Happenings of the Hong Household: Beach time!

We arrived home yesterday from a wonderful 4 day weekend at the beach. The weather was perfect... not too hot, not too cold. The company was wonderful. We had lots of time together as a family, and we stayed at a beach house with our close friends the Barr family.

This is a "before" shot on the day we left. I attempted to paint my toenails while watching Abby in the bath the morning before we left town. She was fascinated and began crying, "Abby turn! Abby turn! Abby toes... Paint!" After trying to distract her numerous times over the next hour as she kept returning to, "Abby turn! Paint... toes, paint!" I gave in. I was totally shocked by how still she sat while I painted her nails, and by how excited she was about it after. She walked around looking down at her little pink tipped bare feet. So, both of us girls went to the beach with freshly manicured toes. Now, onto the trip...

As soon as we arrived, the boys pulled out their trucks and got busy playing in their bunk room. While I call it "their" room, we quickly discovered everyone rested better if they fell asleep in separate rooms, so Jonathan got to cozy up in our big bed when it was bedtime.

Nathaniel and his special giraffe, looking down from the top bunk.

The bunk beds were a huge hit.

Lily enjoyed some play time outside with her Mama.

Soon we were off to the beach, with excavators, dump trucks, buckets and shovels in hand.

It was a long boardwalk for a toddler,

but Abby couldn't get there fast enough.

She enjoyed the sand as much this year as she did last year.

The seagulls were fun to watch and to chase.

I like this picture because I know a year from now her toddler profile will have changed entirely, and this photo saves the moment for me.

Jonathan enjoyed splashing around in the surf and the puddles.

The waves made Abby nervous, but she was happy up in her Daddy's arms.

A few good trucks were essential for a full beach experience. It is, after all, a giant sandbox.

Aaron had brought a fishing net, and the men took it out for a bit. They brought in a few dozen minnows, which totally delighted the boys.

Jonathan with two minnows in hand. More on Jonathan and minnows later.

These photos are a mix of a few days down at the beach. Of the time we spent down there, Saturday was by far my favorite day. In the morning, David and Aaron took the boys down to see an aircraft carrier. They had a blast.

Jonathan and Nathaniel came home just lit up about their adventure on the ship. While they were down at the ship, Abby and I spent a few delightful hours on the beach together and took the photos of her in the sundress. It was fun to see how much she enjoyed the sand and the water, chasing birds, and even digging in the dirt like her brother. That afternoon during Abby's (and Daddy's) naptime, Jonathan and I went back down to the beach. This 1:1 time with each of them was such a treasure.

Holding hands with Jonathan while making footprints together in the sand.

My iPhone went totally blurry and weird on me, but I still love this photo because you can see his silly smile while he did the "wiggle wiggle" dance to get his feet deep into the sand before the water rushed in.

Twisting some more wiggles.

Shot from below looking up while we wiggled our feet into the sand.

No swim suit on Saturday, because Jonathan was insistent he didn't want to get into the water and wanted to wear his favorite construction T-shirt (Thank You Aunt Atty!)... but of course he ended up playing "splashing baby lizard" in the water.

Sunday we visited a small local church and had a pleasant morning worshiping with the local congregation. In the afternoon, Abby and her Daddy spent a few hours down at the beach jumping in the waves and digging in the sand. They had a great time playing together, and she came back insisting on "More beach! More water! More splash!" That evening after we grilled hamburgers for dinner, the dads took the boys fishing. No words can describe Jonathan's excitement when he returned home (at nearly 10pm!) that night. The little guy couldn't sleep for at least another hour and a half (thank Goodness for a decent afternoon nap!). I hope to get the iPhone video of his fishing trip "debriefing" up in the next few days. Highlights include Mr. Barr's "BIG fish!" The boys were very impressed with Nathaniel's Daddy's catch (the only catch of the trip), which, by adult confession, measured between 2 and 2 1/2 inches long and was released to swim with its family.

I was concerned to see Jonathan had brought home two new "pets" in a water bottle. They got lots of whole-hearted hugs (in their bottle) that evening, but the adults in the house were worried that the objects of such affection didn't seem to be moving... at all. By God's good grace Jonathan has now been convinced that the minnows are better off at the beach close to their families, not far away in a big city. There were a few tears over the separation, but none to the magnitude I'd feared when I first saw the two floating lifeless "pets" brought home as treasures. Crisis more-or-less averted. And he has delightful memories of the trip.

Monday we all headed back down to the beach for a little more sun and sand before heading home.