We've just returned from an awesome vacation in VA Beach. We rented a house with one other family. We are friends with Marci and John through having kids the same age and through living in the same building. They have twin girls who are good friends of Fay. The three of them play and fight like sisters. So they were all very excited to be taking a vacation together and doing a week of "sleep-overs".
The house we rented was across the street from the beach, so we had a short walk to get to the ocean. And the house had a pool in the backyard which the girls loved. The adults loved it too -- especially when the girls were napping and we didn't have to feel sequestered to the house to watch over the girls. We felt like we were doing exactly what we wanted -- reading and cocktailing by the pool.
Some highlights of the trip were....A day on the boardwalk...We drove to a nearby boardwalk which was a bit of a disappointment in terms of entertainment value. We thought there would be more attractions for the kids, but all we saw were closed down amusement rides and a small playground. So we ended up rending a 4 seated bicycle with a basket up front for the kids. John taught the girls to yell "yo! yo!" every time we passed an oncoming bike. We were laughing everytime it happened and the passing bicyclers weren't always sure what to make of the exclamations. Some ignored, some laughed, some smiled. In other words, we thought our girls were the cutest thing since baby kittens (is there an expression, I'm forgetting?), and the oncoming bikers, were slightly amused.
We also had mild success flying a kite on the beach. John ran and ran but couldn't keep the kite up for longer than a minute. Ryan had similar success. We chocked it up to the quality of the kite because we saw plenty of other kits sailing through the air.
None of the girls loved the ocean. It was still a bit scary. But they all had fun with their buckets and shovels and watering cans. It was a huge change from last summer when Fay didn't really know what to do with a bucket, and this year she happily scooped sand and water.
One thing I have to rave about was the house. We rented this particular house because it seemed to be very kid-friendly. They mentioned there were cribs and child gates we could use along with some movies and books. There was so much more. There was a full closet of toys for all ages, and a foosball and air hockey table. We used the baby gates and many of the toys...Fay loved having a new book each night, and we watched a couple of the kid movies and one of the adult movies. The house was just so stocked and well managed we felt so lucky. I would stay there again and again. Not to mention, the owners left us a welcome basket with a full bottle of Margarita mix and booze. What an owner!
Now we are back to reality and the girls keep referring to the beach house as the other family's house. The twins want to return to "Fay's house" and Fay wants to go to "Lyla and Jilly's house"
I've got 4 weeks to go before baby number 2 arrives and this blog picks up a new train of thought....life with two kids. I'm looking forward to having my body back as little Rex is pushing the limits of capacity at this point. I don't think I can spare too much more room.
