beach

My Nana turned 95 of October 28th. She had wanted to have a big party, but since that’s not possible this year, instead we all went to the beach! Nana rented the family four houses close to each other in Ocean City and we all spent time together outside – on the beach or on porches. Since the girls are now in in person school, we went town for a few days, came back for school, and then went back down.

Unfortunately we only had one nice day of weather – pictured below – where the girls were able to get in bathing suits and play in the sand.

The rest of the time was cold and rainy, but we still enjoyed it as much as possible!

  • one day we were the only people on the entire boardwalk!
  • hot chocolate on the boards

We had two mini “parties” for Nana, since not everyone could be there the entire time. One night we had one at our beach house with cupcakes and balloon hats.

  • Maithili, Dan, Vicki, Doug, Mom
  • The birthday girl!
  • in a balloon hat, of course!

Our girls and Ari had to do virtual school while they were there, which was somewhat challenging. Who wants to work while you’re at the beach?! But Ari did participate in Lauren’s class Halloween party, which was pretty fun.

Freeze dance Halloween party

While the weather wasn’t great, we all tried to spend time on the beach, especially Nana who love to just look out at the water.

  • Nana in her happy place!

On the last night we celebrated Dad and Julia’s birthday, which are both the first week in November.

Happy Birthday, Julia and Dad!

It was really a fantastic week, filled with family and celebration and reflection. While we couldn’t have a big bash this year, in my opinion this was so much better. We all got to see each other, which hasn’t happened in a while, and we all got to be in one of our favorite places. We were able to spend time together, and alone, and really appreciate where we are right now – which is not where anyone expected to be, but also finally together at last.

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My family did their Ocean City week a little later this summer, in mid-August. The girls and I visited for just a few days, Saturday-Tuesday, which was the perfect amount of time. The house was further south and about 11 blocks from the start of the boardwalk, which was actually really nice. It was really quiet and the house was waterfront with a huge porch, which was lovely!

  • Lauren in the dunes
  • view from the front porch

The weather was also great for all but one of the days we were there. The girls tried boogie boarding for the first time and loved it.

We went up to the boards just twice, which was perfect. Over the last few years the seagulls have gotten really bad, so this summer they brought in a falconer to keep them under control. When he’s on the boards with his falcon, the seagulls keep their distance, meaning we could actually eat food outside, which normally you can never do.

  • the falconer and his bird
  • Mack’s and Monco’s on the boards, without seagulls thanks to the falcon
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Unbelievably we’re almost half way through the summer. We’ve packed it with a lot of trips and friends and tried to enjoy every last second.

Over Memorial Day weekend we headed to The Sharps’ house in MD with friends John, Crystal & Bella and Pete, Leslie & Hudson.

Here’s he crew picking’ crabs.
And of course there was sailing. Here Sophie is helping John steer. 
The first weekend in June we headed down to DC to meet John, Crystal and Bella again. 
 
Here we are in front of the White House. This is as close as they would let us get. But we did see Obama come in on his helicopter, flanked with two others, and land on the lawn. He had just given the eulogy at Bo Biden’s funeral in Delaware. 
Dave and Sophie also spent a week together on the boat sailing around Maryland with our friend Carl and his daughter Gianna.  
Sophie and Gianna. 
We’ve spent a lot of time down in Maryland. The Sharp’s house is only a 2 hour drive from our house, and Rock Hall is a town that the whole family loves. Lots of time on and in the water, bike riding, and of course crabs! 
We have two kayaks down there, and Sophie loves to go out for a spin the bay.

The girls acting goofy on the beach.

Benson has been getting a little braver with the water. He’ll wade in about chest deep – but still prefers to sleep on a towel on the beach. 

Dave and the girls. 
Aleen also came for a long weekend visit. We went to Morris Arboretum which was in full bloom and beautiful. 
Selfie
 And when we can’t make it to Maryland, there’s always the baby pool in the back yard. Hardly a substitute, but the girls love it anyway. 
The girls and our neighbor Maya.

And we just got back from our annual 4th of July week in Ocean City, NJ. This year the extended family was there as part of the year long celebration of Nana’s 90th birthday. 
All of the July birthdays: me (36), Maithili (30), Addison (16), Mom (60), Becky (33), Graeme (33), Vicki (51). And Lauren, who would not let me put her down.

Quinn and Sophie. 
Cousins

The girls on the beach after our family picture 

Some of the crew on the beach house steps. Uncle Dick was there, so of course there were balloon hats.

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We just got back from the annual 4th of July week in Ocean City, NJ. It was wonderful and relaxing, as always. No surprise that Lauren was in heaven running in and out of the waves and playing in the little baby pool alongside the adults. Sophie also had a great time digging and hanging out with Quinn and Carley and their friends (“the girls”). We lucked out with great weather, except for Hurricane Arthur, which came through on Friday for a few days, and unfortunately caused the fireworks to be cancelled. Overall a great getaway!

Lauren happy as a clam – taking a break on the beach chair

Pap Pap giving Sophie some kite flying instruction
Beach-loving kids

Nana with her 3 grand babies 
Lauren rode the Carousel for the first time…

And so did Ari.

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This past week my family did their annual week in Ocean City, NJ. Soph was there for most of the week, and I visited a few times throughout. 
Sophie with her second cousin Cameron, visited from Colorado

The bathing beauty

Sophie with her Pappap, doing some digging

With her GG. 

Doug giving lessons in drip castle making. He’s the drip castle master. 

Enjoying some birthday cake with Nana. 

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Sophie and I spend Fourth of July weekend in Ocean City again this year. The Coughlins and Rainers got an amazing house, and we also celebrated Doug’s 50th birthday! 
My cousin Holly and her son, Cameron, came to visit a few days before the 4th. Here Carly was entertaining them with Wheels on the Bus. A Sophie favorite. 

 Becky, Sophie & me
 Carley and Quinn playing with Sophie in the water. She loved the water and the sand. 
 Sophie’s first bike ride! 
Me, Julie & Vicki
 Sophie digging in the sand. She loved it. And it got everywhere. 
The family picture for Doug’s 50th birthday in the infamous “Wicked Hardcore” shirts. 
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At the beginning of February Dave sailed in a Regatta in Miami, so we decided to make a little family vacation and went down a few days early to spend some time in Key West. The weather was amazing – just the break we all needed from the snow in Philly. This was Sophie’s first time on a plane and she was a champ – especially on the way home when it was just me and her. We stayed at a cute B&B called Avalon and rented the “cottage” in the back by the pool, so while she napped we could do a little sunbathing.
This was her first time in a pool. At first she wasn’t a fan, but once we started splashing around she warmed up to it. She still hung on pretty close though. We’ll get her signed up for swim lessons soon!

Sporting her bathing suit

We watched the sun rise almost every morning at a dock just a block from the B&B.

Sophie at the Southernmost point in the US

We discovered that she was not a fan of sand. As soon as we put her down on it, she would lift one let, then the other, or try and lean on something, like she is here with the beach chair. We’ll have to work on that one.

Walking with daddy.
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We spent the 4th of July weekend in Avalon. It was incredibly hot, but we still got in some good beach time. Unfortunately the water was freezing. We dipped Sophie’s feet in, but she didn’t like it too much. She much preferred to sit on her Nana’s lap.


Here’s a shot of four generations

Sophie also rolled over for the first time this weekend! She’s been struggling with getting her one arm out from under her, but finally was able to do it.

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