Living the Beach Life {Virginia Beach Day 3}

When we planned our trip to the beach, our only goal was to relax. We didn't plan any activities other than going down to the beach every day.

Our family is ALWAYS on the go at home.  All we wanted to do was spend a week together without any obligations.  Uninterrupted family time at our favorite location was the only thing on our itinerary.

We stuck with our plan.

We parked the SUV on the day we arrived and it stayed there until we left the hotel on the last day. Our daily routine involved sitting on the balcony sipping coffee and tea in the morning, followed by going down to the dining room for breakfast. We headed to the beach late morning and didn't come in until dinner time.  Every restaurant we went to for dinner was within walking distance.  In the evening, we went to the indoor pool, strolled along the boardwalk, and walked on the beach after dark.

We didn't have a schedule. Our daily activities were spontaeous. We did whatever we wanted to do whenever we wanted to do it!

It was PERFECTION!

Anyway, back to our third day...

Our third day wasn't very exciting.  See, the day before, we spent the entire day at the beach.  I told Grant to put on sunscreen.  And told him again.  And again.  Needless to say, he looked like a lobster by that evening, and wasn't feeling very well on Monday. (I can totally use "I told you so" in this situation!)

After coffee on the balcony and breakfast in the dining room, we headed down to the beach. I mentioned before that the last week of August is the perfect time to go to the beach.  Trust me on this.  It was a Monday morning, and the beach was nearly empty! 

Watching four kids at the beach is a handful to say the least!  We made sure to sit next to the lifeguard stand every day and go over the safety rules before they started to play. BUT...they all went in their own direction!

Dylan, AKA Mr. Social, immediately made a bunch of friends.  I was constantly scanning the ocean to see where he was. 

Lexie was finally confident enough to go in the ocean without a parent at her side.  Even though she wore a safety vest and stayed close to the shore, I was still nervous!

Lily just wanted to sit and build sandcastles for hours (and chase seagulls and pigeons)!

Liam was like a little toddler tornado.  He was constantly on the move!

For the first few hours, I spent my time trailing after Phase Two!

After a few hours, Liam started to get tired.

Grant was really uncomfortable in the sun, so he took Liam and Lexie up to our room.  Dylan stayed for a while longer, then he headed up, too.  Lily is a beach bum just like me, so we stayed for several more hours.

Lily stayed at my side, building sand castles, so I could finally relax.  This became our routine every afternoon! I could easily sit on the beach for 12 hours.  I'm so glad one of my kids is the same way!

We went back to the hotel room at dinner time, showered, and got ready to go out to dinner.

Of course, Lily fell asleep, so we had to postpone dinner a bit!

That night, we took the kids down to the beach to play at the awesome pirate ship playground in front of our hotel, and strolled the boardwalk a bit.

By the end of the night, we decided that we're just going to move to the beach.  The beach lifestyle suits our family perfectly!  

SOMEDAY...

What is your favorite vacation spot?



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Stalling Bedtime

Kids.  They are the MASTERS of excuses.

As parents of four children, we've heard it all. After we had two kids, we considered ourselves parenting veterans.  After we had four kids, we simply embraced the chaos.  NOTHING surprises us anymore!

Let's face it.  Kids come up with the best excuses at bedtime. Sometimes, they will say anything to put off that dreaded nighttime ritual.  Sometimes, they just have to use the bathroom (every 5 minutes) or take a sip of water.  Sometimes, they just need to play/watch TV/read a book just #5MoreMinutes!

Meanwhile, us parents are practically begging to go to bed!  We would gladly be in their shoes. PLEASE send us to bed!

Not the kids.  They just don't get it yet.

We got lucky with our third child.  Lily can, and does, sleep anywhere.  If she's tired, she will march herself to bed without us asking.  She occasionally uses the classic "But I'm not tired..." or the "my eyes just won't close" excuse, but promptly falls asleep.

Lexie is easy, too.  She will usually ask to read just one more chapter before the lights go out. Honestly, how could we say no?

Our tween mastered bedtime stalling.  Of course, Dylan has nearly 11 years of experience under his belt. He's really good at "forgetting" about homework assignments until we tell him to go to bed.  "Oh, I wrote it down in my assignment book wrong.  It's actually due tomorrow!" or "Oops!  I forgot to log on to the computer and complete my Xtra Math!" Very convenient. 

His other favorite method is to sleepily walk into the living room, stretch, and mumble "I fell asleep, but I have to use the bathroom."  This is said while he stares at what we're watching on TV, of course.  He's good. 

Liam, however, has the BEST excuse of them all. He may be a little dude, but he has it all figured out. See, he mastered the art of holding in his poo until bedtime. 

It never fails.  A few minutes after we put him to bed he starts babbling.  Then the smell hits us like a slap in the face.

Yep, he definitely gets just five more minutes.  Every single night.

If you have a little one who is an expert at bedtime stalling, Netflix has a GREAT solution for you!

Just tell your child they can watch one more show before they have to go to bed!  You heard me right.  Netflix just launched Dinotrux 5 Minute Favorites!  It's simply 5 minute episodes of the hit show!  Your little one will think they won, but really, you're the one who wins!

And here's what's new on Netflix this month for families:

Care Bears & Cousins (11/6)

Home (11/25)

The Spongebob Square Pants Movie (11/1)

(I think Home is going to be one of our Family Movie Night picks!)

I can't really blame kids for asking for just one more episode.  After all, I'm an expert at convincing myself that it will be fine to watch just one more episode of Gilmore Girls or Switched at Birth.  I tell myself, it will be fine.  There's no way I'll be tired in the morning!  

And sometimes, "just one more episode" turns into two.  Or three. Don't tell the kids, but sometimes it's worth it! 

Peace. Quiet. Netflix.  Truly, a mom's best friend! 

Tell me:  What excuse has your child used to get out of going to bed? #5MoreMinutes


*Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Netflix, but all opinions are my own.  I am a member of the Netflix #StreamTeam and I receive service and additional products as compensation.


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My Most Favorite Day in 2015 {Virginia Beach Day Two}

Our first full day in Virginia Beach was my most favorite day of the year!

There's just something so rejuvenating about waking up at the beach on the first morning. Mornings are just better at the beach!

If I lived at the beach, I would TOTALLY be a morning person!  I woke up before the kids and joined Grant on the balcony.  We sipped our coffee and hot tea and watched an early morning soccer game.  It was so peaceful and perfect!

AND everyone just seems happier at the beach!

We woke the kids up and headed down to our hotel's breakfast buffet.  Let me just say, it was the BEST free breakfast buffet that I ever had.  There were endless options and the food was really good! I thoroughly enjoyed the meal. It was such a nice break from preparing breakfast for everyone, and the view of the ocean was perfect!

After we ate, we got our stuff together, and headed down to the beach for the day.  We seriously had so much stuff: A beach tent, 6 beach chairs, an umbrella, a cooler, a bag of sand toys, a bag of towels and beach gear, and boogie boards.  Next year, we're bringing a beach cart!!!

It took some time to get everything set up. Grant helped with the beach tent, then took Lexie across the street to buy her a boogie board.  By the time they returned, we were all set for a relaxing day at the beach! 

Well, about as relaxing as it can get with 4 kids!

Our family was so excited to finally be at the beach! 

Liam preferred to stay at the edge of the water.  He did get knocked down by waves several times!

Lexie quickly became a boogie board pro!

Lily played in the sand and splashed in the surf.  She was perfectly content! As for Liam, he quickly grew tired and decided he needed to relax!

He eventually crawled into my lap and took the best nap on the beach!

It was the perfect day at the beach.  Peaceful, relaxing, happy, and fun!

We reluctantly headed back to our hotel, showered, and got ready for our first evening out! We explored some shops and ate dinner at a cafe. After dinner, we dropped off our leftovers, Dylan grabbed his skateboard, and we went back out to explore the boardwalk.  It was so lively and the ocean view was beautiful as the sun set! The kids LOVED it!

When we returned to the hotel the kids decided they wanted to go for a swim in the indoor pool.  They loved the indoor pool so much that we didn't even go to the outdoor pool at all during our entire trip!

After a short swim, we went back to our room so Grant and I could watch the premiere of Fear the Walking Dead.  We were really looking forward to it!  We opened up the balcony door so we could hear the ocean, grabbed some snacks, and watched while the kids played. 

Near the end of the episode, we saw a bunch of helicopters fly by our hotel.  A few minutes later, we heard a huge boom. 

Fireworks at the beach!  It was something I've ALWAYS wanted to experience!!! 

I was absolutely thrilled!  It made our already perfect day at the beach even more perfect!

We ended our day with a night walk on the beach.  Grant and the kids never experienced it before, and it was always one of my favorite things to do at the beach! 

We strolled along the water's edge, searching for shells. Once we got close to the end of the beach, we searched for crabs, too.  Dylan, Lexie, and Lily were shocked by the amount of tiny crabs scurrying around!

My favorite beach tradition officially became a family tradition that night!

Later that evening, we crawled into bed completely exhausted yet relaxed and happy.  It was such a great day. I want to go back so badly!

It was the perfect day with my family. It truly felt magical!

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