We're back - again

Ok, I can't believe it's like mid-August already and I haven't posted since July. You loyal followers have probably been wondering where the beach photos are because you *know* there are tons and movies too. Well, darn Blogger. I've been trying, really I have, to upload the beach posts for weeks now. I started a long post when we first got back from the shore. Then everything happened with Poppy so it never got posted. Then, we went BACK down the shore and I've been trying to upload photos to go with these beach posts since August 1st. Maybe the posts were too long or just had been sitting in draft for too long but every time I'd go through all the beach photos and pick the ones I wanted to include, I'd go to upload them all and Blogger wouldn't save them right. Every single time. It was very frustrating and after a while I'd just give up. Then, I'd try again and the same thing would happen. Sooooo.. Here are the texts posts and throughout the week I'll just put some pix up from the two beach trips. Sorry it took so long!!

[Post from August 1]
So, how lucky are we that Sophie and I got to go BACK to the beach this past week with Dee Ree and Pop Pop who had rented a house for the week in Ocean City. We picked up GGMom and headed down on Tuesday morning and got to stay till Friday. We had a wonderful visit, great weather and lots of fun on the beach and the boardwalk!! Thanks Dee Ree and Pop Pop for a fantastic time!

[Post from July 12]
Well, we have just come back from a two-week vacation in Ocean City, New Jersey!! It was our first family vacation together (except for our little weekend get-away last September). We had two-weeks down the shore and it was pure heaven. During the first week, our good friends The Snedikers, came down with their two boys. Sophie absolutely loved being around two big kids for a week. She and Adam had a blast together drumming and playing and generally being sweet with each other. And, we had a blast getting the whole week with our dear friends who we miss so much since they've moved to Ohio a few years ago. There was lots of gaming and lots of ice-cream and it was a very fun week for sure. The second week was just the three of us. Not by design because we did invite grandparents and friends down but nobody came. (We're trying to not take it personally! LOL!) Even though we would have loved visits from our loved ones we did enjoy the quiet time for just the three of us. We got into a good routine of taking long walks in the morning so Sophie could take her am nap. And then heading to the beach after lunch. It seemed to work out pretty well most days.

Sophie had such a fantastic time on the beach. She was totally fearless of the ocean and the sand and the other kids. She would get to the beach and as soon as she was put down on the cooler sand she would bee-line for the ocean. We jumped waves and played in the water. Then she would come up after Jim had set up the umbrella and chairs and blankets and she would play with her sand toys and shovels and have a great time. She also loved watching other kids run around on the beach. It was such a joy to watch her down there, it's a shame we don't live closer so she could go more often. Sophie had lots of fun experiences besides the beach too including ice cream (Kohr Brothers vanilla), kite flying, and the boardwalk. Her eyes were big as saucers when we walked her into Wonderland Pier (where all the rides are) for the first time. She was amazed. She waved to strangers each time the elevated train ride came around and just was enthralled with all the lights, sounds and kids.

It was a fantastic relaxing trip for all of us and while we were talking about how we would love just one more week down there to really unwind, we're so grateful we had two weeks and could do it at all. It was in many ways a magical first family vacation for our little family and the memories of Sophie's joy and wonder are ones we'll never forget.