Sand, Sun and Loads of Fun

It was another day for the memory books, so I'll waste no time getting to the good stuff.

First.....the Mullet catch of the week....so far....caught on fresh sand fleas in the surf. 

Apparently PA worms aren't as appealing to the larger fish population here. At least that's what the recent trends seem to imply as you might note as you read further on.

Now let's get to the real fun!    snuggling in the early morning

Maddie making muffins....blueberry... Yum!

After breakfast entertainment.

And, as you can see, another spectacular day!

Great Waves

with perfect rides.

Fish

Fish

and more fish.

Not quite as spectacular as the first photo, but fun, nonetheless, for this fisherman.

The sand crew got busy designing a unique sand creation.

Which resulted in a spectacular Baby Yoda that lasted until the tide came in.

But they weren't the only ones having fun in the sand!

Definitely an entertaining crew!  The twins were busy as well, but I didn't get any photos today.  Rest assured, they were enjoying some fun of their own in a makeshift "pool" under the tent.

After a full day at the beach, we headed to the house pool for awhile, then spent the evening relaxing with the littles.  There was some entertainment by PapPap

and a whole lot of cuteness from this little guy. It just comes SO easy for him!

Maddie showed off some of her creative artwork that she brought along.

How's that for talent?

We went out on the deck to take a few photos to end the day.  Don't worry, these three aren't going bananas, despite what their shirts might say.

And, really, can it get much cuter than this?

No need to answer that question.  We all know the answer to that!

We ended the day with a family game of Dixit before tucking everyone in for the night.

The perfect ending to another great day. Thanks for following along!

Spot On!

Today was a beautiful day for the beach, and the gang wasted no time heading out early in the day.

And, apparently, there were some other early risers with the same idea, although I do have to admit that this was the first time I've ever spotted a unicorn in the ocean.

How's that for entertainment?

The day was perfect for satisfying everyone's beach dreams

The catch of the day was spot, without a single mullet to add to the chart!

I know what you are thinking.....that's the same fish caught over and over again.  But, I can assure you that they are each from a different casting.  However, you might just be right about it being the same fish....who knows? But we'll just keep that possibility to ourselves.

There was some lounging and relaxation under the tent

and under the umbrella in the carefully carved sand castle as well.

As I mentioned yesterday, one of the twins has acclimated quite well to the water.  And she, along with her cousins and Dada, were playing a game where they would run to the water's edge

Then turn and run away from the ocean as soon as the waves crashed, screaming with delight as they scrambled away.

It was loads of fun, and we all tried convincing Sissy to do the same.  I even told her that I was scared as well and we could hold hands and try running in together.  I managed to get her to move about 6 inches before she turned and ran the other direction.   She decided that sitting under the tent, playing in a bucket filled with water, is much more suited to her idea of fun.

Perhaps she'll warm up tomorrow....who knows?

Part of today's excitement included these black helicopters flying along the shore.  They were close enough that we could almost see the people flying them!

After a full day at the beach, we headed back for some pool time, then, some electronic "downtime" where everyone played a game on their device.

Dinner was lasagna made by Stacey.

Delicious!   

Drinks were spritzes made by her husband.

Just Perfect!  Dessert was Cannoli Cake made by Gramma G.  No pictures, but you can be assured that it was Delicious!!

After dinner, we relaxed outside a bit on the deck.

And we were entertained by Finn playing the violin.

We all applauded when he finished, and, much to our surprise, the family across the road, hidden behind trees, applauded as well!   How fun is that?

The evening fun included glow sticks

which added to the aura of the inside dance party.

Oh my.....what fun was had by all!  It really was the perfect day for making memories.

Embracing The Moments

 If you are a frequent reader of my blog, you are quite familiar with many of my gallivanting adventures.  But let's face it.....gallivanting is definitely on hiatus.....and Lord only knows for how long?  I could consider changing the title of my blog to something like "Grateful Gramma" which is far better than Disgruntled Gramma.  But why bother taking the time for such formality?  Gallivanting is what you make of it, right? It doesn't have to be adventures around the world.  It can be something as simple as special moments with family. And that's just what today's blog features.   

You probably remember that every year we reserve a house at the beach for family enjoyment. It’s one week out of the year when we kick our feet up and relax, enjoying this special time that we know all too well rushes by way too fast. Shortly after beach week 2019 was complete, this year’s adventure was in the planning stages with a new rental home reserved way before year’s end. Little did we know what the new year would bring!

In anticipation of the week, we hunkered down, following every single Covid safety rule, and self isolating for two weeks prior to making this much needed trip.  

We arrived on Sunday, after a full day's drive, and immediately settled into some family fun.  As you can see, the table is super long

which was perfect for accommodating everyone for dinner!

And there was even was some delicious Ho Ho cake for dessert!

And a bedtime story from Pap Pap to help settle the day.

Then, it was off to bed in preparation for Monday's start of the week.

The day began bright and early with a beautiful sunrise captured right from our back deck. (well, to be quite frank, my son took this photo since he was much better at leaning over the railing to capture it than I.) 

This guy and his sister delved right into this puzzle and had it complete before breakfast was on the table!

 

That was certainly a fun way to begin the day.  But, while this was happening, PapPap G was already down at the beach, starting his mullet count.

Here he is with Mullet #1:

And, here he is with the one that got away"

Actually, it really wasn't all that big.  Honest.

By now, the gang had managed to make their way to the beach for a full day of fun!

This little one finally decided to brave the ocean with her Dada at her side

She even carried back her filled bucket!

Sissy was perfectly happy to watch by the sidelines.  She's still waiting for her "brave" moment.

In the meantime, there still a LOT of fun to be had with help from others!

As usual,  this little guy certainly kept us entertained!

While Uncle Jim reeled in a fish or two.

Ocean time was cut a bit short due to the presence of these creatures:  Jelly Fish.

The lifeguard sign states that they are not poisonous and that the sting only lasts 5 minutes.  Guess what? None of us wanted to test that theory, so we ended up heading up to the house for the remainder of the day.

But not before spotting this site not far from shore!

Evening at the house was equally entertaining with some "Hoot Owl Hoot"

Odie Maid with Gramma

And a gorgeous sunset seen right from the comfort of the house deck!

How awesome is that?

Tuesday's fun began with some one on one time with this early bird:

Then, before I knew it, the cousins were up and ready to make our annual Oreo Cookie Donut recipe.  So, I stuck that little guy right in the middle!  And he certainly seemed fine with that idea.

He watched his cousin pound those oreos

and, of course, he needed to get in on that fun!

And it certainly didn't hurt to get to taste one of those cookies while working so hard!

Then he watched carefully as his other cousin carefully poured the ingredients together.

And after about 10 minutes, the finished product was ready to be iced. The twins had joined us just in time to get in on the action. (I think that the yummy scents wafted down and woke them!)

As you can well imagine, those breakfast treats were enjoyed by all.  And Finn not only helped with the donuts, he even made the scrambled eggs!  And they were scrumptious as well. With all these cooks in the house, I might just get spoiled! 

With our tummies satisfied, we headed down to the beach to enjoy the day.  The jelly fish were gone, and you can see that these two made the most of the morning waves.

We were soon joined by the younger cousins.

who played so hard, they needed some time to recoup!

In the meantime, Pap Pap G was out in the surf, trying his hand at catching some more fish.  Finn has made up a spreadsheet for PapPap to keep tabs on just how many mullet he has caught.  I think he might be up to 6 or 7.  I'm not really keeping tabs, but I'll be sure to check in with Finn and ask him for the up to date count next time, just in case you are interesting.

In the meantime, here's the catch of the day

As someone duly noted:  the perfect size to bring home and drop in a fish tank.

But no worries there....we have no plans of actually keeping any trophy fish.

I'll try to keep you posted on any updates.  Thanks for following along!