A trip to the beach!

On our D.C trip I looked at a map and about died at how close and yet so far we were from the ocean.  Tyler promised that at some point in the next year we would go, but that wasn't good enough so we did some talking and figuring and decided to make things happen.

 We decided on Ocean city, MD somehow, and looking at it on a map sort of gave me the chills as I pictured a tsunami sweeping us off that little strip of land.  We didn't tell the girls but let it accidentally slip the night before we left and they went bonkers.

 It was a 6 hour drive and we left earlier in the day, but with children and food stops we didn't make it to the beach until evening.  After checking in we decided to take a stroll and look for shells- our hotel was on the beach and the whole set up was just perfect.

 Of course no one stayed dry for more than 5 minutes and Quinn just wanted to sit and be eaten by the waves.  It was exhausting holding her up because she would make her body go limp and I'd have to lift her with every wave and drag her as we walked so she wouldn't go under.  Fortunate or unfortunately this didn't last a single day and she spent the next 2 afraid of walking in the water.  I was pretty nervous because I have an crazy fear of the ocean and Tyler was strapped to Tommy and I was convinced Heidi and Alex were going to be swept away or eaten by a shark that evening.  They had no fear at all.

 The next morning we were at the beach by 8:30 am and I was surprised to see umbrellas and chairs everywhere!  Apparently people get up early and set up their stuff and then leave.  The beach didn't get crowded until later in the morning but we ended up about 3 rows back in the sand even after getting there so soon!

Tommy hung out under the umbrella in a tent and just slept while Daddy studied for boards.  We took turns watching the baby and keeping the big kids alive.

 Tyler's favorite part of the ocean were the waves.  I had told the kids not to go out past their knees (so sharks wouldn't eat them) which was impossible with the tide coming in.  Tyler kept picking them up and taking them way out so they could enjoy bouncing in the waves.  This turned out to be especially cool because of the pod of dolphins that was swimming near shore.  I didn't get a picture but Tyler took the kids out and got within 20 feet while I freaked out on shore.

 Quinn especially liked to be carried out into the waves.  She loved the ocean, but for some reason day 2 brought with it the fear of walking into the waves no matter how shallow.  She would run and cry every time a wave came in unless Tyler was holding her.

 Alex and Heidi had no fear, and the water was the perfect temperature.  It was a warm and humid day so the water didn't seem cold at all.

 We played and played and played for hours.

 As we were about to leave for lunch I went to the waves to rinse off a bucket and shovel just as a blue crab washed up with the waves!  I scooped it up and put it in the bucket and the girls were overjoyed!

We had planned on going crab fishing that afternoon but with this luck scrapped that idea and stayed and played with our new friend.

Alex adopted him as her pet and new best friend and was of course broken hearted when we made her set him free that evening.

In the early afternoon there was a thunderstorm so everyone had to clear the beach.  This gave us a chance to eat lunch, but everyone was so sandy we cleaned up while we watched the rain.  When the storm stopped we walked down he boardwalk a bit and then decided that the big kids and I would go back to the beach to play.  So we got in our suits again and decided everyone would come, went and played for 30 minutes before another storm rolled in and we had to leave.

 This time we went to the hotel pool for awhile until the kids were shivering and it was dinner.  So back to the room to change and eat.

 After dinner Quinn fell asleep and Alex, Heidi and I decided to go hunt for shells during low tide.  Back into the wet swimsuits we went and had a blast walking down the beach for hours and playing in the waves and hunting for shells.  The beach had been pretty empty all afternoon after the first evacuation and I wish I had taken my camera on our stroll because the lighting was perfect and the ocean was beautiful and the kids were in heaven.  We filled our bucket up to over flowing with every broken bit of sea life we could find- it was the perfect age to take the kids because they were super excited about every "treasure" they found in the waves and got overly excited about whole or big shells.

 Wednesday morning marked our last day at the beach and we got up and get their early enough to get a front row spot.

 We tried to get all our fun in so we could get back to the hotel, shower and check out at 11, but it was still sad to go.

 Quinn had warmed up to the water a bit and I spent nearly the whole time sitting making castles for the waves to knock down, while Tyler took the girls and enjoyed the deeper water and the waves.

 We caught a little burrowing sand creature by chance and enjoyed him for a bit.

 We ended up leaving with a grocery bag full of shells, broken crab arms and various other dead beach life that made the car smell just wonderful on the way home.

 Quinn was great at throwing beach fits, and it seemed most of the people on the front lines of the umbrella rows were older couple who came to be amused by the children and disprove of the parents.

Despite all the tips I'd found on doing the beach with kids, and our attempts at sunscreen slathering- everyone got sunburnt and Quinn ate plenty of sand.  Tommy spent the days semi wet from being held and nursed by swimmers, but never went in the water and never got sandy except for day 1 when Alex yelled "SNOWBALL FIGHT" and slung a handful of sand at Tyler (who was wearing Tommy) and I.  You can imagine how thrilled we were at that.

 I wanted to take one last picture but of course no one would cooperate as they were fighting over pinecone people.  So I took the source of contention away and got this picture as a result.

We left Ocean City and drove to Washington D.C. so we could swing by the temple and get some time in there.  We got a hotel for the night and Tyler got up early to do a session while the rest of us slept in.  I took the girls down for breakfast in a large and crowded hotel lobby and after getting everyone successfully fed with no incident and Tommy strapped to my chest I was told that I had the best behaved kids that a older couple had ever seen and that compared to their 2 year old grandson Quinn was very advanced.  I was so proud until we hit the elevator and the kids unraveled again and went nuts.  But it was a proud few minutes.

 After Washington we decided to swing up to Gettysburg and recreate a picture.  I mean why not when it's only an hour away?!  We took a similar picture exactly 2 years ago when it was a baby Quinn on Tyler's lap and couldn't pass up the opportunity to visit uncle Abe and get his blessing on another baby.

 The visitors center was crowded so we went to see the canons, or canyons and Heidi calls them.

 The weather was perfect and the kids had a blast.

Almost everyone got their picture with a cannon.

 Quinn was wearing her beach dress and looked like a complete hippie.  It made me laugh every time I looked at her.

 Tommy, though yet to cut his first tooth, was determined to throw his lot in with the North. Here he made his stand with Lieutenant Butler and his canon corps against the dreaded Colonel Sanders and his Confederate finger lickin' chicken.

 The girls gathered sticks and made weapons to aid in the battle.  Heidi chased Quinn off while saying "We are making weapons, you could get hurt!"  Quinn then became the bad guy and ran around shooting everyone and every statue with her stick, and then it turned into a directing stick for a few minutes while she led the music and it was adorable.

 Tommy was a good sport.

Of course when it came time for the fun to end Heidi was not at all pleased and stomped her way to the car.