I am not sure that the word VACATION can be used to define any trip taken with children under the age of 2. The beach is a relaxing trip that John and I look forward to every summer. The past three years were a breeze. We hopped on a plane and arrived in Myrtle Beach 3 hours later. We had kids that slept though the night, and only 1 baby at a time. We knew this summer would a challenge because of the twins, but we tried to remain optimistic. Flying wasn’t an option due to all of the stuff the comes with having 3 small children. So a road trip it was!

We did it! 1110 miles. 16 hours and 17 minutes. Who am I kidding? It ended up taking us 22 hours and 38 long minutes. Every 3 hours we would stop. Unbuckle 3 car seats, change 3 diapers, feed 2 babies, fix a cup of milk for Jettie, try to put Jettie back in her seat, buckle 3 car seats. Oh yeah, and get gas! I hate to admit it but I would bribe Jettie to get back in her seat with coffee. The child loves her coffee. Bad parenting maybe, but I pick and choose my battles. You would do the same if you ever had a Jettie. The last hour seemed like an eternity. The twins were screaming, Jettie was tired of sitting, and I had to pee! But we finally made it. Arriving with the windows down and the smell of the beach air flowing through the car seemed to silence the cries of the tiny humans. Now our vacation could really begin!

We unloaded the trailer, yes trailer, and spent the rest of the afternoon resting. At least as much rest as you can get with a 1 1/2 year old that has been cooped up in a car for the last 22 hours.

The next day we headed off to the beach. I say that as if it were as simple as putting on bathing suits and heading out the door. Nope. We had to make bottles, pack snacks, towels, toys, a tent for the twins, a fan for the tent, and seats for the twins to lay in. Once we had all of that taken care of, we put our swimsuits on, applied sunscreen, and headed out. Getting ready to go was one thing, carrying everything was another. By the time we walked the block from the beach house to the beach and got everything set up I was exhausted. That was ok though because, while John and Julia headed out for a round of boogie boarding, I could spend the next few hours sitting in my chair listening to the waves sing my favorite lulaby. I could enjoy a peaceful beach nap. Wrong! Here’s the thing with Jettie, everyone sitting within 40 feet of us became her friend within a matter of 10 minutes. She thought she would help the family next to us with their game of corn hole by placing the bean bag in the hole for them every time they missed. She tried to help a little girl behind us “make a few improvements” to her sand castle. She attempted to play soccer with the little boy in front of us. And by play I mean steal his ball and run away. Jettie absolutely loved the beach, and I am pretty sure sand became a new food group for her.

We visited the beach almost everyday and enjoyed a family night on the boardwalk. Jettie got to ride carnival rides for the first time and Julia even tried out a few new ones. We ate yummy seafood. Jettie tried roasted oysters and liked them. Although I never got to take a single beach nap this year, all of the exhaustion was worth it to see the look on Jettie’s face as she got to experienced the ocean for the first time. The 10 days we were there seemed to fly by and drag on at the same time. I couldn’t wait to be back home with my organized bottle station, and I was most definitely ready for Jettie to be sleeping in her own room again. But I was going to miss waking up and spending the entire day with family, and I wasn’t looking forward to sleepless night followed by my 3am alarm clock.

On our drive home we shaved off 4 hours. The kids did surprisingly well. We made it home and it was back to reality. By reality I mean never ending piles of laundry, alarm clocks, and work. Let’s just say I might need a little vacation to rest up from my vacation.

#loveyoulikepeaches