Melder Family Blog: It's NH Time, Part 2

The rides continued on Wednesday morning. Tavin has been asking about the Corvette for weeks in anticipation of the visit. It was having some mechanical problems before we arrived, but thankfully Grampa figured it out and the Vette was up and running for his grandsons.

Here's the oh-so-happy Tavin heading out!

Koen offered for Tavin to take the first ride, but was super excited to jump into his booster seat with Grampa for the second ride.

As you may gather from these morning photos, Tavin had bounced back A LOT. So much so that Doug took he and Koen out during Penn's nap for an errand and a stop at a playground. Tavin has turned out to be quite an adventurous monkey and surprisingly coordinated. Here's his big accomplishment at the playground.

After conquering that he was up for any climbing task. Here's another pic I got from Tav's proud Daddy.

It was such a blessing to see Tavin so improved. I was also so thankful that Penn had a great night's sleep despite his intense congestion. He continued to have a good appetite and good naps on Wednesday, so he was acting very much like himself except for tiring down more quickly than usual. Here he is finishing up his enormous dinner.

Wednesday was low key, but so nice. When Koen was asked what his favorite part of his day was during our evening meal he said, "well, I loved playing games with Gramma in the afternoon, playing at the park with Daddy and Tavin was nice, I love reading Boxcar with Mommy and the Corvette and Jeep rides with Grampa. Oh yeah, I loved playing with Penn." Well, that about sums it up. A simple, fun, family day on vaca.

On Thursday, it was beach day! The boys (especially Tavin) had been asking to go to the beach since we arrived here in NH and since everyone was in better shape snot-wise, we figured we should make a go of it. We headed out after Penn's morning nap and got there in time for his lunch. The boys were too excited to eat and set right to playing in the sand.

Doug, Koen and Tavin made this lounge chair for Tavin. Tavin loved it!

Koen saw me snapping pictures and actually wanted me to take one just of him. It reminded me of one I took years ago on the same beach, so I had to share. Here's my beach baby turned beach boy all too quick.

Koen and Tavin both enjoyed watching Grampa's kite fly and even got to take turns "helping" him fly it. It was a crazy windy day, so it was quite a job to control it.

After Penn finally finished eating (this kid has quite the appetite these days!) and then got lathered with sunscreen and in his swim stuff, we plopped him in the sand for some playtime. I was worried he would hate the feel of the sand or even worse, try to eat it. But thankfully, just like our other boys, he's a beach baby too and loved it. He sat working with the pail and shovel for about 45 minutes with no complaints.

The weather changed abruptly and the sea breeze turned into a stiff wind and the cloud cover made it quite chilly, so we packed up around 3pm to head for home. Tavin and Penn both had to miss their afternoon naps, so they were ready for the restful time on the drive home (after a stop for ice cream of course). It was a great family day for us and with my parents and it makes me so happy to be by (and in!) the ocean. Hopefully we can go at least one more time while we are here.

On Friday morning, we all slept in a little longer after the great sea air the day before. Penn has been sleeping so well after the first rough night and even with all his congestion. It's been such a blessing and answer to prayer. I love my little travelers. They always manage so well. We did think little Penn deserved a calm day though after the full one the day before, so Doug thought he'd take the big boys out for a bike ride in the morning and Penn could enjoy a peaceful nap. It worked out great. I got to stay home here with Mom and we enjoyed the quiet and I got tons of productive "things-to-do-in-NH" items checked off my list. My Dad ended up going along with Doug and the boys and they had a nice adventure on a bike trail in Manchester. Here are the pics I received from Doug.