Sun kissed

We are back!  Despite being outnumbered, we left with 5 kids and came back with all 5. Even if all else was a failure, we can say we were victorious in returning home with each kid in one piece.  But it was not a failure, far from it!  For the most part, the kids did great.

Going to the beach has now been ruined for me.  How will I ever be able to go again without friends for the kids to be with?  It was so nice how great everyone got along.  Listening to the giggling and the little conversations back and forth between them made my heart melt.  These kids are just so adorable, not only one their own, but together too. 

When inside, Nathan and Sam hung out on this
papasan chair together most of the time.

The one bedroom condo was like nothing you've ever seen.  There were 3 sets of bunk beds, plus a pull out couch in the living room.  Everyone had their own bed.  I have to say that it took at least a night or two for us all to get in a groove sleeping in close quarters.  By the 2nd night, we decided to put an iPad in every kid's bed after they went to sleep.  This way, whoever woke up first, could quietly play until the others had a chance to wake up on their own.  Yes, each kid had their own iPad.  Crazy, right? 

This past week was my first time ever sleeping in a bunk bed.  I had the top bunk and Sam was on the bottom bunk.  When I first heard I was going to be sleeping in a bunk bed, I had visions of the little wooden fence not being tall enough to stop by body if I started turning in my sleep and I'd fly off the top bunk.  Or, the whole bunk bed wasn't sturdy enough to support me and I'd crash down on Sam in the middle of the night.  And lastly, I'd forget I was even in a bunk bed and sit straight up and bang my head pretty hard.  Fortunately, none of that happened.  I eventually got used to sleeping in a bunk bed and can now cross this off my bucket list.  hehehehehehehe.

The condo was comfortable and believe or not, roomy.  The bathroom was configured in a way that allowed for two toilets, each with their own set of doors and another room in between with a bathtub.  Pretty cool.  The tv lacked cable and therefore, the children had a break (whether or not they wanted it) from watching cartoons for the week.  It didn't seem to phase them.  The funniest was when we had "So you think you can dance" on one evening and Ian asked me to fast forward through the commercials. Ha!  Little did he realize how old school this configuration was.  And, in another old school moment, Sam was mesmerized watching Jen make ice the old fashioned way, by filling up the ice trays.  She hadn't seen that before and wasn't sure what Jen was doing.  It was really funny.

Despite all the craziness of having 5 YOUNG (ages 2 to 7) kids to watch, there were a few moments that really stood out as my definition of Heaven.  Jen and I had our beach chairs in the shallow part of the ocean, we were able to watch the kids while sitting down, enjoying a nice breeze.  Everyone was happy.  No one was complaining.  It was really wonderful.  That was a really great 5 minutes.  Just kidding!  It lasted for at least 10 minutes.  :)

Another cool moment was watching Ian and Ethan body surf on boogy boards.  Ian had never done this before and took to it like a fish in water.  The two of them had a great time and spent hours upon hours in the ocean.

And one of my other favorite moments was when I had the camera out and asked Sam to smile.  She started posing.  It was super cute. 

How funny is this?  Sam posing for the camera.
Where does she learn this stuff?!!??!

The big drawback to our week at the beach?  Other than the beach and the pool, there was nothing else to do.  Topsail Island is not a typical beach town.  It is very quiet.  Very non-touristy.  On Wednesday, we went searching in the afternoon for an arcade or some type of amusement place for the kids to play.  Other than a miniature putt-putt, there was nothing to be found.  And without a boardwalk, we weren't able to go for walks after dinner.  We did make it out for ice cream.  After asking 4 different locals where they'd recommend we go, we took a pass on "Dairy Queen".  Each person gave the same exact answer.  Ha!  I've got a "Dairy Queen" a mile down from my house.  No thanks!  We did find two other places to go for ice cream.  Each one had their own little quirks to it.

Our night out for pizza was pretty strange.  We went to "Max's", which apparently is the hot place to go.  It is very family friendly and the place filled up quickly.  The restaurant has a kids menu.  They handed out paper menus with crayons wrapped in it to all the kids.  Sounds like a winner, right?  However, when it came time to order drinks, they only had soda and water.  No juice, no milk, no lemonade, no fruit punch.  How odd.  Fortunately my kids are used to drinking water and know that soda is not an option, so the complaining really only took the form of questioning why they couldn't offer a juice box or something similar for the kids to drink.  Personally, I liked the place.  They offered Gluten-Free pizza.  Totally made my day that I could eat pizza with everyone else.

I am pretty sure there is nothing Jen and I can't do as a team.  We traveled well together and could laugh at the kid's meltdowns and how at any given point, it seemed one of the kids wasn't happy.  Keeping a sense of humor is key!  Our next road trip takes place in 2 weeks.  We are going to Orlando.  Watch out, Florida may never be the same.