ocean city 2017 - part III

I know, THREE parts!! :) My hands were free to take more pictures this time around!

One of the things that was really fun to do this year with the boys was take them to the rides on the boardwalk. It was definitely a lot for them with all the noise, crowds of people, being past their bedtime, etc BUT they really enjoyed it!!

There is seriously nothing better than watching your kids have fun! 

Keaton saw a picture of his cousin Andrew riding these helicopters on Ryan's phone a few months ago and has been talking about it ever since. The time finally came for him to ride!!

 He and Penn both loved it too! So fun!!

 Penn was SO excited to ride this fire truck with Keaton, but wasn't not tall enough {who knew?!? #parentfail} 

 We tried to make up for his disappoint on the train...it worked ;0)

"Chooo chooo"

 Gosh I love them!!

And if rides on the boardwalk weren't fun enough.....the boys got to spend a night with their cousins doing all the fun things with Grandmom!! I mean look at Keaton here. He's getting Grandmom's 4 simple rules and it looks like he's going to bust out of his seat with excitement {he's also paying attention, which makes me very pleased :)} When all the parents went mini-golfing....

They colored! 

They painted! 

They used bubble guns! 

They ran up and down the hall on bubble wrap! 

They had ice cream sundaes with all the toppings! 

They watched a movie! 

They had FUN!

And I'm seriously tired just from typing that all out. haha

 Well Ryan and I didn't win against the sibs this year....

 BUT...

 We did each win a free golf game token to use next year! What can I say, our skills on the course were lacking, but not our luck! After mini-golf we went to THE BEST ice cream place in Ocean City. If you go to OC you have to try it!! We may or may not have gone 4 times. 

On our last full day we hit the beach and then spoiled the boys with treats on the boardwalk one last time :)

 We left bright and early Saturday morning, got home around lunch, unpacked and then got our mail from our neighbor.

I'm pretty sure they think we have a problem. 

And I was officially embarrassed. SO many packages. haha 

Oh it was a fun one this year! A little different without my sister in law and newest niece with us, but next year they'll be there AND my newest nephew due in October! Cousins galore! 

ocean city 2017 - part II

*Lots of pictures :)*

Sunday morning we opted to skip church and I headed to the grocery store while Ryan took the boys to the beach. The fact alone that he could take them both by himself speaks volumes as to how much easier it was this year! I know vacation with kids isn't really a vacation, but last year we had 2 babies and this year Keaton carried his chair out on his own...

I think I might have helped a little mid-way, BUT STILL ;0)

He was so proud of himself and just like I assured him, it felt good to relax in it once he made it to our spot.

Look at my 3 best guys...I'm one lucky girl!!

Penn loved to hate the beach and sand. Sometimes we'd catch him chasing a bird in the sand without his shoes, playing in the pool we drug down {every day}, or running toward the water, but then he'd look around and need us to hold him *eye roll* He snacked...a lot. 

If you see more pictures of him having fun in the water and sand that's probably the ONLY time he was enjoying it ;0) Next year he has to like it more, riiiiight?!? haha

Our days looked pretty much the same: everyone up at 6am, run with the boys in the stroller on the boardwalk, breakfast, beach, lunch, naps, beach again OR out to ice cream, boardwalk, or play at the house :)  It was a routine we got used to very quickly.

Story time with Grandmom before out to ice cream!

 Penn doesn't eat a lot of sweets, but he's recently discovered ice cream and LOVES it! At one point he reached over and grabbed a handful of Keaton's and shoved it in his mouth before I could stop him.

Loves.it.

 And I love watching them enjoy it so it was a win-win!

 Cousins!  

 

   Now there was a little disappointment when Keaton's cotton candy came out pink and not blue {the horror!}, but he got through.

 A few pics of our time on the beach throughout the week!

 See, Penn thinks he loves it here, but really Ryan is distracting him with a funny song ;o)

They did enjoy this pool - I'd definitely recommend to anyone that has little kids who don't splash and jump in the waves to bring down an inflatable or plastic pool and fill with water.

 Most of the kids used it at some point!

 Keaton still wasn't a huge fan of getting wet and sandy, but this day he must have felt like letting loose a little.

 Keaton wore this same bathing suit when he was 15 months old - Penn is 27 months old. 

 Me and my buddy...

See he was mostly on my lap ;0)

The beach was great, but like I said...I think they'll enjoy it even more next year!! 

topsail island - part III

And then we blinked and it was Friday. SO SAD.

Thankfully, this was the most beautiful day! Sunny! No wind! Warm!

We drank coffee on the deck and waited for the tide to go down.

 Patty cake on the beach with Grammy :) 

 Buckets ready for the canopy....

 Since it was the last day of vacation I really let Keaton live it up! He asked about his ring pop from the night before and I said "well it's only 9:30...BUT it's the last day of vacation SURE you can bring it down to the beach!!" haha

 He only dropped it in the ocean 1x and shared very nicely with Penn....

 For the most part. HAHA

 My Dad bought a kite at the dollar store and that ended up being a big hit!

 Keaton was so proud of flying it all by himself!

 Busy at work on a beautiful day!!

 We ended the day with pizza, brownie sundaes, and a bath in our "pool bath" aka jetted tub.

Already thinking about the fun we'll have next year....

 Trip home was long, but thankfully uneventful!! All I have to say is we got our $$ out of that potty seat ;0)

topsail island - part II

One nice thing about going this week was that Ryan and I's anniversary landed smack in the middle :)

Nine years with this guy = AMAZING! 

I really can't believe that he chose me. Ryan has such a gentle spirit, which pairs perfectly with my often sensitive soul. He's smart, works hard for our family, and is such a supreme example for our boys. Couldn't be more grateful to do life with him!

We had a fun afternoon and evening together! We decided to go on a "do date" and went kayaking in the afternoon. It was fun, but my arms were so tired by the end!! We went out for 2 hours during nap time and that was plenty! haha

We got back, showered, and headed out to dinner at Daddy Mac's Beach Grille. There was a big storm coming in, but we still got to sit on the deck and enjoy the ocean storm winds breeze :) It rained the rest of the night {boooo}, but we made the best of it! 

The boys had a blast with Grammy and Pop Pop! My Mom was in charge of putting Penn down to bed and he slept until 8:30am the next morning - a far cry from the 6am wake up call he's been putting out recently!! I need to have her around more often for bedtime.

And just like that we're already onto Thursday...our week is more than half over! It was SO windy this day, beautiful and sunny, but windy. Poor Keaton tried to walk on the beach, but was afraid of the wind {me too} so we decided to head to a playground and the dollar store for entertainment :)

Ryan found a great park for the boys, Stump Sound Park, that was inland a bit and not nearly as windy :)

 The boys had it all to themselves and loved it! 

Also, Keaton wears his Daniel Tiger shirt basically every single day. I bought it in 2 different sizes and he just alternates between the 2...I really need to do laundry less frequently so some of his other shirts stand a chance at getting worn!

The dollar store was a major hit! Keaton got to pick 3 things because he's 3 years old ;0) One of the things he chose was a bag of ring pops...smart little guy. It took him 3 days to eat it though...just a little lick here and there! He also chose a blue pool noodle and little blue ball. Penn chose a doll baby {haha..he found it and wouldn't put it down or stop kissing it} and bubbles.

My parents went out this night and so it was just the 4 of us hanging out. We went out on our bedroom deck where it wasn't nearly as windy and the sun was just beautiful!

 Always looking for a way out...

 Just love love love spending time with all 3 of my best guys!