Our first family trip to the beach

We just got back from our first family trip to the beach and it was a blast. Most of my family rented a house in Bethany Beach Delaware this year. The trip got off to a rocky start with ridiculous traffic that added 2 hours onto our drive. The kids were great though-we have never had Joe on a long journey so we weren't sure how he would do. Once there, we settled in. There were 11 people total (3 young kiddos) so it was kind of a tight fit. Joe ended up sleeping in a pack 'n' play in the walk in closet and Libby was on an air mattress. They slept great. We stayed in a golf community resort area, so there was a playground right around the corner and several pools to play in.

The ocean was a little rough, but Libby liked getting her feet wet. Joe liked sand. We actually didn't spend much time at the beach-it required a lot of prep and a 10 minute shuttle ride to get there, and the kids were only happy for an hour or so. We spent the majority of our time at the pool and it was a HUGE hit. In fact, by the end of the week, Libby and Joe could both "swim." Joe could go with just water wings. Libby was a bit more timid and required 2 noodles, but once she had them, she was fast in the water.

Belated Birthday Photos/Libby's New Room/Our Trip to TN

The kiddos had a fabulous Yo Gabba Gabba themed birthday party! While the kids had a great time eating the cake, the real fun was had outside on the swing-set and sand box. At the end of the day everyone was so sweaty that everyone needed sprayed down with the hose. Apparently that included me since Elliott grabbed the hose and sprayed me right in the face!

Once the birthday party was over, Corey and I got serious about transforming Libby's room into a "big-girl" room. She was ready for a twin size bed and new color scheme. It is very PURPLE.

FINALLY, Corey and I took off to TN to visit our friends the Taylors and celebrate my birthday/end of internship. We had a great time. We went to Dollywood and rode some great coasters, had a fun BBQ with friends and hit up some outlets. But of course the best is just being with our best friends.

a summer recap

I have spent most of my summer in a law offie. So the hiatus on blog posts can be mostly blamed on that. On top of that, I wasn't home a lot, so I didn't really take a lot of pictures. But we happened to have had the BEST nanny in the world. On her last day, she presented me with a CD of 347 pictures that she took of our kiddos throughout the summer. So I can share all the things that they did with you. But before I go on, we want to thank Alexis for all she did for us this summer! You are the best and our kiddos adore you!


AND NOW PHOTOS....