4th of July Recap

Ahhh, can we all give it up for extra long weekends!! I am especially thankful that I was able to celebrate this special time with the boys and not have to worry about working on a Friday. It's so hard when holidays fall during the week and there's that awkward day that throws a monkey wrench into things.  You would think that being home with them this summer would give me a different outlook about the weekends, but if anything, it makes me appreciate them more. 

Let's rewind for a minute and get into this whole recap about our red, white, and blue celebrating. We packed up our things and headed to the beach on Wednesday night so we could be there first thing on Thursday to hit the beach and kick off the celebrating.

It turned out to be the most beautiful beach day and seriously everything about it was perfect. The water was so warm you could just walk right in, there was a light breeze coming off the ocean, the water was beautiful and so clear (and people want to knock the jersey shore), and the boys had the best time playing on the sandbar with us.

We soaked in every moment of it and spent the whole day the there. We packed sandwiches, lots of water, and all the snacks. You can never have too many snacks, right?! And treated the boys to some popsicles on the beach. Umm they lasted all of about one minute before all the messy melting took place. Good thing the ocean is right there to rinse off in.

After getting changed and grabbing dinner we made our way back down to the beach to catch the fireworks. We brought sparklers for the boys but it was too windy to light them, so we promised them we would do them another day. I'm a firm believer in 4th of July needing to be an all weekend celebration. I didn't capture any pics of the fireworks because baby C started to have a meltdown. It wasn't because of the fireworks, he did stop for awhile and was smiling when he saw them, but I think he was just overly tired and completely over it. Eric went back with him early and I stayed with A and little nugget to watch the grand finale. I did get a picture of him with his sparkler once we got them lit.

The next day we woke up to some overcast skies and decided to go crabbing on the dock of the bay. I could not even with baby C in his little captains hat grabbing onto the ropes of the crab traps. He is just too cute and melts my heart over and over again. We only caught a few and most of them were small and not big enough to keep. We heard it's been an odd season and not many people have been having much luck. A was determined to catch more and probably would have stayed on the dock the whole rest of the weekend. When that boy has his mind set on something there's no stopping him. He saw a larger crab crawling up one of the posts to the dock and got Eric to lean over with the net and catch him. It ended up being the biggest one that we got.

We kept it low-key that day and the boys had some special time with their grandparents up at the boardwalk playing games and winning prizes while Eric and I did some shopping and had some special time with baby C. 

Later on that night we made our way back down near the bay to catch the sunset and let the boys play on the playground. I couldn't resist snapping some pictures of the three of them together. They are seriously my everything.

A sweet stranger saw me taking some pictures and told me that she knows how to work the type of camera that I had. She offered to take pictures of Eric and I with the baby and also grabbed a quick family pic. She said you can't pass up these moments with them, especially when it's the baby's first 4th of July. She's right. Pictures are my favorite (if you can't tell) and so special to be able to look back on.

The sunset ended up being so pretty and it was the perfect way to end the day.

The next day we woke up and were back on the beach bright and early. The boys were hoping there would be another sandbar but the waves were actually pretty rough. A and I went into the water once. He was on my back, and as soon as we got past the wave breaks, it dropped off and was too deep for me to be able to manage with him. We decided to go for a walk instead and walked up and down the shore line. We looked for shells and the boys enjoyed finding "treasures", not sure an old bottle cap counts as that, but it made them happy.

Sure enough, a storm did roll in behind us and we packed up our things once we heard thunder off in the distance. It ended up pouring the rest of the afternoon and we made it back to the house just in time. The boys started to get a little antsy, and after watching two movies and not having any luck with anyone napping, we decided to head back home. The weather was originally calling for rain all Sunday, and with a forecast like that, and knowing we had other things at home we could tackle, we felt going back was best. Welll, wouldn't you know Sunday ended up being another nice day so we could have stayed. Yeah, last time I listen to the weather forecast.

It wasn't anything lost though. We got to go to church and went over my sisters afterwards and let the boys take a dip in her kiddie pool. When we told the boys that morning we were going, it was so cute to hear little nugget thinking his aunt now had a bunch of "kitties" that she was putting in a pool. The mind of a three year old is so precious.

I hope everyone had a great long weekend! Now let's all hope the summer slows down a bit and we don't blink and find ourselves at Labor Day weekend. 

4th of July Week And All The Red, White, and Blue

There's nothing I enjoy more in the summer than taking time off of work and spending it in the sun and sand with my family. Since the 4th fell midweek this year, the best decision we made was to take off Thursday and Friday. As much as I appreciate that extra day off during the week, it's such a tease when you have to go back after. My favorite is always when it falls on a Friday or Monday and you can enjoy a long weekend.

Since it was midweek I think it was one of those odd holidays where some people celebrated the weekend before and some celebrated the weekend after. We decided to do both, because, why not.

The weekend before we went to our towns fair and also saw an amazing firework show. They were all choreographed to music and it was seriously one of the best firework displays I have ever seen. We left in awe and it really kicked off the festive spirit.

I went to work on Monday and was surprised with a short day on Tuesday which is rare in my office. This time off came at the perfect time for us after we had a crazy emotional few days. I'll share more about that later on. It was so nice to be with each other and see the boys having so much fun and making some great memories. 

It's fun to look back at previous 4th of July celebrations and see a lot of the same traditions and how much the boys have grown. We arrived at the beach Tuesday night and caught an amazing sunset. Actually, all of the sunsets each night did not disappoint. It was the perfect way to kick off our trip. It always amazes me how the sky can change with so many colors in a matter of minutes. Those sights are something I could never get tired of.

The next morning we woke up which was the 4th and headed to the beach. My sister met us there and it was also great spending time with her. We enjoyed talking and soaking up some sun and the boys always love some aunt Faith time.

After we got cleaned up and the boys went down for a little nap, we headed to the boardwalk to ride some rides, play all the games, and see what was going on up there. My oh my was it crazy crowded that night and brought out some very interesting characters. We headed back to set off some sparklers and some small fireworks. There was one that completely malfunctioned and sounded like an m80 went off at the end. I'm talking the outside packaging went flying off, the backyard was filled with smoke, we all screamed, and thankfully no one was close enough to it to get hurt. This thing was only supposed to emit small colorful sparks, and it basically did the complete opposite. Once we all got over the initial shock it sure made for some great laughs and jokes about it. Of course we're usually documenting a lot of what we do, but when I decide to just sit back and enjoy some low key fireworks, I could have gotten it on camera and who knows what would have come of it. Oh well, the important part is everyone was safe.

The next morning Eric's parents wanted to take the boys to a festival in Kutztown PA but I opted to stay behind and hit the beach while Eric had to jump on a few conference calls in the morning for work. I cannot remember the last time I sat on the beach by myself without having eyes all over the boys and always being on alert. I even fell asleep for a little while out there and it was glorious. Eric met me after his calls and we got to enjoy lunch together, a stroll on the beach, and some nice conversations.

After the beach we got a call from Eric's parents and they told us they could just keep the boys at their house for the night and meet us back at the beach the next day. Eric and I were on board with that, and our day date quickly turned into an all day/night date. You guys, it was so nice to have some unexpected time together. I can't remember the last time we were able to ride bikes together and just act like kids hanging out down the shore again. We caught the sunset together and went out for a late night dinner. It was so relaxing.

By the next morning we were missing the boys and couldn't wait for their hugs and kisses. We woke up to thunderstorms and gray skies but thankfully the awful humidity we were having and crazy heatwave broke. We took Coaty for a walk over by the bay and got to spend some quality time with him before the rain started again. After the boys got back we grabbed some lunch and heard all about their special time with the grandparents. They went down for a nap and those rain clouds moved on out. Since it was still kind of overcast it was the perfect time to go crabbing. It's always one of the boys favorite things to do when we stay there. The crabs were still pretty small and not big enough to bring home, but they loved pulling the traps up and seeing what we caught.

The next day was another beach day, relaxing, seeing the boys play and heading back to the boardwalk. I always love when they get along and are laughing and having fun with each other. They loved being buried in the sand and enjoyed an ice cream treat. It was pretty windy that day so they asked if they could fly their kite. We finished the night off with more fun at the boardwalk and another beautiful sunset and a walk down by the bay.

The next day was, you guessed it, another beach day and the weather could not have been more perfect. There was a light breeze, no humidity, and plenty of sunshine. It's always so hard knowing it's the last day, but we enjoyed every minute of it.

The struggle is definitely real here today return back to the office, but such is life. I'm thankful for time off and the experiences we can provided to the boys. I love that they are beach boys and enjoy being there so much. I already hear the waves calling our names again and we're already looking forward to the next time.  

Red, White, and You—Patriotic Wear

I can't believe 4th of July is a week away! Seriously, how did this happen? I have so much to post about with our recent trip and some other fun things coming up, but for now, I wanted to share my red, white, and blue look that will be making its way down the shore with me this weekend. 

I have a confession to make, I've never really been a very patriotic person. Yes, I love fireworks and getting together with friends and family, and have respect for the country we live in—but I mainly looked at it as a way for me to be away from work. Did I mention being away from work? Ha! Anyway. Since having the boys, I feel like I've gotten more excited about any and every holiday and have showed it a lot more in what I wear. Maybe it's my want to join in on their little fun and know that these moments with them letting me dress them up will soon become far and few between (nah, maybe they'll always let me pick out their clothes? Wishful thinking). 

In any case, here I am in my version of red, white, and blue. I've always wanted a pair of overalls, not really sure why, I'm starting to think it's my inner want for farm life that's really coming through. Regardless, when I tried them on I knew they were the perfect distressed look for me. Remember when I talked about these headwraps (probably not but that's ok), it was the perfect pop of red to complete this look, considering I really don't own any red in my wardrobe. 

And can we just talk about these sneakers for a minute?! If you aren't following my friend Lizzie's We Heart Deals facebook page then you're missing out. She posted these a few months back and with my Target redcard I got them for $8.98! Now if these super cute sneakers aren't a deal then I don't know what is. Unfortunately they have since been sold out but I linked a few similar pairs below. A also loved my sneakers too and kept saying Mommy I want flag shoes now. Looks like I'll be on the hunt for some kids sizes.

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