The SHORE

Milt gets a day off of work every other Friday in the summertime, so we decided to start using them for some sightseeing! This weekend we went to the Jersey shore for some Atlantic Ocean action. There are so many shore areas to choose from (and in the East you go to the SHORE, not the BEACH), and after getting some great recommendations from people, we decided on going to Cape May, NJ. It was exactly what we were looking for and only about 2 hours away!

Cape May is this amazing little seaside resort town on the very southern tip of New Jersey where the entire city is actually a National Historic Landmark. The beaches were beautiful and the there were some absolutely amazing 19th century buildings and homes along the coast that were so fun to walk around and see! Of course the kids favorite part was the actual beach (which actually is still called a beach, it is just found AT THE SHORE). Poor McKinley was so confused about the difference between the words beach and shore, so we just let her call it "la playa."

Here's a list of everyone's photo highlights and favorites:

Maddox pretty much loved everything, as you can see from his happy pictures.

He loved the little rocks (that he was allowed to pick up!)

He loved throwing sand.

And he loved eating sand.

But he especially loved all of the beach balls, footballs, and volleyballs that he'd try to chase and steal from people.

Kennedy was not an instant fan of the beach. The moment we stepped off of the sidewalk and started walking across the the sand she started screaming "Aaaah! My feet are getting all dirty!" So we had to stop and walk back to the sidewalk and explain that this was SAND, not DIRT, and that it is okay and it would even be fun to get sand on her feet. I definitely heard people around us laughing. OCD and the beach are not a great mix. So it took her awhile, but she did finally warm up to even SITTING on the sand (she only squatted for the first hour), and she was fascinated by it.

She was also not such a big fan of the ocean.

But she did finally dare to at least run onto the WET sand! We made some progress at least.

She loved chasing the birds and was so excited when a seagull even ate one of her french fries at dinner!

Overall, she seemed to enjoy herself most of the time, possibly because she just loves wearing a bathing suit WITH A SKIRT! Such a girly girl!

McKinley probably had the best time at the shore. She loves loves loves LOVES the ocean! I had no idea it would be her new favorite thing, but she was absolutely fascinated and enthralled from the first second we got there!

She first wanted Milt or I to go out with her anytime she'd try to get close to the waves, but she soon grew out of that and just would not leave the water! In fact, when I got back from taking Kennedy to the bathroom, I saw McKinley talking and hanging out in the waves with a couple of 13-14 year old boys (they weren't quite sure what to make of her!) She is too funny! But I guess since her little brother and sister weren't quite ready for playing in the water, she had to find some friends of her own!

McKinley also LOVED the sand. After arriving, she instantly had to be buried in the sand (Kennedy was not even close to finding this remotely desirable).

She also loved building sand castles, and really did not enjoy having her little brother and sister around destroying everything she built!

Overall, McKinley decided that going to the "shore" was worth the 2 hour drive! She wants to go back next weekend...which is not going to happen because of one word: SAND!

So, how did Milt and I enjoy our excursion? Well...mixed reviews. But only one word really sums up our experience: SAND! Sand sand sand sand sand sand sand. It has four letters for a reason! I forgot how much I hate it. And going to the beach with three little kids and then trying to de-sand them before getting back into a car is INSANE! I'd have to say that Milt and I were having a pretty good time up until we had to clean up! And we have been finding sand in everything for 2 days now. Maddox's ears are GROWING the stuff! So we might wait a month or ten until we venture back to sandy shores.

But we really did enjoy most of the trip. My favorite parts of the day (besides watching other people without children actually getting to sit and read in peace and wistfully imagining myself doing the same thing someday) were naptime (just trying to get Maddox to go to sleep was a nightmare!) and seeing the kids so happy and taking lots of pictures!

Milt's favorite part was also probably nap time...until a rogue wave decided to come all the way up to where we were and drench his feet! It woke him up pretty fast and scared the living daylights out of him! Too funny! He says that is by far the worst way he has ever been woken up. So far...hee hee hee. ;)

We also loved seeing the dolphins out swimming nearby. It was amazing! Of course, seeing a fin in the ocean still gives me some JAWS flashback nightmares, but it was really cool to see dolphins out playing and swimming together! This is the best picture I got of a bunch of them swimming by, and you can see four fins in the middle if you look closely.

Milt and I also loved all of the amazing houses we got to see along the coast. They are all so well kept up! His favorite one was (of course) the blue one in this picture.

He also LOVED getting to carry McKinley after her shoes gave her foot a blister! It was an eventful day, and we will definitely be going back -- once we finish vacuuming out the car completely and emptying Maddox's ears!