The dogs didn't know what was up, but they were happy we stayed on Saturday, too!

If you pet one, the other will come. Always.

I took Shane to the library to grab some books for the car trip. He read a choose-your-own-path picture book to me the whole way there (and then wanted to finish before we got out of the car).

We turned in our Summer Reading chart for June while we were at it.

Shane picked a goofy picture book for his prize, Codzilla.

We packed Sunday night.

Under pet supervision.

We left early Sunday morning. Probably around 7:20 AM. Shane and I listened to The Last Musketeer by Stuart Gibbs and streamed a church service. He played a lot of Rogue Legacy 2 on the Switch.

When Shane got thirsty, I told him to grab a water bottle. I didn't realize that he'd opened most of them already. I found three. Gross! I'd heard them rolling around and thought we were covered.

We arrived around 1:10 PM. It was a little under 6 hours for us with one stop for gas and toilets. Everyone else arrived the day before. The bottom floor of the beach house was all parking (We were car #6).

Shane ditched me to run inside. He only came back for his suitcase, because I yelled. I looked up again and he was GONE. 

Nana and Pop splurged this year. My eyes popped when I realized how much they paid. They put us right on the beach. We've never been this close before! Maybe it was to make up for last year? We didn't go because Pop needed a kidney.   

The downside was a lot of stairs. The house was 4 stories tall. 

First floor - Parking
Second Floor - Kitchen, laundry, couches, and Nana and Pop's room

Third Floor - Families with younger kids

Fourth Floor - Families whose kids could burn calories running up and down all day.

The house had some wear and tear issues from being so close to the beach. 

It had clearly been a party house in the past. There were 'fun' signs up all over.

Shane and I's room was only accessible through Megan's family's room. Megan had stolen a mattress to put on the floor at the foot of her queen for one of her boys. The only spare mattress was in Cole's room. Shane was so excited he'd get to sleep in there! Stu fixed that problem by moving the spare mattress from Cole's room to ours (Sorry, Shane! It was better for everyone's sleep habits). 

I walked around taking some pictures of the layout after greeting everyone and dropping off my suitcase. I laughed at this picture, because I didn't realize what Sammy had done at the time. 

Shane gave me a funny look when I laughed and told him why. "Yeah, he used it like a sword. I had to put it back. You didn't see him?"

The main attractions on the 4th floor were the pool table, the foosball table, a broken refrigerator, and a cinematic viewing area.

Personal pet peeve - Microwaves don't belong in cabinets you have to bend over to access and doors you can bump into. If a toddler can reach it, they can microwave all sorts of un-microwaveable things.

There were signs all over the house that could only be described as "Someone once did something stupid" and "they'll charge you for it."

I didn't even photograph all of them. There was a funny one on the thermostat I remember someone reading aloud.

This was the first sign I saw upon arrival.

Which is why I feel hook, line, and sinker for this!

Make sure you read it. I was just getting mad when I did and that turned it into a belly laugh. I got gotten good.

The twins had been aiming for Uncle Dennis and Melissa's car. I hadn't put up my parking pass yet and after reading all the signs I thought this was just the kind of place looking to ding and get you for any little thing they could.

Megan and Kathleen had wanted to spice the day up a little bit. All the kids were quiet on electronics and that was too easy.

I don't remember which twin went to the store, but I heard all the kids squealing in Cole's room.

Shane offered me a piece of gum. It was clearly a prank, but I allowed myself to get shocked anyway. The kids all jumped and spun around chortling and guffawing while the twins giggled malevolently (If you didn't know them, you'd think it was an innocent giggle. I grew up with them!).

The boys came out smoking fake cigarettes next.

Which they paraded past Nana. When she got up to follow them and say, "What are you doing!?!?" they offered her a piece of gum.

Nana shrieked. A parade of kids ran through the house from the back porch to the front porch hooting and hollering their triumph. Sorry, Nana. You're an excellent target for practical jokes (I know, I grew up with her!).

I made sure to talk to Carrie when things were quiet. I'd let her know we'd arrived safely and got to share a story or two with her already!

There were a lot of electronics going on, so it was easy to slip away. 

The older kids all entertained each other and it made childcare duties sooooo much easier. 

And when the kids did stop to interact with the adult there were many to pick from! Matt had to think carefully about how to throw this checkers game with Sammy (Who told Matt he was going to destroy him!).

The babies still needed someone, but everyone helped out and traded kids back and forth. Dennis and Melissa showed up and it was fantastic being able to just sit and chat with everyone.

Midday a section of the kids napped or had "individual play time." Nathan went down for his nap earliest. Harper and Graham were the second shift. Aiden stayed awake, but you could tell he was tired from all the action.

Don't worry. He recovered. It's fun, but tiring being around so many people and so many things happening!

Often the older kids ran around in clumps while the younger kids played around clumps of adults. Here Pop popped off the couch to play with Nathan for a moment.

Then he was back and Megan was on the floor. Dennis made funny faces, because he's Dennis.

We didn't do much with the pool at first.

Or rather, I think the others already had their outside time before Shane and I arrived (Especially Matt and Renee's crew. Renee loves the beach!).

I went back and forth to check on groups in the beginning. That included going up and down many, many stairs.

There was an elevator, but it wasn't working and it was horribly placed! Every time I rounded a corner of stairs I nearly turned straight into it!

I took the week off from exercise, but those flights of stairs kept me from getting too far off track. There were lots and lots of food options.

Many of which were junk food!

Melissa brought cookies and Shane and I brought pumpkin bread Carrie made (She had made 4 loaves and we were supposed to bring 2, but only 1 survived until the beach! I texted her that it was half gone by the end of the first day).

On the healthy side, Shelby cooked Sunday night. She made gluten free pasta and meat-sauce. Matt sent out an email pre-beach trip (probably guided by Renee) about meal planning for the week. He was still gluten free due to his Lyme's treatment, so everyone who could cook took that into account.

Nana and Pop bought pizza Saturday night (Day #1). Shelby cooked Sunday (Day #2). Renee and Matt would do their low country boil, Renee made chicken pot pies, and Megan made salmon the other nights. Thursday was leftovers of which we had plenty. Nana and Pop cooked bacon daily (pounds and pounds of it!).

I'm worthless on the culinary front, so I helped clean dishes, watch kids, and took pictures (and hopefully was good conversation!). Stu won the email chain by offering to clean up instead of cook, because he had a family of picky eaters (and #ShouldHaveBeenaCustodian).

Dinner was at 5 PM, so there was plenty of time to go outside afterward

The pool was fantastic this year. All of the older kids were much more confident swimmers. They could touch the bottom for most of it and where they couldn't they could easily bob. All of Megan and Ka's kids were independent in the water.

Matt's kids were not, but they had two parents and all the necessary gear. Matt said Harper's vest was actually something of a problem, but, hey, he or Renee was always right there!

We made sure there was always at least one adult when the kids were in the pool. It was covered in shade during the afternoon, to boot. It worked great.

Not so the hot tub. Ka followed the instructions to turn it on and it drained nearly dry instead.

So everyone stuck to the pool Sunday!

The pool was a ton of fun until someone mentioned the beach. We ran there next!

It was a short walk over the dunes. It was neat being so close. We didn't have to organize a trip or pack any materials. People just walked over once they made sure their kids had their sunscreen on.

Adults covered whatever kid happened to be closest to them (which wasn't Shane, B, or Cole, because they took off running!).

I took pictures from the beach at first.

The water was pleasantly warm.

Shane didn't need sunscreen and I didn't have time to put any on myself. I figured my farmer's tan, hat, and shirt would help cover me.

The waves were rough enough to be fun, but not a danger.

It was the most relaxing beach trip we've had yet...save for Shane trying to lead the other boys waaaaay out.

Granted, they could all still stand easily. There seemed to be a sandbar a little ways out, so none of the three boys was likely to hit water too deep for them. However, Shane kept leading them out so far they were out of ear shot. I gave Stu my phone and waded in to reign them in and keep an eye on things. The current was pushing everyone North, so I started the "Cycle! Run past Stu!" system we've used in the past. There was one time B had a little trouble coming in quickly and I dragged him in faster, but, again, this was the safest trip to date for how I've felt about the kids in the water.

We got back, rinsed off in the shower, and changed out of all our wet clothes. We probably spent about an hour at the pool and then another hour at the beach. 

The night ended with ice cream...

...and lots and lots of electronics. The kids were hooked up from 7 PM to bedtimes around 9 PM (Especially the older boys! The middle kids sometimes got hyper and ran around).

And so ended the first day. I stayed up later texting, talking, and working on the blog.

The beds stunk. Maybe they were better in other rooms, but Shane and I had to avoided moving or the stupid things squeaked. Loudly. The middle of mine caved in whenever I got in, too. Still, I can sleep almost anywhere short term. I was more concerned about Carrie's sleep than mine.

I made Shane wait until 7 AM to leave the room Monday morning. He slept soundly once he went to be around 9:20 PM (Sunday might have been the night he put himself to sleep and was out cold when I went to check in!).

Graham wanted to tell me a joke at breakfast. It was "V is for Vulture." He really, really, really liked that toy computer thing. Nana let him take it home and he's probably still hitting that key repeatedly for his parents (it may even haunt their dreams). 

Nathan was the first kid to go to bed at night. He was one of the first up as a result! He was a social guy. He'd run around with Patrick, Shelby, or a grandparent in pursuit.

Nana and Pop woke up early themselves and started the bacon train.

The kids are all big bacon eaters (as are the adults when someone else cooks it).

There was A LOT of Roblox going on. The older boys were all about slap battles. Shane keeps trying to tell me about the virtues of Roblox, but all I see is easy access, crappy, knockoff games that try to addict kids and get them to spend their parent's money on microtransactions (I may be biased). 

Cole liked Undertale. That was a game I could have more respect for. It was an RPG that had a story and required reading! It was also decidedly single player. Cole was happy to be off on his own some to do his own thing. Shane would rather spend every second of the beach trip next to someone (and not me!). I had my own computer set up on the table upstairs for my blogging.

People took turns shopping for Groceries. Megan said, "I love shopping in America!" I thought she was being sarcastic at first, but after being overseas so long she really meant it! Matt and Renee did the grocery shopping Monday according to this pic (though there were some days multiple trips were made by different people. Patrick picked up tea for me on a grocery run yesterday. Thanks, Pat!).

I had no idea that paper bags could have paper handles on them nowadays. It blew my mind so much I took a picture. 

Matt and Renee's kids were the least likely kids to be obsessed with electronics (save "V is for Vulture!"). They had some news that got shared around, but it's not my place to post it here (if you know, you know!).

The older kids were all pretty obsessed. Still, it was social and it was the beach. If Shane wanted to watch Cole play Undertale that was fine with me! I have it on my computer so he could play it here, but he almost never plays anything single player (extreme extroversion).

Nana had mandated one 'family activity' for the day.

She wanted to paint pictures.

Everyone who participated would get a donut. Everyone wanted donuts! 

Except Cole. He decided not painting was a hill worth dying on.

Cole's strong willed. Shane started to follow suit, but Pop just had to say, "I wouldn't cross Nana. When were you hoping to visit again?" Shane's tune changed! He was all about painting and donuts (and, as typical, he got into it and had a ton of fun once he got past protesting and started!).

Nana's always been good at planning/forcing activities. 

Most of us would probably have just let the kids charge around, play electronics, and hop in the water without structuring anything (Though I may be speaking mainly for myself - Megan did try to organize wrestling later in the week!).

Matt had stepped out to get some bloodwork done. He's hoping that his Lyme treatment is progressing enough that he can step back on the medicine some (it's not fun and I'm sure he could write a whole post all about what he's gone through).

Cole rejoined the pack when it was time to swim later!

The kids had pairs they tended to stick to. Sammy and Aiden were buddies. Sam refers to Aiden and Graham as "his cousins!"

The three oldest were another pod. Tenley and Evie were another unit. They still loved Kathleen, but I didn't feel like they were as glued to her side as in previous years.

The babies were glued to adults. Harper and Nathan did spend some time playing together, so maybe they'll be buddies when they get older. It may be more likely Nathan will gravitate to Graham, though. They shared some toys. Nathan's not really old enough to do much more than parallel play, but he seems like he'll be social.

Graham likes Aiden, too, but Aiden was definitely running around more independently than he used to!

The hot tub was back in use Monday thanks to a hose, but it was cold! 

Dennis and Melissa showed up around lunch time in his fancy sports car. 

They went upstairs before they got hit by the hose.

Dennis and Melissa got a special deal at a nearby hotel/resort thing by agreeing to listen to a pitch. We did something similar once upon a time. 

It was a little further away than Dennis thought, but 30 minutes wasn't bad.

They'd typically come around lunch and hang out past dinner! It reminded me of the days when our cousins would all drop by and Dennis and Kevin's crews each had their own places to stay (Good memories).

The goal is all these guys have similar fond memories with each other! Matt, Pat, and I all had our beach video games. The Twins participated in all of the N64 Mario Kart battles, too. The people and the place made the gaming memorable.

I caught Dennis teasing Graham some today.

Dennis said Kyle was off working. He still loved golf and hockey! Kyle had even gotten his Zamboni driving license. Shane and I watched him ref some before COVID, but it's been a long while.  

I'm trying to remember if today was the day Melissa revealed why she couldn't eat M&Ms ever again. There had been some Krispy Kreme's stuffed with them when they were picking out their prizes from the crafting earlier.

I didn't hear the full story, because I think that was when I was talking to Matt and Patrick about making a list of Top Fantasy Books. We're all big readers and we got onto the Wheel of Time and all sorts of other things.

I mainly took pictures of the kids, though. If I was focused on an adult it's because we were talking about something!

Note: Shane is easily snared when anything is on TV (He gets that from me).

Aiden eventually got really excited about Bluey and that went on the TV some. I think this was my notebook he was flipping through. I was using it to plan out blog posts and probably got up to make some tea.

Or maybe this is when I was talking to Matt and Pat. This post is too long already to go back and delete anything. Pressing onward!

So yeah, the kids played a lot of video games (I feel like I've said that before).

I was either talking, watching kids, eating, or writing. I spent hours on my blog and made a ton of progress.

The kids tended to flock to the pool whenever there was an electronics break. I think we skipped the beach Monday, but it was no big loss. Kids played hard!

I wasn't sure what was going on at first when Megan started balancing on the railing to the beach. I mean, she was a gymnast and all, so it wasn't anything abnormal.

It became apparent soon enough. It was family picture time for Renee and Matt's crew! I'm sure Renee posted the pictures somewhere.

Stu shared a good laugh with me.

I almost stepped in pee. One of the younger kids had let loose on high. 

And yes, it had dripped through onto someone! (Feel free to fess up if it was you).

Stu threw a cup of water on it and it may or may not have splashed one someone below again!

The kids played and the adults rotated.

We're a family/kid oriented bunch, so there was always coverage.

Nana and Pop tended to stay inside and play with whoever was on the 2nd floor.

There was always something going on in the kitchen: Eating, talking, and cooking, as well as cleaning up from all the eating, talking, and cooking. There were two dish washers and they rotated being full.

Kids started to filter back in as they got worn out.

It might have been today, but Shane had an incident between him and B. They were playing in the pool and B got hurt. Shane said he was stomping and making monster noises when he accidentally got B's foot. B slipped and went under the water. Shane thought he'd dived and jumped in after him ready to tussle.

Only B had been surprised, bumped his head, and swallowed some water. He was hurt and angry. When they came up for air he yelled and punched at Shane. Shane was mortified. He couldn't believe he'd hurt B or that B was mad and tried to hit him.

Shane did Shane. He swam away and wouldn't talk to me. I jumped in the pool trying to goof off and play with him, but he was having none of it. He eventually bonked his head trying to flop away and got mad at me. 

Which did start the talking. Shane was all in his feelings. It was the worst beach trip ever. A twin had put him in charge for a moment and he should never be in charge again. Yes, he was the oldest, but he'd never asked for that and wished he wasn't, etc. etc. 

As an only child, Shane's not used to sibling arguments. He's pretty sensitive, so I processed through things with him. Yes, he'd said he was sorry, but he'd need to say it again later. B heard it when he was hurting and in the moment, but that didn't mean he'd heard it. Shane would need to apologize to him again when he'd calmed down. And B taking a swing wasn't shocking. He played physical and he was hurt. Lashing out wasn't a great way to respond, but it was a typical kid one (especially when someone was holding onto you in the water...). I reminded Shane of when he'd knocked down one of his friends at school down when he was mad and running around (This year, too! 6th Grade - it was James).

I made sure Shane knew I'd stuck around, because I loved him. I asked him if I was yelling or anything and he said no. I said it was because I knew how terrible he felt and I was just there to help him. He needed to talk to B and B would forgive him. If not, then we could talk to Nana and she'd make sure it was settled! Shane was snarky about that earlier. I countered with asking him to look at how all of his uncles and aunts got along. It's not like we didn't play rough. I reminded Shane about Matt's scar where John and I had accidentally wounded him and asked if Shane noticed it (He had!)

It was a 40 minutes to an hour thing. Shane came inside and then immediately went to the front porch to mope. I let him stay there and resolved to not intervene until dinner. If they boys weren't talking by then it would be time to talk to Megan or B directly. 

I prayed and I shouldn't have worried. It's hard not to feel bad when you're kid is upset, though. Shane went upstairs on his own and they were best friends again when I checked ("Maybe even better friends now!" Shane said. Ha!).

Monday night was the now traditional low country boil.

Shelby and I helped some with setting up the tables (More Shelby than me). 

It was a night of good food and family fellowship.

I was proud of Shane later on. Yes, the kids did a lot of electronics (if I had a nickel every time I've typed that...).

But Shane organized a live action Among Us game. He assigned roles and ran the game.

The kids were running up down and all around! All of the older kids played except for Cole. Shane won which was not surprising since he was the oldest and running the game. I told him he should make sure someone else won next time if he wanted the younger kids to keep enjoying the game and got an "I know, Dad!".

I was on the phone off and on with Carrie throughout the day. She's my wife and best friend, so it's easy to do long chats. I filled her in on Shane's disagreement with B, the resolution, the Among Us game, all of it. I probably spent at least 2 to 3 hours a day on the phone with her. I'd talk with her by my computer at night or on the front porch throughout the day. I had the idea to do the Amazing Anime list and it was fun trying to get her involved.

The last thing for the day was I felt like a doofus. I had to cross through Megan's room to go to bed. I was oh so careful to open and shut the door quietly, but I neglected the light switches.

They were the push type. My shoulder bumped one and turned on the lights. I definitely whispered a bad word when I realized what I'd done. I turned it back off when my brain unfroze. The boys didn't wake, but Megan said, "Goodnight!"

BONUS: I forgot to include a gif and a screencap from Sunday. I found them while double checking my photos. Here they are in all their glory.

I thought Cole's jump was pretty epic. Skadoosh!