The Shinaberry Family: Beach Trip 2011

Last week we had a wonderful time in the Outer Banks, we stayed on the 4x4 beaches with two other families. It’s a stretch of beach where there are no roads, no restaurants and no shops. All vacation homes are reached only by 4x4 vehicles. It was our first Family Vacation. This term has a whole new meaning to me now. For now I’m a parent. We all knew there wasn’t going to be very much relaxing with each family having a child under 18 months, relaxing was something only done when the children were sleeping. Gone are the days of us sitting on the beach, reading a book and having a beer. My child does not sit still unless he is asleep or strapped into his car seat. So lounging on the beach was not his thing. From the first moment we put him down on the sand he was off…like a small crab moving along the shore line. In and out of the water and digging into the sand. I gave up quickly about worrying that he was eating sand, as long as it wasn’t handfuls he was fine! And for the most part all he wanted to do was dig. He did great but in short periods of time. Beach for an hour, pool for 30 min, eat then nap. It must have been a lot for him cause little man required 3 naps most days. Thankfully we had our own private pool at the house so we weren’t stuck inside when he was napping.
I found that the key to going on vacation with a small child is Team Work. Hubs and Me worked out a system that gave us both a little bit of free time on our own during the day. While it can be lots of work and pretty exhausting I wouldn’t trade it for a second. I loved being able to spend the whole week with Cole and watch him experience the beach, pool and spending time with his two buddies Connor and Austin. Seeing my Husband and Cole fall head over heels for The Geary Family’s dog Griffin ( No Dear, we are not getting a dog). I even managed to read a book and get some much needed sun. We had a few game nights with the Adults that were pretty Epic. I can’t count how many times I snorted while laughing during those nights! I love the memories that were made and I can’t wait to do it all over again next year. So now here is a crap load of pictures from our Family Vacation!