LBI 2015

We had a great time at the beach this year. Luc's catch phrase for the week was, "I LOVE the beach!" He spent each day with Daddy where the waves crash digging holes, building sand mountains, and running away from the waves.

Aria was thrilled with the beach too. She loved sitting in the mini pool and playing with her toys, licking the salt water off them and dipping them in again. At first I didn't want her grabbing handfulls of sand thinking she would put it in her mouth, but when she did get some, she would hold it tight, examine it, drop it on the blanket, or run it through her fingers in the bucket. She did not mind the sand in her toes whatsoever. We took her down to the waves crashing and let her stand with the water coming up to her. She loved it so much that each time we went to the breaks thereafter she would get so excited she would make noises and flap her arms.

Before we left for vacation I had finished my second round of antibiotics for my bronchitis. Saturday morning I started running a fever again as I was getting the kids ready. By Tuesday I still wasn't feeling well and went to the Urgent Care on the island. That doctor prescribed me steroids for the inflammation in my lungs thinking that would be more successful than more antibiotics. It was. He also gave me cough medicine but the label said to stay out of direct sunlight and I wasn't about to stay indoors my whole vacation, so I took some Robitussin instead when I needed it. Fingers crossed I finally kicked this thing and it doesn't come back.

Frederic and I celebrated our 8-year wedding anniversary while on vacation. Our one date night a year, my mom put the kids to bed and my parents hung out at the beach house so we could go out to dinner... and then grabbed some yummy home-made ice cream.

Uncle Dave came on Monday for the week, like usual. My parent's friend, Chris, came on Wednesday and my cousin Karen, her fiance and their little girl Nikki came on Thursday. We had perfect weather all week. It only rained once, during the night. And it wasn't even too hot. Perfection.

Aria wearing my bathing suit from my first summer at the beach.

Aria was up at 5:30 every morning. 

So this day I 

decided to give her breakfast on the beach.

Daddy dug a slide out of the sand

 

 At Barnegat Light

Frederic wanted to climb the lighthouse with Luc this year. I thought the open stairs might scare him, or there being too many people would make it difficult to get up and down. Luc insisted he wanted to do it. We were there when it opened and Luc actually climbed 3/4 of the way up all by himself (217 steps).

 

Luc at the top of the Lighthouse, Old Barney.

 The day I went to Urgent Care I decided to stay back from the beach that afternoon, not sure how I might react to the medication and to catch up on some sleep since Aria was up during the night each night and awake for the day by 5:30 every morning. She and I got lots of cuddles in this week. When she woke in the middle of the night, I didn't want her crying to wake anyone else up in our house or the people renting below us, so I would take her in bed with me. She was not happy when we returned home and I wouldn't do it any longer.

After nap giggles