The Beach...

We spent most of last week at the beach. We headed out Tuesday morning with Man, Daughter, Niece, BT, BK and of course, G. Needless to say we had to buy a turtle to put on the top of the SUV for all of our stuff. And, we took less stuff this year than last year. Seating arrangements, as designated by BT were: Man driving, Daughter front seat passenger (she SAYS she gets car sick if she rides anywhere other than the front.. not sure I believe this since it didn't happen until she had kids), BK in carseat in "middle backseat" as BT calls it, right behind Man, niece in "middle backseat" behind Daughter, and BT and me in the "very back seat".. Yep, I am ALL THE WAY IN THE BACK because BT wanted it that way. And, 2 hours into the trip, BK decided it was just not fair that she was not sitting by me like her "brudder" was and we moved her to the "very back seat" too and I sat between two carseats for the next 4 1/2 hours. Woohoo!!!! It actually worked out fine since I could tend to their every "whine" without any interference from any of the other adults who seemed to aggravate all situations involving small children in a confined space for multiple hours. We watched five movies, some more than once. I can now read the lips of Willy Wonka since I opted not to wear headphones. The funniest thing was listening to the kids sing along with the music while they had their headphones on. We couldn't hear the music but they could.

I would have taken a nap, but when BK caught me napping, she woke me up and told me "You no take nap G." If I dozed off again, she would pat my face to wake me.

We arrived at the beach earlier than expected, and spent a good bit of time trying to get the condo we specifically requested, and were told was available at the time we made our reservations. Man doesn't take no for an answer and we finally got what we had requested. Not sure why they tell you one thing when you make the reservation and then try to give you something different when you arrive. We finally unloaded our stuff and then Man and I headed to the grocery store. Once we got that over with we headed to the pool. BK is the exact opposite of her brother. He watches over her like a hawk. She is fearless while he is extremely cautious. We could leave him by the pool for hours and never worry about him getting in over his head. You have to be in the water with BK because even when the water is covering her nose, she is still smiling and headed for deeper waters.

We eventually made it to dinner which was fantastic. Steamed lobster, crablegs, shrimp, clams, etc. BK ate whatever we put on her plate, including the clams. She will eat ANYTHING! We had to special order BT chicken strips from another restuarant so he would have something to eat other than crackers. Can you say "picky eater?" Once dinner was over, we headed back out to the village for armbands and lots of bouncy things. The kids were loving it, and so were we, when the bottom fell out and sheets of rain starting falling. We ran for cover and stood there for about 30 minutes thinking it would let up, but it did not. BK went to sleep in my arms and I ended up walking back to the condo, barefooted (didn't want to ruin my shoes), carrying over 30 pounds, up hill, in the rain. And, she woke up as soon as we walked in the door. Go figure. I finally got them both to sleep, again, only to be awakened hours later by BK, who had wet the bed. Lovely. I put dry towels over it, changed her, got them back to sleep, and then I returned to my bed. 2 hours later, BK joins me and Man in our bed. And, she wants to snuggle. And she snores. And, I am in the middle. I don't like being in the middle. I get up early, as usual, and she sleeps til 8. Lucky her.

And yes, I did wash all the sheets and blankets the next day, only to do that every day we were there because she wet the bed every, single, night. Lucky me.

We headed to the pool again, and we stay all day. A good friend (former neighbor) and her daughter (who my Daughter used to babysit) drove down from Alabama and we had dinner with them. I love these people!! We had lots of fun together when we lived closer, and I miss that. They left too soon, and we headed back to the village to get tattoos, and listen to the band. The end of another fun day.

Thursday we traveled east to meet more friends from Alabama for a few hours at the pool. We thoroughly enjoyed the visit with them too. The kids had fun, and we had to head west way too soon. We spent more time at the pool and then got dressed for dinner again, and headed to a place outside of Baytown. It was not as good as I remembered it being. Next year I will vote to try somewhere new. The kids enjoyed it because it was on the beach. When we got back to the village they were showing a movie and we got to see the last hour of Lemony Snicket.. Yes, I spelled that correctly. BT wants his own copy. I am working on it.

Also, BK was standing at the pool while we were with friends, and an EXTREMELY large man walked by her and down the steps into the pool. She stared at him for a long time and then said "He's big." And when I started laughing at her for observatoin, she put her hand over my mouth and told me to SHHHHH....

Friday we spent the day at the pool, ate some of the best pizza ever on the lake, made a wasted trip to the outlet stores, went to dinner again, and listened to a band while the kids danced, danced, danced. When the kids showed signs of being tired, and they should have been worn out, we headed to the condo. We had another night of wet beds, and BK joined me and Man again. Funny thing is, she wet the bed, got up, took her clothes off, and came and got in my bed completely naked.

Saturday we headed home bright and early, and yes, I rode in the "very back seat" between two carseats for 6 1/2 hours, and at times I had a towel wrapped around each arm so they could rest their heads on something while staying strapped in their car seats. We watched five more movies, again, some more than once, again, and then we FINALLY arrived home. Fun trip. Tired G.

Can't wait until next year.

P.S. Daughter realized she didn't have access to Facebook shortly after we arrived and could barely function. Thank goodness she could still send text messages. I am not sure she could have survived being competely disconnected from "her world."