For as long as I can remember my family has spent a week at the beach together in the summer. I have so many fond memories as a child going, and now that we are all grown, my parents still take us all to the beach. For the past 9 years we have been going to the same house in Sea Isle City New Jersey, and after all this time it feels like it is ours. I look forward to this trip every year, and these days it’s for different reasons than it used to be. What used to be a relaxing fun trip has now become a great way for my son to get to spent an entire week with family, and for this I will always be grateful. I love watching him build memories of his own.

The vacation dynamic has changed drastically. My family is spoiled because the house is right on the beach and each of us has our own bedrooms. Now those bedrooms are filled with both us and our kids, and over the years it will just get worse! I used to use the days to sleep in, and now the moment my son wakes he’s up and out the door to see who else is up. My sister has a little girl now so not only did we have a 3 1/2 year old running around we also had an almost 9 month old crawling about. Adding 2 kids to the mix makes for much more of an adventure!

Being pregnant I was super happy to have other people around to play. My brother and his girlfriend took over the brunt of playmate duty and my son couldn’t have been happier having adventures with them. Even in places like the “magic closet” which they made up. I warned them that when they make up a game like that they will be forced to play it over and over again, and that is exactly what happened. But they didn’t seem to mind, and of course the little guy couldn’t have been happier.

A week at the beach means no real life stresses. It’s a week of mornings in the sand, an afternoon nap, a few remaining hours at the beach before bath and dinner, and an end of the day walk for ice cream. Doesn’t get much simpler than that. Due to the sleeping arrangements my son and I shared a bed and I am not going to lie I loved it. We snuggled and every day he woke up he would stroke my face and say “there you are”, and smile. What a great way to wake up. Even better I took advantage of his nap time and napped with him every day. I know with the new baby coming those days are pretty much done so I cherished every nap with my little man. I will take every and all cuddles he wants to give me.

I am not sure my parents realize how much we all appreciate this vacation. I know they love every second of having the whole family together, but what they don’t always know is how much we all love it too. For years to come ( I hope) their grandchildren will get to come together to spend a week of making memories, and the rest of us all get to come along for the ride.

So goodbye for now Dolphin house! Till next year!