Vacation... FINALLY!

Honestly, this year the school year went so quickly for me. Which makes me afraid of summer going quickly as well. I was the busiest I have ever been on the job. It's hard to budget time for everything, but making sure I left on time to be home to pick up kids from two different locations every day was the most challenging. Summer is a time to unwind from the regular school schedule, and fall into a new, more relaxed (but still structured) schedule. But first, a vacation!

Bear's favorite - vacuuming!

For our first week off from school, we spent a week in Corolla Beach with family and friends. We love the close proximity to the beach no matter where you stay. It's very family oriented. You won't find arcades or lots of restaurants, it's basically a strip of land with 3 National Park Sites nearby and lots of sand and water. Just the way we like our vacations. :)

Traveling with Family

My parents separated when I was 11. They have always been pretty civil to one another. About 15 years ago, my dad found someone again, and it's been wonderful to now have a second mom in addition to my parents. I think my now 3 parents have gotten along even better since my kids have come along, and a couple of years ago we all went to Disney together to experience the kids seeing the "happiest place on earth" for the first time. Last week was our second time vacationing together, but the first time all being under the same roof. I have to say, it went even better than expected. It was also super wonderful to have grandparents along on your vacation - they tend to occupy the kids while lunches and dinners are being made, play with them at the beach and in the pool, and bring more calm when kids get wild and tired. We structured our time at the beach with a good balance of family and friends - with grandparents there for the first 4 nights, and our friends there for the last 4 nights, overlapping one night in the middle. It was great!

The "almost finished" shell puzzle

Beach Activities

While at the beach, we visited Cape Hatteras National Seashore. It was great! I climbed to the top of the Bodie Island Lighthouse - the sights were gorgeous! I'll admit that I had a little bit of shaky leg when I got to the top (it was very hot and quite a few steps). This was National Park Site visit number 81 for Riley.

My favorite things to do at the beach are to read, and put together a puzzle. This year, the puzzle took me almost the entire week to put together - it was really tough! I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't really finish the puzzle since 3 of the pieces were missing. I was able to finish one book (Little Girl Lost by Wendy Corsi Staub), and am almost finished with Hamilton by Ron Chernow as well.

Our beach house this year had a pool, which was a must with the kids. We spent as much time at the pool as we did at the beach. The kids enjoyed floating around, jumping in, and taking turns having D push them around on a raft in the pool.

Coming Home

Relaxing a few minutes before heading to Hamilton

The best part of coming home this year was that I cleaned the house and changed the sheets before we left for vacation. While on vacation, I did laundry so that all we had to do when we came home was put everything away. It was great! After the long drive home and unloading the car yesterday, I still had plenty of time to get a shower and sit on the front porch to read more of Hamilton before going to see the musical with my mom. It was amazing! I can't wait until the kids are a little older - I think they would love it!

Road Trips with Kids

Keeping your sanity. That's pretty much all that counts. You have to stay sane so you can stay safe while driving to and from your vacation. At the start of any road trip, we keep things simple. We talk, point out different things we see. After about an hour or so, we bust out the "road trip backpacks." We keep these stocked with different coloring, sticker, and activity books that keep the kids entertained. Inevitably, a toy will drop. This year we discovered something that was a game changer - a trash picker-upper. I've been keeping one in my car now so that I can stop and pick up trash when I have time and it also works well for picking up dropped toys in the van, or passing back snacks to that third kid that has to ride in the third row. Best $10 you'll spend if you have a van with kids stuck in car seats! We time food stops for when kids get the hangers and usually eat in the car to avoid delays. The last leg of the trip will usually involve a movie (the kids watched old school Rainbow Brite episodes) or lots of KidsBop music. We all made it home with minimal whining on this most recent trip, which was a miracle! Hopefully this trend continues!

We've got lots of fun planned this summer, so stay tuned!