The First Week

We are back from vacation and are no longer slipping into watermelon bathing suits at 8:00 a.m.

There are no morning sprints down to the beach.

With boundless energy to greet the waves.

We had a wonderful vacation, and I have more photos than I can even contemplate.  Here are some of the highlights from our first week.

Orelia spent more time than ever in the waves this year.  It was a combination of the warm weather (and ocean), extremely wimpy waves, and just generally being a tad older.

Bennett became more in love with Daddy than ever before, and he is still waking up every morning screaming "DADA!"

We swam in the neighborhood pool almost every day.

The kids both loved their time there and seemed to get more comfortable in the water with each passing day.

When it's 90 degrees every day, the whole family gets in the pool

Orelia took a few swimming lessons while we were in Rehoboth and is getting so close to truly being able to swim.  It's a beautiful thing to witness.

Bennett mastered the art of eating on the beach.  He had a lot of practice.

Wherever this boy goes, he has a smile and a truck.

We visited Fun Land once during the first week, and Orelia took her motorcycle ride very seriously.

Bennett was surprisingly uninterested in the firetruck ride.

Orelia very much enjoyed her first (several) tastes of bubble gum.

Bennett found that the towels drying on the porch made for a wonderful game of peek-a-boo.

Our kids have pretty different interests at home, but on vacation they definitely shared a love of the beach and the pool.

And they both enjoyed quite a few games of tickles while their feet were in the sand.

It's funny how that wouldn't work so well at home, but when on a beach a kid is just a lot more likely to smile.

This was definitely Bennett's favorite vacation of his life, and it showed.

My parents arrived halfway through the first week, and Orelia was especially thrilled to see them.

Her enthusiasm was displayed by spontaneous dance recitals where she would freestyle for anyone watching.

Her song of choice: "Shake it Off," of course.

There's nothing like a beach recital.

It was a great first week, and hopefully one day I will get around to editing the second week of silly sun-drenched fun.