VACATION!!!

I'll start by saying that these past few days out of town went WAY TOO FAST!!! We had a wonderful time just getting away. We left on Thursday morning (not as early as I would have liked because we overselpt) and were beachbound. I took a ton of pictures...454 to be exact (I'm still addicted to my new camera). I figured I'd tell the story of our vacation thru pics...I have an entire list to post. Enjoy...
We arrived in Ocean City, Maryland on Thursday around 4pm. The first thing I did was roll my car window down and smell the Ocean air. We settled into the hotel (we stayed at the Dunes Manor Motel) and walked up to the boardwalk. Ian had his first view of the sand and the ocean and was in total amazement. Gary and Tyler walked him down to the water and as they got closer he started cooing. He really loves water.
Ian's first view of the ocean...

We enjoyed pizza from Milano's pizza on the boardwalk, did some shopping, bought some chocolate from the Kandy Kitchen, and headed back to the room. Gary and Tyler then headed out to play mini golf and ride some go carts.
Chocolate covered strawberries...yum

Friday we went for breakfast at a pancake house...i never realized breakfast could be so expensive. Our bill was almost $40 and it was nothing fancy...just your typical breakfast. We then headed to the beach. Gary and I ventured down to the water with Ian and decided that the water was too cold for us to enjoy. Tyler didn't seem to mind. He spent the majority of the afternoon in the ocean. Ian was content to just have his feet in the sand. I don't know if it was the sound of the ocean or what, but Ian ended up sleeping for almost 2 and a half hours while we were there. Tyler then decided that he wanted to be buried in the sand. I think this is disgusting...all that sand yuck.
The first time Ian has "touched" the ocean water

He loved his feet in the sand

where'd Tyler go?

the after effects (he had to wash off in the ocean at least 5 times)

the beautiful view

After the beach it was time to get ready to go to dinner...AND WE WERE GOING TO PHILLIPS!!! I look forward to this retaurant every time I'm at the beach. The food was amazing (as usual) and we all ate way too much. After we ate we headed back to the boardwalk for some more shopping and just walking. We started at the beginning of the boardwalk this time. Tyler even played a game and won...he is enjoying tell anyone that will listen that he "beat some old guys". He got a kung fu panda for his prize (he loved that movie). Ian and I stood and watched this sling shot ride...it was kind of a reverse bungee ride. It was a nice relaxing evening.
Tyler with his prize (the game he won at is behind him)

Saturday we headed to the beach again...however I thought it was pretty windy and kind of cold (I was wrapped up in a towel) so we headed back to hit the pool. The hotel next door has an indoor / outdoor pool that we had access to (it's still the dunes just the upscale hotel instead of the motel that we stayed at). Ian, once again, loved the water. He even was trying to get himself to his belly and was kicking his legs the whole time. I truely think he is happiest when he's in water. And of course Tyler was swimming all over the place. He's another one that loves the water.
My beach bum

Ian in the pool

i think i should look into swim lessons for this water critter

While on the boardwalk (I can't remember if it was Friday or Saturday) I took notice to a couple of things...the sand sculptures and the firemans memorial / tribute. The sand sculptures are always religious and even though I'm not a very religious person, I think the sculptures are amazing. The fireman's memorial / tribute was interesting to look at and read.
the sand sculptures



fireman's memorial / tribute

This piece of steel from the World Trade Center was also there. I found this very interesting...I even made Tyler take the time to come look at this. (He is old enough that he kind of remembers 9/11 but really only knows what he's been told or has seen). Here's the piece of steel and the reading that was with it...


So it was Saturday night and time to leave on Sunday. Here's the boys relaxing in the motel one of the nights. Not sure which night it's from but it's one of the few pics I actually got of them together

So it's now Sunday...technically the end of our vacation...until we decided to extend it by a day. We headed over to Ocean City, New Jersey to visit our sister in law and our nieces. Gary's brother was out of town (flying spoiled rich people somewhere) so we didn't get to see him but the trip was definitely worth it. We took the Cape May-Lewes Ferry from Deleware to New Jersey. This is something that is probably really worth doing if you're in the area. It was pretty rocky and rough which they did warn us about but if I survived it anyone can...click here for the website. Here are some pics that I took while en route on the ferry
boarding

My boys

a lighthouse we passed (not sure which one this is)

We had a blast in New Jersey visiting our sister in law (Kim) and our nieces (Kaitlyn, Megan, Morgan, and Madison). We went over to OC and had Mack's pizza, walked on the boardwalk, shopped, went to the mall and shopped some more, and just caught up on things. I'm so glad that we finally got to try this Mack's pizza that Kim talks about (and eats haha) all the time. It really was good. Definitely gonna get more when we're out in July.
How excited does she look to be spoiling eh holding Ian?

Tyler with the triplets

All the kids at the mall play place


So that was our vacation. We even managed to get thru it with noone getting sunburn. Now it's time to get back to reality...laundry, cleaning, bills...I should have stayed at the beach.