Summer: Sat., 8/5 - Thurs., 8/10 (Bethany Beach)

Beach week! I’ve neglected to blog. I’ll try to capture the highlights of our week at Bethany Beach.

Sat., 8/5

Long traffic-y drive. But the beach house we rented for the week is beautiful--it’s two separate apartments on two floors, and we rented both, so there’s lots of space and bedrooms for everyone. One block from the beach and boardwalk. It couldn’t be better.

The four of us headed to the beach after we unpacked, and Mom and Dad met us there after they arrived. We got dinner from DB Fries and ate it on the picnic table in the backyard of our house. Then we went out for ice cream. A perfect first day.

Sun., 8/6

Beach morning. I went to yoga on the beach at 7:00 a.m., and then we all went out around 9. Molly arrived around lunchtime. The waves are really big here so we didn’t do too much swimming. Lots of digging, sandcastle-making, and collecting stones and shells. Obsessively collecting stones and shells. It was a beautiful day and we made the most of it, knowing the weather was going to turn the next day.

We made enchiladas for dinner (I made the chicken and red sauce at home so we just had to assemble and bake them here), then more ice cream.

Mon., 8/7

The day delivered what it promised: rain and storms and more rain. The morning was gloomy and rain-free, so we did go out to the beach for a little while. Luca arrived around 11:00 a.m., and as soon as he joined us on the beach it began to rain--we gathered everything up, rushed home, and then the deluge began. It rained for the entire day, mostly intense downpours. Just so much rain. We had lunch at home, and then the kids played spies, running around the house but quietly, because they were spies. A little while later, when there was a break in the rain, Molly, the kids, and I went out for a walk--and the streets around our house were completely flooded, up to the kids’ knees in places. The water was rushing up over the sidewalk at some points. It was crazy. Of course it started pouring again while we were out, and we all got drenched.

At 3:00 p.m., we put on Descendants 2, and then had dinner after that. Andrew and Dad went out to pick up BBQ from Charlie K’s--delicious. That brought us to the kids’ bedtime--successfully filling the rainy day.

Tues., 8/8

It was cool and gloomy in the aftermath of yesterday’s rain storms, but we managed to spend the morning on the beach, doing beach things. We ate lunch at home and then headed to Rehoboth Beach to go to Funland in the afternoon, which was pretty much the worst thing ever. The kids were all enthusiastic when we arrived, but the insanity of the close quarters, noise, and abundance of games with impossible-to-win prizes took its toll. Funland was not fun for any of us.

We made our escape, ditched our plans to find dinner in Rehoboth, and headed back to Bethany, where we returned to DB Fries for takeout dinners and ate on the beach, redeeming the day.

Tonight, after the kids were in bed, the adults played Taboo. It was lots of fun.

Wed., 8/9

I went to yoga on the beach at 7:00 a.m., which was lovely--sun rising, and dolphins leaping out of the water. So perfect it seemed staged.

We went to the beach in the morning and got out the surfer girl. Greta was enthralled and played with it more or less constantly for the rest of the day, tossing it again and again into the waves and running after it when it surfed back. Lucia discovered a new love of jumping in the waves--Andrew carried her out beyond the breakers. She even treaded water and swam a bit on her own. I went out too, with them and with Molly, even though the water was over my head at times--my comfort level with the ocean is generally knee-deep. But it was lots of fun being farther out--which, on this beach, isn’t even that far, because the water gets deep really close to shore. So we had our wave-jumping fun without having to go into shark territory (or so I’m telling myself).

Mom had brought stuffed shells, and she prepared those for dinner. Then we went out for ice cream. A pretty perfect beach day. Every day is fun as long as it’s not spent at Funland.

Thurs., 8/10

Absolutely perfect beach day. Molly and Luca went out this morning to get donuts from the Sky Pony donut truck, and then we all headed to the beach. We carry so much stuff there, but we have it down to a science by now. Greta returned to the surfer girl with as much obsession as ever. The waves were a bit too crazy first thing in the morning, making it hard for Andrew to carry Lucia into the water for wave-jumping, so she took an interest in Surfing Girl as well, which meant we of course had to go out to get another one. The toy store was sold out of girl surfers, but the employee arranged to have one delivered to the store later in the afternoon. (Andrew picked it up around 4:00 p.m.)

We had lunch at home, and then the tide was out, and we all got in some good swimming and wave-jumping. Lucia is just beside herself with joy when she’s out there. She’d stay out all day if Andrew didn’t feel like he’d collapse. Greta didn’t want to go out; she just wanted to play with Surfer Girl. Luca was reluctant but finally went out with Molly later in the day, and had fun too.

We’d planned to spend the entire day on the beach, and at dinner time we got pizzas from Pomodoro’s and ate on the beach (with some surreptitiously poured wine from our cooler). L&G played still more with their Surfer Girls--these things are the greatest beach toys ever. We didn’t leave the beach till nearly 8:00 p.m. It was a long long long beach day but so much fun. The kids are all having a blast, and so are we.

A highlight from today was at the very end, as we were packing up all our beach things and the kids were still determinedly playing and running around. A toddler ran over and began chasing the kids, and the kids began running around, screaming and laughing, yelling, “A BABY IS CHASING US! BABY: INCOMING!!!” It was hilarious.

Also, Lucia occasionally forgets a seagull is called a seagull and calls it a peacock.