Stone Harbor, Part IV

Yesterday was another beach day. We packed and prepped the kids a lot more efficiently and also prepared lunch, so we were able to be at the beach for about 3 hours. Casey and his mom and dad (Scott and Jen) came out with us again. Koen and I jumped over waves for awhile first thing and then the rest of the time (literally!) Koen played with Casey in the sand and at the edge of the water on all sorts of building projects. Tavin did very well building with Daddy in the sand, playing under the beach umbrella and then he seemed like he was getting too much sun and fun, so I first took him on a walk in my arms for a ways up one side of the beach. That was enough of the carrying, so after he played a little more in the sand, I took him on an hour long walk up the other side of the beach in the stroller and it was wonderful! He chatted to himself and ate his lunch and I enjoyed the scenery and the exercise. By the time I got back Koen was ready for a snack and then it was time to head out. The boys played a little at home and then we got them down for nap a little early. Koen was requesting to go to bed he was so tired. He is hilarious the way he asks to go to sleep! The boys slept for a few hours and then I think some bored cousins might have woken them up, but I’m not sure because I was out on yet another beach walk. Ahhhh!!! So beautiful! When I got home we took the boys to the playground. Koen has been riding his bike all over the place here (to the beach in the morning, around the neighborhood and to the playground). He loves it! He’s quite good at listening and he’s getting really fast, so it’s getting hard to keep up with him on foot. The boys got tired and whiney quite quickly that evening, so I got Tavin to bed a few minutes before 7pm and Koen was only a few minutes after that. Last night was our big family seafood dinner that Doug, Scott and Sally cooked together and then we played our traditional Melder family bingo game for prizes. The cousins love that, so it’s always fun to see them enjoy it (and Doug is the bingo caller and is hilarious, they love him!). Another great day on family vacation! Here are a few pics…Today we got out to the beach quite efficiently again. Doug mentioned how just as we are getting ready to leave we have this routine down! Oh well. I’ve actually been amazed that we’ve had 5 straight days of beach fun. We even got out to the beach on the day we arrived and the day we left (that’s today). Here are a few pictures of the fun we had on the beach: waves, cousins, sand, sun, ocean, the boys had a blast again!

After our beach fun and the boys having an early lunch and playing a little more we headed back to the house to get ourselves some lunch and feed the boys again (they are so hungry after the beach!). Doug and Koen biked to Springer’s, the famous ice cream shop on the main drag here. Tavin and I stayed back to organize more for our journey this evening. The boys headed to nap (Koen again requested it!) and Doug and I went into packing overdrive. Everything is set to go now and I’m all showered (even blow-dried my hair!). We are headed to stay the night with my friend, Jenny, and her husband, Scott, and their two girls about the same age as our boys. It makes it a little easier to leave the beach knowing the vacation is not quite over. Here are a few pics from this morning at the beach...