So we've been home from our vacation at Long Beach Island, NJ (LBI for those in the know) for about 2 weeks now, and I can't say I have really adjusted to being back home. LBI is where my parents used to take me and my brother when we were little, and now we are continuing the tradition for the boys. My mom so kindly invited us to her rental house about a block and a half from the beach, and we spent the week jumping waves in the really cold (58 degrees!) ocean, digging giant holes in the sand, flying kites and eating ice cream. It was so nice to just get up, whenever, make breakfast in no rush, change directly into a swimsuit and just play, play, play. We took the boys to LBI two years ago, just before they were 2 and it was fun, but I think we all got so much more out of the trip this time. But now we're back, and I've been kind of wandering around in a daze, dreaming of our next trip (Possibly Maine for our anniversary in Sept.!) and trying to figure out how I can work less and vacation more. Short of winning the lottery or making a career change to the teaching profession, I don't think it's going to happen, but I can still dream, right?
If you want to see them all, here's the link to my flickr photos from the trip.
Here's a sample:
Aaron wasn't able to stay the whole week, so he flew out and met us on Wednesday. He obviously didn't get as much sun as the rest of us, but he was able to get in on the miniature golf and fireworks action. Aaron looks great, he's been on a real health kick lately. I would also like to point out that this is the first bikini I have bought in about 5 years. Screw the strech marks, I've been working out too!
This is me and my long-lost friend Jennifer. We tore it up in high school as members of the Eastern High School Marching Eagles. She and her husband Darren came over from Philly for the day so I had some help wearing the boys out. I have to say that after a few days of lifting each 35-pound boy up to jump waves, my back was killing me!
A couple days later, my friend Sarah, former coworker at the Kalamazoo Gazette, came up to visit with her husband PJ and stepdaughter Amber. It was great to catch up with Sarah as PJ dug holes with the boys, and later, back at the house, Amber chased them around as they played Indiana Jones.
Yes, that's a lobster on his plate. Our son has expensive taste!
Riley and I on the Himalaya. I actually got yelled at for taking this picture. Apparently they're afraid you're going to drop stuff and its going to hit the other passengers or something. Party poopers.
My awesome mom and the boys at the Barnegat Lighthouse. We declined to climb the 200 or so stairs to the top of the lighthouse, but we did go on an epic, Indiana Jones-style adventure along the rocks that make up the jetty that protects the end of the island. The rocks are flat on top. but arranged so that there are cracks in between. The boys jumped from rock to rock for about a half a mile, singing the Indiana Jones theme song all the way.
I can't wait to go back, although the next time we vacation with Grandma, it may be to Disney World!
