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.  

Friday Favorites-End of Summer Camping & Beach Trip

Happy Friday! We made it, one of our favorite days of the week is here. Even though it was a short week it felt like there was so much going on, celebrating Labor Day, a Birthday, and back to school. But we're here now looking back on some of our favorite moments from this week and sharing them with you (sorry for the picture overload).

1. Our Camping Trip: We had so fun much in the outdoors and roughing it in our tents. Little man did great as a first time camper and it was a great time to relax and create memories with family. There were a lot of smores being made and cornhole being played. We also decided on a camping theme for little mans first birthday party. 

2. Beach Trip: After a few nights under the stars we decided to make our way over to finish out the summer on the beach. For us the summer just isn't summer without the beach. Unfortunately our attempt at crabbing again didn't go as well as last time. That's ok, better luck next time! We snapped a few pictures of little man and enjoyed watching him play him in the sand.

 

3. We are excited about the giveaway we have going on and we hope you are too! Motivated Tanks N Tees is a great Etsy shop with a variety of shirts to choose from. If we have any gentleman readers this ones for you too! They have shirts for you as well, so don't forget to enter for a chance to win $50 towards Motivated Tanks N Tees.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

4. Excitement for the fall. As much as we LOVE summer there is just something special about this next season approaching. 

5. Embracing new journeys. Both of us have a lot going at this point in our life, back to school, back to work full time, new experiences with little man and life in general. We look forward to what is to come and and are approaching each new challenge with a positive outlook. 

We hope you have a great weekend!

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Friday Favorites-The Real Jersey Shore

Happy Friday! We hope this last unofficial week of summer has been enjoyable for you. We are taking advantage of the nice weather as much as possible. Although we are excited for the fall we plan on enjoying summer until it is officially over come mid September. Starting the weekend off we are already in a chipper mood because we will both be together and have some fun festivities planned (one of us has a birthday :) For now we would like to give you a glimpse of the jersey shore. With several reality tv shows (although very entertaining) they have caused some non-jersyans and jersyans from certain parts of our own state, to form stereo types about our beautiful state and the people in it (rightfully so, we're guilty of our opinions of other states as well). Although fist pumping and tons of drama would add for some great captions to pictures, we are sharing some jersey shore photos from our stay this past week and highlighting the natural beauty it has.

We would love to hear what you are looking forward to this weekend and if there is anything you are hoping to squeeze in before summer is over? We hope you all have a safe and fabulous Labor Day weekend! 

 

 Homemade margherita pizza with fresh ingredients from the garden. 

 The largest sunflowers we have ever seen!

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Beach Days-Packing for a Baby & What You Get With Us

In honor of the first "official" week of summer, we decided to do a combined post of what to pack for your baby's beach day and also about what type of experience you would have if you spent a day on the beach with us. 

Before bringing a little one along, preparing for the beach was not a detailed task. Beach towel (check), sunscreen (check), water (check), ok let's go! Now, there is more that goes into it. We made an effort to pack as minimally as possible but still make sure we had the necessities. We always feel bad for the dads that are trailing behind their families struggling to carry everything through the obstacles of scattered people and hot sand. 

So what did we pack for the little guy? Here is a list of what worked for us and what we needed to have a successful beach day with a baby. 

Sunscreen-it's a must

Bathing suit and long sleeve swim shirt to minimize sun exposure

Umbrella 

Beach blanket and towels

Swim Diaper

Extra change of clothes

Sun hat-the kind with a neck strap so it doesn't blow off

Plenty of fluids and snacks-depending on baby's age

Sunglasses-if they will wear them

Disposable changing pad and extra diapers

Beach toys

Corn starch-it helps knock off the extra sand

To our surprise these items worked fine for us and there wasn't anything extra we came across that we needed. Everyone is different and we're sure that as he gets older the list will grow. If you haven't ventured to the beach yet with your little one, it's important to realize your first few beach experiences will be very different than what you are used to. Just a pointer, embrace the sand, it's inevitable they are going to want to explore it. Make the most of your day and try to enjoy yourself. 

Now on a different note, if you were to spend a day on the beach with us (no kids involved) it would go a little something like this...

We would need to get there early, preferably by 10:30-11am. If not, you can meet us there.

 We would be sitting close to the water with a beach chair.

We would be listening to either reggae or country.

 We would take several pictures and more than likely have to take a few do-overs 

because it's hard to get one where we both like the way we look.

 It would be inevitable that one of us is stepping on a crab (more than likely it would be Faith).

 When we go down to the water, Faith is on a mission to find sea glass and Sierra would be 

looking for the shells that look like a fan.

When we actually go in the water we aren't afraid to get our hair wet. One of us, if not both, is usually getting knocked over by a wave (you know the beach day isn't complete until someone gets smacked by a wave).

If we were eating lunch a Wawa hoagie would be packed (they're so good!) 

and we would be fighting off the pesky seagulls. 

 We would talk about what is going on in our lives, probably something family

 related (our three brother's always have some situation that makes for a good story).  

A nap towards the end of the afternoon always feels amazing.