Brown Family Beach Trip

In my last post, I talked a little bit about our beach trip with the whole Brown family, but decided it needed a post all of its own. We were there from Sunday to Sunday and had an awesome time! But, Corey and I decided that vacation takes on a whole new meaning when you have kids (at least really little ones). There is no more sleeping in, reading books, or laying in the sun for hours, but it is all replaced by the joy of seeing your children have new experiences.

We were very blessed to rent both sides of a duplex that is owned by a friend of Clay's. Both sides have 3 bedrooms, giving us plenty of room. Corey and I stayed with Corey's parents and our girls on one side, and Clay, Kellie and there 3 girls stayed on the other side.

We spent the first two days on the beach. It was quite an adventure. Hauling all the stuff you need for five kids 4 and under, including 2 newborns is not an easy task, but we made the most of it. Dayla, Bailey and Riley had a blast playing on the beach and in the water. Tuesday night we had dinner at Amos Mosquito's!! If you have never been - it is a must! I had the meatloaf and it was to die for - and I am not a big meatloaf eater! Also, for the kids, they have a smores dessert that they bring out - so the kids can roast their own marshmallow and then make their smore. The girls loved it and were covered in chocolate by the end.

On Wednesday, we decided to take a break from the sun and visit the aquarium - it was great! The girls loved it! I was rather impressed - it has been years since I had visited and it has changed dramatically! Riley was checking out the sea otters in the picture below - that and the sharks were her favorite!

Thursday Clay volunteered to keep the little babies (Georgia and Reagan) for us so Kellie and I could enjoy some time on the beach with just our big girls. Unfortunately, because we are both nursing, we only had a short window of time to go, but we made the most of our couple of hours!

Friday we found the Atlantic Beach town park to take the girls to. We wanted to be outdoors but weren't up for the work that it took to get us all on the beach. Swings and slides are always a hit! That evening we went to Cedar Point to have dinner with Jason and Jennifer Watson and their kiddos. The Brown's have been friends with the Watson's since before Clay and Corey were born, so it was great to catch up with old friends. Jason and Jennifer have a set of 2 1/2 year old twins (Tucker and Massey) and a 10-month old (Fin). Fin wasn't at home when we visited, but the other seven were plenty to keep us busy. The pic below is of Dayla, Bailey, and Riley with Massey and Tucker - they are getting ready to eat dinner!


Since Saturday was our last day, we made another trek to the beach for the day! We got rained on for a brief bit, but luckily we had taken up home under the pier and didn't get too wet!

By Sunday, I think we were all ready to come home! Vacations are great, but there is nothing quite like sleeping in your own bed! This was the first year since Corey and I have been married that we have vacationed with his whole family for a week! Good news is we all survived and had a blast!! Already looking forward to next year!