Our Great Escape

From August 25-August 31, we escaped to Bethany Beach, DE.  We rented a house that was a good 6 block walk to the beach, but still very doable.  There were a minimum of 2 visits to the beach every day.  We ate like kings in large part to the contributions of Mr. Edward Borrelli.  Norrin had plenty of friends to play with and even Ani Rose was waking up earlier than her usual to spend time with the rest of the kids.  There were lots and lots and lots of pictures, so I'll let them speak for themselves.

Ani Rose being sneaky and stealing some of her brother's pancakes.

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 On the beach with Da.  There were two days of rough waves and then it calmed down.

 Ani Rose spent a lot of time on my back.  It was the easiest way to get around.  Any time I let her out, she would make a break for it.

Ed's friend, Jodi hooked us up with freshly caught crabs.  Ed steamed them up, but not until the kids had some time to play with them :).

 Ani Rose loved the waves and the sand.

 After a day at the beach there was lots of snuggling under blankets, watching cartoons.

Ani Rose wanted everything the older kids had, including Capri Sun juice pouches.

 A nap after lunch.

My favorite...lemonade on the Ocean City boardwalk.

Norrin liked the lemonade a lot, too.  That's my boy!

 Ani Rose loved the playground equipment they had along the boardwalk.

 So did Norrin :).

 Taking a short break in the sand.

Norrin was so busy all day that he looked like someone shot him by the time he drifted off to sleep at night.

 Liney on the ferris wheel at the boardwalk.

 Norrin pretending to be scared.

 The little kids on the spinning bears.

 The bad idea-  Norrin insisted on going on this ride.  He came out crying.  It was really scary.

 Prizes he won- a pirate patch and a spider.  Good thinking on Da's part to put it on the good eye...just like the good old days of patching :).

 Henry and Norrin....best buds.

Ani Rose stole Liney's glasses.

 And she wore them well.

It was crazy and a bit chaotic having a vacation with another family, but it was the way to go.  The kids totally entertained themselves, we didn't have to search for new friends every day at the beach and for the most part, they got along.  It was never quiet and I wasn't able to drink my coffee without the company of at least one person, but Todd was his usual awesome self and got me out for a little yarn shopping.  In fact, Todd and Ed went above and beyond in the kid wrangling department and I'm pretty sure the vacation would not have gone nearly as well without them.  The week flew by and I miss the beach already.  I ended up getting sick on the last day and have the absolute worst cough, but at least I held together for the majority of the trip :).  Perfect way to end our summer.