Insane Lifestyle – Beach Edition

So, it should come as no surprise that we had a TON of gear to take for a week at the beach.  Pack-and-play, diapers, bottles, bathing suits, cover-ups, beach towels, shoes, going out outfits, staying in outfits, pajamas, beach bag, cooler, coozies, bikes, hats, sunscreen, toiletries, stroller . . . I mean, the list could go on and on.  But, since we can’t do anything simply, we also took the Boppy pillow, the jumparoo bouncy seat for AL (it is her favorite toy after all), her Bumbo seat (which doubles as a highchair), her beach pack-and-play tent, Patrick’s guitar, 2 computers (work and home), Patrick’s printer-fax-scanner-copier (that’s right, full size  work version), some dry cleaning to be cleaned . . . its a miracle there was anything left in our house!  And to top it all off, we bought beach chairs and an umbrella while we were down there, and Patrick borrowed a surfboard from our friend MJ at Marsh’s Surf Shop.  Oh, and the Beach Chair Saga involved four hours (no joke) of driving to every possible beach store in a ten mile radius in search of the perfect chair, which we FINALLY found at Wal-Mart.  Figures.

Here are some pictures from the rest of our beach week, including some from our nights’ out  with friends (thanks to Nancy’s Nannies, a babysitting service at the beach). 

(Patrick is the little dot out there in the ocean waiting on the perfect wave). Notice the  large amount of gear that we carted to and from the beach each time . . . thank goodness our rental was beachside (and thank goodness for friends to help carry everything)!

For the Fourth of July, we watched our friends Blair, John and Clara in a parade on their street.  Then, they took us out on their boat again to a spot near Shackleford Island.  It was really cool to see all the boats anchored on the main part of the island, but the neatest part was the little side island where we were.  It was a little strip of land that was only “land” for a few hours during low tide. 

 

We had a great time, and Anne Louise enjoyed more time in the water AND her last beach nap for a while.  That night, we headed to Blair and John’s neighbors’ house (Joey and Bonnie) for a luscious dinner (including a smoked rib-roast and summer veggies) and fireworks.

It was hard to leave on Sunday, but we could not have had better weather (8 days of absolutely gorgeous blue sky), a better place to stay (oceanside with a porch to watch and listen to the ocean while sipping cocktails), better food (including some nights cooking fresh fish at home),  better friends who entertained us on their boats and on nights out, or a better first beach week for our precious baby.  Even amongst all the chaos, it was perfect.