Family Vacation - The Beach

After a couple of days in the city - we drove to the coast for a couple of days at the beach.  

Silliness at breakfast!

Katrina still napped every day - but so that the older kids could play in their room, we had her nap in ours - in our TUB!  Worked great!

Mommy - I'm done napping - can I get up?

We enjoyed several beautiful sunsets.

At the seafood restaurant waiting for our order

After catching many crabs, the boys wanted to see what they tasted like.  They were not huge fans - maybe a different recipe would be more enjoyable for them.

We enjoyed the pool in the mornings (there were nice shady places) and then went down to the beach in the afternoons.

The boys went out kayaking with Josh one morning.

Waiting for my turn at minigolf

Even Katrina played

This was a tough course - there was no turf on the greens, just painted plywood or cement or something - and it was very uneven.  It was a challenge but we had a lot of fun!

Walking along the beach

Literally a few seconds after I took this picture, THAT wave washed it all away!

Fun making sand castles and moats

Josh loved to jog down the beach

Katrina found a cup in the sand - made making sand castles easier!

Beach buddies!

On our way home we drove back through the city.  We stopped at a 7-11 for motion sickness meds, and when we realized that the kids had never had a Slurpee, we made sure to treat them to one! :)

After we got home, we all sat down and made lists of our most/least favorite parts of our trip.  Here they are: 

Julia

The pool was fun.

The buffay was great!

Oh Uh! The sheets were awsome.

loved the beach!

I liked the swerlly poop.*  

I like the flower snake.

I like to lern there!

Nowing I will get new goggoles!

geting appels to apples!**

having fun!

*when the tide was out there were some strange formations of squiggles on the sand as we walked over the places that were previously covered with water
**she bought Apples to Apples Jr. with her saved allowance 


Spencer
Top 4:
1. Pools, lego store, view, breakfast at city hotel, hanging out with family, building lego
2. Ocean, service at hotels
3. things from America available to buy, playing "kitties" (game that the kids made up and played together in the hotel rooms)
4. my first Slurpee!  looking at lego, massages at mall


Bottom 3:
1. Long way there, stuffy car
2. Greasy cold food at st breakfast at beach hotel, 2 hour trip to beach hotel (could have taken 32 min - we got lost)
3. Unclear ocean, knowing that the plane flight would have taken 1/2 an hour


Mitchell
Top 10:
1. Lego store and buy
2. buffet at city hotel
3. view from 14th floor
4. ocean
5. pools at both hotels
6. nice hotel rooms
7. water heater (warm showers)
8. extra bed sheets on hotel beds
9. not having to clear dishes
10. being able to NOT have to make my bed


Bottom 3:
1. fish bites
2. the trip there and back
3. walking around the mall (my feet hurt like crazy)


Josh
Fave: 
1. Exploring a new place
2. Showing the kids a new place/new things (like the breakfast buffet)/nice roads
3. Eating out, trying treats, buying special things
4. beauty of the ocean, mountains, jungle, palms
5. Time to just relax, read, do nothing, hang out with Josie


Least Fave:
1. Long drive on windy, stop-and-go, two lane roads
2. 2.5 hour border crossing
3. Getting lost going from city to coast and around the city - great roads but bad road signs!

Josie

Fave:

1. Hanging out with kids and Josh

2. Napping almost every day

3. Time to read

4. Shopping and finding some of the things on my list

5. No internet

6. Eating Western foods

7. 2 separate rooms in the hotels - quite space away from the kids

8. Favorite purchases: memory foam pillow, room fragrance oil and peppermint foot lotion

Least Fave: 

1. Getting lost

2.Long trip

3. Not finding many things on my list

4. No internet :)

5. 2.5 hour border crossing