Virginia vacation

We traveled to Virginia over the weekend to celebrate the wedding of my next-door neighbor when I was growing up. It was a little surreal to be at his wedding given I can still picture him at age 5, sitting on our doorstep and waiting for us to get off the bus. It was a beautiful backyard wedding, casual yet gorgeous (and how I'd redo our wedding if I could!). Deric and I had such a good time with my parents, Sarah and her friend from college. We laughed so hard over the smallest jokes and once we got going, everything was funny. Such a good night. Unfortunately my family all had to leave bright and early on Sunday morning--Sarah back home, my parents to Michigan-- so Deric and I had made plans to stay a few extra days and enjoy a mini vacation just the three of us.

^i just love this picture. definitely worth framing.

^teaching baby Joel how to play with trains

^relaxing with Grandad at the rehearsal dinner 

^a rare family photo: all three of us with genuine smiles

^at the wedding

We went to a small beach nearby both Sunday and Monday, staying through lunch and just long enough to get hot and sandy and ready to take a nap in the AC. The beach we visited was perfect for Jake: a small, shallow inlet with tons of boats passing just past the inlet. We saw sailboats, speedboats and jet skis, barges and a pirate-esque ship I'm assuming was some kind of tour. Jake was enraptured with all the boats, a nice change from the trains and airplanes he sees back home. The water was still pretty cold though so we weren't in it much, but he did eventually splash around in it.

^Jake worked hard to carry that bucket of water back to the umbrella 

(look at those little biceps..and his face!)

That first day, we forgot to grab Jake's hat and rash guard (did have sunscreen though, so not entirely negligent parents) so Deric dug a huge hole right under the umbrella to entice Jake to stay in the shade.  He played there forever, driving his trucks over tracks Deric made and building "tassels" (castles). We remembered all his gear the second day so Jake got to spend more time in the water and down at the shoreline. Jake and I also spent a good chunk of time devouring chips and "mock-a-moooolee" (guacamole). Chips, guacamole and a Coke at the beach is my kind of vacation!

^watching a boat sail by

^killin' some chips and guac!

^still snacking :)

 We ate dinner both nights with my former neighbors who have a little girl Jake's age. The kids played with bubbles and splashed around in the kiddie pool while we thoroughly enjoyed salmon the first night and shrimp the next. Man do I miss seafood! And then all too quickly we were back in the car playing DVD after DVD to keep Jake happy on the long eight hour drive, but it was worth it. Now that we live in a landlocked state, I realize I definitely didn't fully appreciate living on the coast all those years! Thankfully we'll always have reasons to head back to the coast whether its Michigan, Virginia, or South Carolina. We're not picky!