Bryson Boys: BEACH TIME!!!

We got home from the beach today. We had the BEST time!! Minus the fact that it took 7 hours to get there and 6 hours to get home (when it should have taken 4 hrs each way), the vacation itself was terrific!

It was me, Chan, Ama, the 3 boys and our nieces Savannah and Charlotte. We had a condo right on the ocean with a deck that looked out over the waves and the sand. We spent the first day out on the beach for about 5 hours. The kids had a blast playing in the waves and digging in the sand. For dinner Ama made some delicious shrimp alfredo. The next day we went to the boardwalk and the kids got to spend a bunch of their money. Cam got another hermit crab. He named him "Different" because, well, he's different than his other crabs. Dylan spent his money on some 'rare' Silly Bandz and some Hot Wheels cars. Gabriel didn't really get anything and didn't care too much to get anything. On the boardwalk we took the kids to an arcade where they kept hitting the jackpot getting tons of tickets and won a whole bag of great prizes (ring Silly Bandz, a big jar of rainbow slime, a fancy squishy ball and a bunch of other stuff) and Gabriel was as happy as could be with the candy bracelet he won. Part of the 'fun' of the day was getting to ride the bus - the kids think that it's like a carnival ride. We spent the next few days on the beach, shopping, crabbing, kite flying, lighting sparklers, and playing at the park. Whenever the kids were in the condo, they spent their time passing video games around to each other. Between the 5 kids we had 4 Leapsters, 1 DS and 1 DiDj. I spent some of my free time reading out on the balcony - enjoying the waves and the sound of the ocean. I just love having a place right on the water. One of the days we went to a water park just outside of Ocean City that we had never known about. It was very reasonable and we all had a wonderful time!! There was plenty for the kids to do and also some fun water slides for the grown ups. After spending most of the day floating on the Lazy River, splashing in the large pool and riding water slides, we had a delicious packed lunch under some trees. Included with the water park was unlimited mini golf. After lunch we golfed and then headed back to the water park. Cameron and Savannah were SO brave and they let us convince them to go down the huge water slide... poor kids were scared to death!

Everything went extremely smoothly all week. The only down side was that the week went too fast. It flew by. It was so nice having Ama come with us to the beach again. It's nice to have time together without the busyness of our everyday lives getting in the way. Great memories were created together this week! Ama is so organized and takes care of everyone. We love it and the kids love it! She was such a HUGE help. She helped dress the kids, feed the kids, bathe the kids, got up early with the kids and entertained the kids. She cooked, she cleaned, she did laundry and dishes... she did it ALL! We can't thank her enough for all the hard work she put into this vacation! She helped make it a true vacation from our crazy busy lives with a perfect mix of family-time and time for Chan and I to spend together and to just relax. I just hope that she took enough time for herself to relax and enjoy the week as well. I can't think of any way that it could have been any more perfect!