I Love Vacation

We've arrived at the in-laws' beach chalet in one piece (or four pieces, really, since there are four of us. Oh, five. Millie made it too). Things looked a little dicey on Thursday when we overshot our departure time by two hours and Wyatt was having a tantrum about something before we even left the driveway. Did you know he can tantrum for 43 miles? It's a skill. Truly a gift.

So we drove to Gastonia, NC on Thursday, arriving around 9 pm with two sleeping children who promptly quit sleeping when we got to the room. After explaining to Wyatt that we would have to sleep in the car if he kept up the loud crying (what? you never lie to your kids?), things settled down for the night. We enjoyed our free breakfast at the hotel the next morning and then headed out for Montgomery to see some great friends. It was super-fun when Wyatt spent the first 30 minutes of that drive crying, too. Somehow he managed to get himself pulled together and the rest of the day was pretty smooth sailing. It was great to get to Johnny and Tara's so Wyatt could play with Jack and so Millie could play with Buckley. Of course the adults enjoyed our time together, too, and we are trying to figure out if and when we'll be stationed together again. We are so lucky to have so many good friends, which was reinforced by our lunch with our other friends and their baby. Good times and 24 hours of good behavior from Wyatt. Whew.

The drive from Montgomery to the beach was a quick two and a half hours with sleeping kids (turns out Wyatt will settle down for his car naps when he's told he'll get a lollipop upon waking. Stop judging my parenting techinques!) who woke up about 30 minutes before we finally got to Grandpa and Grandma's. Jeff and I were excited as soon as we turned south of 98 and Wyatt was, too, though he certainly didn't know why. I remembered all the times my family drove down here for vacations and it made me so excited for him. So we opened the sunroof to see if we could smell the beach yet, just like I used to like doing. He was sure he caught a whiff of the salt air. That's my boy.

Fun with his cousins began immediately and, courtesy of Matt and Kyle, Wyatt's parents are getting a true break. They have entertained him constantly for the last 24 hours, even being patient with him when he woke them up during the night. Today is overcast but it hasn't stopped the fun. Grandma bought special pancake pans for each boy, so breakfast was prepared by the three youngest chefs in the house.

Somehow breakfast for the kids was followed by a trip with Uncle Joel and Daddy to the donut truck at Rosemary an hour later. As if that weren't enough, Grandma, Aunt Aimee & I set up cupcake decorating stations while they were gone so they could do that craft when they got back. We would have put it off to another day, but Grandma has enough Halloween crafting (all involving food, mostly sugar) for more than our week's vacation. The boys had a grand time.

At that point, Wyatt was well-sugared and realized he was at the beach, therefore might enjoy getting out in the sand. So that's what he did. As Aimee & I cleaned up the cupcake debris, the men and boys ventured to the beach.

Have I mentioned that Matt and Kyle are awesome with Wyatt? They are so good at making sure he's doing what he's supposed to be but also showing him the ropes a little. Wyatt is having such a great time with them that it (of course) makes me wish we didn't live on opposite sides of the country. Beach time included digging

and some pouring

and some sandcastle building

followed by some sand-dwelling

crab-catching

kite-watching while standing

kite-watching while sitting

face-planting

beach-walking

and boardwalk-strolling.

Then he ate a monstrous lunch and took a looonnnnnnngggg nap. Go figure.

Oh, and Natalie's here, too, busy being held by grandparents and aunt alike. It's lovely.

And while Wyatt's busy exploring the wonders of the beach, Natalie's busy spending a lot of time on all fours. Someone tell this baby that crawling can wait just a while longer, please.

Days two through six to follow. But seriously, how could it get any better?