We took a family vacation back during the first full week of October to PCB, Florida. The schools around here are out for that week and it is usually much less crowded and cheaper to go during that time of year than during the summer. A big group of families from our little town usually goes down for the week and stays in the same set of condos so we can hang out together on the beach. Brent and I went pre-kids back in 2011 which, of course, was quite a different experience than with two little ones!
This time, we went again with my Mom, Stepdad, and two sisters. But with an almost three year old and a nine month old, things were not near as laid back this time around. I'm glad we went and I really enjoyed the time spent with my family, but it was a lot of work and not the relaxing beach trip I was hoping for. I took a little time to chill before posting so that I could be a little less negative. It was just in the moments, things were so chaotic and there was always something to do...not much laying on the beach reading a book or tanning going on! With one kid on the beach, at least the two of us could switch out and each get a break, but with two, we were both on duty most of the time. And if we weren't both total beach bums, it probably wouldn't have been so hard on us...but we are...can't help it! :)
The 10ish hour drives down and back was actually pretty good this time around. We did the drive overnight both ways and Brent was awesome and did it entirely himself. The kids slept all but a couple of hours which was amazing!
Unfortunately, when we got there it was freezing, for PCB anyways!! The high was in the mid-sixties and it was cloudy and windy and just not fit for a bikini and a frozen drink on the beach by any means. We did our best to tough it out and wore our sweatshirts to the beach for awhile until we could check into our room. The condo we were in this time was amazing...very updated with pretty tiled showers and granite countertops in the kitchen and bathrooms.
The next couple of days were pretty cool and cloudy as well, but we were determined to be beach bums so we gave them a shot. Finally by around lunch on Tuesday, the sun came out a bit and the weather only got better from there.
Carter man had such a good time on the beach! We took a trackhoe and dump truck with us and he had the biggest time playing in the sand with them. There were lots of other kids down there with us, so he had lots of fun chasing them around and digging holes with them. He even got brave and got in the ocean a bit one day...which just so happened to be a day that it was really cold and cloudy...and he didn't mind it at all! He really truly was such a good boy out there, but he would not take a beach nap all week, so by the end of the week he was exhausted.
This was Landry Kate's first time on the beach and she was a beach lover too! I couldn't believe how good she did with the sand! She loved to take handfuls and then let it fall out of her hand over and over. She only got a little sand in her eyes once or twice when she got sleepy and started rubbing them a bit and ate some a couple of times when her passy or toy would fall in the sand and she would put it back in her mouth. She even napped pretty decent on the beach in her tent! There was only one time a day on the beach when she needed milk. I nursed her a couple of days in the tent right on the beach but there wasn't much privacy and I much prefer to be a discreet nurser! A couple of days I went back to the room with her and nursed her and another I pumped before we went down. It worked out fine.
So really, both of our kids were actually pretty good beach-goers. And even reading back over this I'm thinking, 'sounds like a fun beach trip', but in reality...there was just so much stuff we had to take down to the beach and back everyday, the kids (and the parents too...let's be honest!) were worn out due to thrown off sleeping schedules, and there is just so much less you can do when you are confined to car seats and strollers and bedtimes, etc. I had big plans to read two or three books and I barely read two chapters all week!
We did go into it with the view that going out to eat was not a big priority for us. Eating in the condo was no disappointment to us at all..we don't enjoy trying to entertain Carter until the food comes and keeping Landry from screaming for bites while we are eating. My mom made several of our meals in the condo and that was totally ideal! We also ordered some pizza one night. For lunch, we either ate leftovers before going down to the beach or took a sandwich with us. And Landry Kate ate many a puff on the beach! :)
We did eat out a couple of nights, and the kids did so well with it. Landry even slept through one of the meals! And one night, we ate in and then went to a go cart/amusement park type place. That was probably the highlight of the trip for Carter man! Landry pretty much slept in the stroller the whole time while we got in all the go cart rides, kiddie rides, and bumper cars we could. Mommy and daddy even got to ride a roller coaster!
We are already planning to go back for a long, kid-free weekend next year if at all possible! We loved our time with the kiddos, but feel like they would have had just as much or more fun with their grandparents at home. And that way we would get our relaxation on and come home ready for all the crazy they love to give us. We'll see, maybe their ages next year will make it more doable...maybe!
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