First Beach Trip

After almost 11 months with Emily, we finally took our first vacation as a family of five.  No real reason for waiting this long other than that last summer was consumed by the trip to China and, since then, we've been busy with school and work.  Boys/Dad went to D.C. for spring break (not really a trip for a 2 year old), so this was our first time away as a group.  And, it was AWESOME!

She was so easy (other than sleeping the pack-and-play all night - but, at this point, what ev...) and LOVED the water, the sand, and the little pool.  She loved the shells and sand toys and exploring. She made friends at the playground and she roamed around the beach restaurants.  It was such a great get-away for all of us.  She called the place where we stayed our "trip house" and, even since we've come home, whenever we all get in the car, she yells "Off to our TRIP!"  She was so excited to go somewhere and she didn't even mind the 4-5 hour car ride.  She navigated the new setting without any issues and didn't seem at all thrown off or disturbed that we weren't home or that she wasn't in her house or in her bed.  SUCH a different girl than the one who flew home from China with us last July!  Now, instead of harboring vague worry about how she'll do at Disney World in a couple of months, we're just excited about another family trip. 

She knows sunscreen (she calls it "sun cream") is part of her daily routine and she even reminds me about it if I forget (on a rainy day).  She wore a long-sleeved rashguard swimsuit at the beach and it was great.  We didn't use sunscreen underneath it (it was SPF 50+).  We only had to worry about re-applying sunscreen to her lower legs and feet (much easier than worrying about moving straps or missing a spot somewhere).  She wore her hat (very low on her head to "lock" it on in the wind) almost the entire time at the beach and never took her sunglasses off.  It was very easy to protect her from the sun. 

Now for the camera dump...  :)

LOVING the beach!