Our little getaway was a huge success. Everything went so well, we only had one evening with cranky girls that sucked, otherwise they were happy and cooperative. I had a great time, I had pina coladas by the pool, swam, played in the sand by the ocean, listened to the waves, dug some holes and built a sand mountain. James even went for a few boogy board runs!
Josie climbing out of the big hole we dug!
Playing in the sand.
That bird took Alex's pretzel. She was not impressed.
Afternoon nap bed head.
At the marina.
Learning all about TV in bed.
We went for walks, played at a park, ate nice meals and drank nice wine, and enjoyed a gorgeous ocean view from our balcony. The girls seemed to enjoy exploring new places and playing at a new park and running around our balcony and especially eating french fries between dips in the pool.
Dinner at our resort.
The view from our balcony!
A wedding rehearsal from our balcony.
The only picture of the park I took - not great lol.
We took some selfies our first night there.
Out to Sushi! Josie trying some crab.
The logistics went well. Two things I wont leave home without, that I missed a lot this time, were my flat iron and some outlet covers. For the most part I probably don't need the outlet covers, but the 3 times I did catch Alex in the act of putting her finger in there, it will be worth the peace of mind. My flat iron is allowed to be used on wet hair, basically drying it straight, which is nice when you shower while babies nap and can't use a hair dryer. ;)
The pack n play set up at the end of the room.
View from the pool area.
I was so happy we brought a ton of breakfast bars and squeeze pouches of apple sauce and yogurt, that is what the girls ate each morning in the room - was totally convenient, saved us a ton of $$ on breakfast and got us on our way faster so we could do the beach and the pool. I brought some giant clips so I could attach blankets and towels along the sides of the pack n play - brilliant! The girls had no problem napping and sleeping with us in the room.
refueling on french fries. (Josie wearing Alex's swim suit day 2)
And quesadillas.
Alex wanted all of the red tortilla chips.
This resort was made for us. The baby pool area is fantastic - a large pool all only 1.5 feet deep. The girls thought it was hilarious that they could walk through the entire pool. Drinks and food service pool side. Right outside the resort was a very cool age appropriate park with a lot of slides that the girls had fun at. The beach is a short 5 minute walk down the hill (we were smart on day 2 and brought strollers!). Down the other side of the hill was the marina, for fantasy boat shopping and had a few places to eat. Gorgeous views from our room and the resort's amenities were not bad! Its amazing that we were only about an hour and 15 minutes from home, but seriously felt a world away.
Lunch at Denny's before driving home. Denny's is made for families and kids.
There is something nice about a place that knows to bring milk and kids food
as fast as possible. That is the only issue we had with the resort's restaurant.
How could they be so kid friendly yet miss the mark there?
The girls sitting in boosters. Ack they are growing up so fast!!
Last night I found myself thinking that I can't wait to do this again. That we should make this a tradition, go year after year. But it wont be the same. These girls are growing up so fast that they aren't the same people from one month to the next. Which makes me so grateful that we did this now and took the time to enjoy this version of our little family.
We are preparing for a few vacations, one that we leave for really soon, and one in October to Ottawa, Canada.
I was reviewing my posts related to our vacation back in December of last year with two 11 month olds to remind myself of what we brought with us, and how it all went (going and coming), in preparation for this trip. Let me just say: what the f@&# were we thinking?
That said, it went pretty darn smoothly! The girls were great on the plane - though a little excitable and wiggly, its not like I got a lot of relax time or was able to eat anything. But seriously - no crying for longer than a few minutes, no whining, no complaining, no diaper leaks, no puking, fairly happy babies who were smiling at everyone.
Prepping for a few days in the pool. Hopefully the one at the hotel will have water in it!
I'm hopeful that this Labor Day weekend trip will go as smoothly, as we are just a short car ride away from home, and I am hopeful that our trip to Ottawa will go well, too. Now that the girls like to run around everywhere, I am way more nervous about our plane travel. Making them sit on our laps for 6 hours wont be fun. I can only hope that just like last time, the plane puts them into a hazy daze and we all fall into a deep nap when we take off! I am a bit nervous about us all sharing a room, and what that means for James and I after we put the girls to bed. In Connecticut we ended up watching Netflix and eating dinner in the bathroom, while the girls fell asleep. Here is hoping for a balcony!!!
Alex taking selfies (no kidding) at Aunt Becky's,
while Josie dances to Taylor Swift in the background.
I am really looking forward to our little local family vacation this weekend. Its the first time either James or I take time off for something other than a family visit or to visit family in many years. In fact I can't think of a vacation we have had in a long time that didn't also involve attending a wedding or was a Christmas family visit. The weather isn't totally cooperating but hopefully we can get some pool time in and at least have a few good meals and enjoy each others' company.
A new pass time and sensory motor skill play -
Pipe cleaners and a colander = $2.60 for an hour of uninterrupted play time!
Working hard at the park!
Josie has been extra sensitive lately, too. I think she is way overtired. She isn't napping well, and I think there are some new teeth involved. Yesterday she started crying after her tv show, Daniel Tiger stopped showing slides. I rewound it and let her watch sliding again, then daddy showed her some sliding videos on youtube (kids sliding into a pool, at the park). I finally showed her the video of her sliding at the park. This was great as long as it was on an infinite loop. But it was bed time. So cue the uncontrollable sadness and crocodile tears. She is also insisting on sliding on our bent knees when we sit on the floor. She's also a total master of the slides at the park, and can even climb back up them if she's barefoot. I guess slides are her thing right now, and no one, and especially not bed time, better get in the way.
