Last week we spent a lot of time reciting the first line of her song Starships: “Let’s go to the beach, each, let’s go get away.” Why? Because we were at the beach, that’s why. Surprise! And since a bunch of you have asked what we did for our fifth anniversary (which happened to fall over our family beach vacation) we’re here to fill you in. You know we love sharing lovey dovey stuff and road-tripping stuff alike.
Last week was our annual family vacation to Bethany Beach along the Delaware coast (where we go with a bunch of relatives to spend time together as one big group). And since this year’s beach week just happened to start on our 5th wedding anniversary, we took various moments throughout the trip to celebrate half-a-decade of marriage. Starting first and foremost with our little anniversary tradition: snapping a family portrait.
We actually took it at home before hopping on the road for Delaware (since who knew how pretty / sane we’d be after the five hour car ride with a pooch and a toddler). These pics are some of our favorites.
We even got Burger into the mix for a few.
And you can see a bunch of outtakes over here on Young House Life.
But it was the first photo – where we all had the most natural smiles (since we were actually laughing) and with a vertical crop possibility (since the frame we needed to fill is vertical) – that earned the spot on our wall with the other four anniversary photos that we mentioned in this post about our little annual tradition.
Beyond taking those photos, packing and driving ate up most of our celebration time on the actual 7th of July. But with a week at the beach ahead of us, we didn’t mind. Especially since the week prior was one of those crazy get-as-much-done-as-possible weeks (we do our best to double up on projects so we can blog throughout the week while we’re gone – and so we don’t come home in a panic after vacation). I did “surprise” Sherry with a stop at one of her favorite roadside shopping spots as an anniversary adventure on our way to the beach though. This is the Ole Sale Barn in Maryland where we found the L-turned-7 in our office last Labor Day.
Sherry did buy something there, but we’ll save news on her spoils (and other beach-y shopping adventures) for another post. Well, scratch that. She wants me to show you what she got, so here it is:
Yup, it’s a giant basket that she wants to turn into a hanging light. Such a cool find. It was actually hung from the ceiling (it’s a giant warehouse in there) so Sherry was so excited that she even spotted it among all the chaos. More pics of that trip (and other beach shopping trips) to come!
But we’ll also share another one of our purchases – since it was our only physical anniversary gift to each other. See it there below? It has already been added to Clara’s frame collage.
Yup, it’s a little painted wooden whale sign that we snagged at a shop called Mod Cottage in Rehoboth Beach. We both really liked it and it seemed fitting since “wood” is the traditional 5th anniversary gift (it’s fitting that we’re building a wood deck right now too, huh?). Plus, it sort of symbolizes our main non-physical anniversary gift to each other: our trip to Hawaii earlier this year (where we went whale watching with Clara who had the best time ever).
So we’ll have more shopping pics later this week, but you may have caught a couple of sneak peeks on our Instagram feed already (you get to see these pics in real-time by following us on Facebook and Twitter, even if you don’t have an Instagram account). More on these guys once we go through the other 200 photos that we shot of various pretty things on our travels…
We opted to make this a “working vacation” – aka, we kept posting regularly (even from the beach sometimes) – since we already took a week off in March for Hawaii. That was our first blog vacation ever since YHL starting in 2007, so we’re still easing into the idea of putting posts on hold (we also had book tasks, like finalizing our cover, which we had fun doing while we were gone too). Maybe we’ll take off two weeks in 2013. Crazy talk, we know.
But let’s talk about the beach. Yes, this is the face Sherry makes when she’s approving comments from a lounge chair.
Even if we had wanted to leave work behind, sights like this wouldn’t let us. I saw this baby rolling down the beach to add new “No Smoking” signs and couldn’t help but have post-hole-digger envy. Where were you a few weeks ago when I was digging deck holes???
But Clara’s always pretty good at snapping us out of work mode, both at home and at the beach (where it’s always welcomed). And when we were working, Clara had plenty of company to keep her busy. We were there with my parents, two of my three sisters (plus a brother-in-law and sister’s boyfriend), two nephews, one niece, and two cousins with their two kids. Oh yeah, plus two dogs. Having four kids under the age of four made for a bit of mania at moments, but for the most part is just made the week all that much more fun.
But if you ask Clara the most fun thing at the beach it was jumping off of the boogie boards. Onto dry land of course.
Seriously, the girl did it for hours.
Since we were too exhausted from the drive on our actual anniversary, we made time for a date night in the middle of the week. Once Clara was in bed (and others were in the house to keep an ear out for her), we ducked out to a nearby seafood place called Bluecoast to spend an anniversary gift card from my parents.
We had already munched on some dinner at home with the family, so we ordered the things that we usually never find room to order – an appetizer (shrimp dumplings, seen below), two desserts (key lime pie and bread pudding) and drinks (mojito for Sherry, Sprite for me). Then we capped the night off with a stroll along Bethany’s boardwalk and a little window shopping.
Since we ended up getting an appetizer that required chopsticks, we earned ourselves another sentimental souvenir for our little collection back at home (more on that here).
Actually, we should’ve talked about the pool first, since that’s where we spent the first few days (between working on the blog while we were gone and Clara’s afternoon nap, we didn’t even make it to the beach until our fifth day of vacation!!). So we were happy to have a pool nearby to give Clara an hour or two in the water without trekking down to the beach after getting the morning post up and manning comments (which would have left us just enough time to turn around and go right back home for her nap).
And since barely anyone was there, we often had the baby pool completely to ourselves.
Well, us and Clara’s entourage of Barbie dolls.
Clara has recently grown a strong distaste for getting anything above her neck wet, so most of our time was spent “watching” the Barbies “jump” into the pool. Which meant Clara just counted to a random number (like four or nine) and chucked them into the water.
Sometimes Barbie was naughty and needed a timeout in the filter.
After seeing me flick a plastic fish toy out of the water with my foot, Clara was determined to do it too. Wish I could say she had succeeded, but really this is just her holding it on her toe and then flinging it with her hand.
This was the closest thing we got to swimming. And it lasted all of 30 seconds.
But we did eventually make it to the beach. And again, given a certain someone’s predilection for a dry head – this is as close to the water as she got. But she loved the ocean in Hawaii, so we’re confident it’s just one of those kiddo phases and she’ll be back in the surf again soon.
Fortunately the sand held plenty of hours of entertainment. Especially when other visitors had left giant holes that just begged to be climbed in.
That’s our cousins’ daughter Elsa, who just turned three, playing with Clara. I love this shot of them because it feels artsy for some reason. Like it would be sold on 20 x 200. Okay, maybe I’m stretching a bit. But Sherry took it, so this is not me patting myself on the back.
The sun definitely brought out the blonde in Clara’s hair.
Which, in case you haven’t already noticed, has been recently cut. The sides and the front don’t grow – just the back (which = mullet) so Sherry snipped that off. But we’re both chomping at the bit for that fateful day when the top and the sides decide to grow in and this girl can have a more girly do.
And by “chomping at the bit,” I mean “awkwardly posing in a sand hole.” I think I’ve found my new Facebook profile picture…
One benefit of Clara’s aversion to H2O is that de-sanding her is much easier.
So much easier that apparently I had energy left to de-booger. This is love people.
We even managed to snap another family portrait before Clara had a you-promised-me-ice-cream-but-now-insist-on-taking-my-picture induced meltdown.
So you probably know how this story ends…
Besides just beaching it up, we also took a few bikes rides. I have no pictures of us on bikes to prove it, but I shared two of our bike ride destinations on Instagram already. Like this one when I took Clara to the playground one morning while Sherry was getting the post up and answering comments.
And this one that we all took one evening. Surprise: it ended in ice cream. You may notice a lot of our adventures end that way.
The house that we rented had a canal right in its backyard, which meant we got to take my dad’s tandem kayaks out for a spin right from home.
It was a blast. We got a bit of exercise, took some sneak peeks at everyone’s backyards from the canal, and Clara didn’t try to stand up and capsize the boat once. It was win-win-win.
You’d think after years of blogging Sherry would’ve learned to keep her thumb off the camera lens. Nope.
The night after our little dinner date night was spent as a big family night out in Rehoboth Beach.
We once again hit up the kids’ favorite spot: Funland.
Since most of the kiddie rides were old hat for Clara (having done them over Memorial Day for the first time) after she had fun with those again, we tried out some new ones – like the mini Ferris Wheel.
Admittedly, it stopped a lot to load people in and get people out, so there wasn’t all that much riding. In summary: it was nothing to write home about. Though I guess I did just write about it in a blog post. But I couldn’t resist sharing that picture of $herdog. In a cage. In the air.
But as of Saturday afternoon, we have officially returned to the real world. We’re obviously missing vacation, but also happy to get back into the rhythm of regular life. Clara is still asking to go to the beach each morning, so we may have to break down and get her a boogie board just so she can jump off of it out in the yard (you know, to tide herself over until our next beach trip).
What’s the scoop on your summer vacation or your anniversary this year? Have you gone anywhere? Or are you one of the lucky ones with it still ahead of you? Either way – is it someplace new or a tried-and-true traditional location? Is it just with your honey (or your dog/kiddo?) or the whole extended fam? If you’re not going anywhere this summer, do you have any fun fall or winter plans on the horizon?
Psst- You can check out over 30 road trip/vacation posts here in our On The Road Again archives.
Psssst- Joss & Main is doing a best-of collection for a few DIY-related bloggers and a few of our past picks made their little “encore collection.” We really like the things everyone else picked too, and are so flattered to be included among such awesome fellow bloggers.
Kelly says
Love Bethany Beach!! Do you guys stay at Bear Trap Dunes?? We stayed there this past month and it was beautiful.
YoungHouseLove says
We have a family friend who stays there – it’s so nice!
xo,
s
Stephanie says
We leave for Hilton Head this Sunday for our annual trip! Can’t wait! It’s usually just an “all girl trip” (Mom, me and sisters) but this year I’m taking Mom, hubby, oldest son and his girlfriend. So this is an “all adult vacation”!Youngest son doesn’t want to go as there is no wi-fi in the condo and he doesn’t enjoy fishing or the beach. Anybody want a 17 year old who doesn’t want to be seen with his parents? LOL
Liz H says
so funny about the boogie board! my little guy (a month older than Clara) just spent a week doing that on our vacation too ;) thanks for all your hard work to keep the blog updated all the time!
Karyn says
I love this post, Clara stories make me laugh out loud! Eric and I spent our second anniversary at our family beach vacation in Duck, NC. Seeing as we got married there during a family beach vacation and we take it at the same time every year we are lucky enough to have the people we love around us to help us celebrate!
Tracey says
a.) Sherry, I love you holding Clara’s arm down with the vulcan death grip while smiling so beautifully and genuinely in that first family photo. That’s talent, girl!
b.) Uhm, John. You’re awesome. My hubby does that exact same pose and every time he does it’s the funniest thing on earth. He just did it the other night. My daughter and I were brushing our teeth and he came in and put his leg up on the toilet. We call it “Doing the Scott Stapp.” Years and years ago my mom and I were watching MTV and a Creed video came on and Scott Stapp (the lead singer) did that crotchy lunge on one of the speakers (subwoofers?) My mom got up and immediately did the same in her bulky sweatpants. A-ma-zing!!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Hahahah- so funny! I definitely have that grip going on in that pic but Clara is somehow still laughing hysterically! Go figure. And that post. Best ever. Your hubby should trademark it before it gets played out. Haha.
xo,
s
Laura says
What fun anniversary traditions! Last year was our 5th and we went to Montana (from Texas) for a friend’s wedding and stayed to see Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. This year, we’re just going to be low-key and stay at a boutique hotel downtown. We’ve never done that before, so that should be fun!
Kim says
We’re also going to the beach! We leave for Wildwood Crest, NJ this Saturday and we. can’t. wait!!! Our two girls (8 and 4) are so excited to swim in the pool and the ocean – my oldest likes to boogie board with her old mom :) We usually go with my hubby’s family which the girls love b/c they can play with all their cousins, but the last 2 years each family has done their own thing. Kinda sad but kinda nice sometimes too. Seeing your vaca pics made me even more excited for our vacation!!! Glad you had a great time :)
YoungHouseLove says
Wahoo! Wildwood! Used to go there as a kiddo every year!
xo,
s
Courtney says
Hey guys, I love your blog!! I usually don’t leave comments but we were recently on the beach and my sister pinned something on pinterest that we tried and it worked like magic! When you have sand (even that super sticky wet sand) on your skin you just put a little baby powder on it and rub it and it comes off in seconds. It is a little late but at least next time you can bring some along! Take care.
YoungHouseLove says
Love that tip Courtney!
xo,
s
Heather @ What Does She Do All Day? says
We usually do an anniversary trip, but since I’ll be 38 weeks pregnant at the time it’s not happening. Luckily we have a wedding in NC to attend, so we’re making it a vacation while we’re there. I can’t wait!
Heather says
I’ve been following your blog for a couple days now! Just checked out today’s post and was happy to see the kid’s boat ride from Funland! Don’t you just the love naked mermaid that sits in the middle of the ride! She is scary!! My son got in trouble twice this summer for putting his hand in the water. He’s 4, he knows better! I’m in Indiana, and we travel to Rehoboth every summer.
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh he got in trouble?! Clara daringly does it but no one seems to notice. Maybe she’s so small she flies under the radar. Haha. And yes, nekkid mermaid be crazy!
xo,
s
Arianna says
Happy Anniversary! I read some blogs where they set up guest posts for when they go on vacation, why don’t you guys set those up instead of just not posting or having working vacations?
YoungHouseLove says
It can be a lot of work to orchestrate those (we don’t typically host guest posters so we’re not great at it, haha) and we’d still have to approve comments throughout the week (we get crazy amounts of spam if we just auto approve comments, so they have to be moderated to delete the crazy/scandalous porno spam, etc!). Maybe someday we’ll figure out how to make them work for us!
xo
s
shell says
God I love that girl! She is so full of personality! but of course, 2 is my fave age..theyre a handful, but with it comes a million unexpected, adorable twists! You guys did a great job though, she really is special :)
ah well im heading off to my home town, montreal quebec, canada in two weeks! going to have some much needed time with the family, and going to see my best friend get married! thats about all the vacation i get to take lol. one day ill go to a new exciting place! lol xox
Carla says
Im not sure if this was already mentioned, but a few years ago Oprah featured a family that lost their son when he jumped into a hole someone dug in the beach. The sand collapsed on top of him, and because it kept in-filling despite the hard work of tons of people trying to free him, he died. Apparently sand holes are very unstable, even shallower ones. Oprah and the family wanted to publicize what happened in the hopes of saving other lives. I hope you don’t mind this comment. That story really stuck with me.
YoungHouseLove says
So scary! Thanks for the tip! A few others have linked to an article about a similar scare (the boy was saved) – very enlightening.
xo,
s
Heidi P. says
Holy cow! That’s crazy! How aweful!
Carla says
Even if the hole is waist high to a young child, the weight of the collapsing sand can knock them over and bury them instantly. By the time someone realizes the child is missing, it could be too late. Sickening to think about.
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, so scary! I had no idea.
xo,
s
Amy says
I am leaving in 2 weeks to join my husband in China after his school internship there ends. I have never been to Asia but now know I will be writing down our memories on chopsticks to save! :) Thank you for the idea! Your family is beautiful.
Vanessa Gasca says
Happy Anniversary and so glad you enjoyed some much deserved time off.
trish says
Sherry you are just so darn photogenic….and John you aren’t too bad yourself! Looks like Clara had a great time and with a beach involved, how could you go wrong. Kids just love the beach, in the water or out. I spent every day there with my kids and have such great memories. Glad you all enjoyed yourselves!
Cristina S. says
We were away the same week in Panama City Beach, Fl. A local called us crazy for traveling there (we’re from Miami) but we definitely needed some time away from the city :) plus having the entire family together for a week was awesome!
Next week we leave for a more private Vacay to celebrate the beaus bday… Heading to LA this time!
Randa says
So fun! We’re thinking of spending a weekend in Charlottesville this November for our anniversary / birthday (we’re the ones with the “trifecta” of having all three events on the same day). We’d love to spend time at the downtown mall area, and also see Monticello. Sounds like we might also have to check out the ice cream at Arch’s per John’s tip above. :)
Random note: as I was reading this post my eye caught sight (on the “we’re digging” panel to the right) of a Lifefactory glass water bottle that we own & love. Hubby dropped his several times and we were SURE it was cracked, but so far it lives on. We got ours last August during a “buy three get one free” deal on Amazon, so we got two for ourselves and extra for our sisters. One tip if you do buy it: every now & then it’s great to pull the rubber gasket out of the lid (using a toothpick to pry it out) and wash and dry that really well. Otherwise it can start to smell a little funky in the lid area. :) Nothing a good “clean & dry” process can’t fix.
YoungHouseLove says
Love that! Thanks for the tip!
xo,
s
Randa says
You’re welcome, and wow – I just noticed Lifefactory came out with a flip-top version!!! http://www.amazon.com/Lifefactory-22-Ounce-Glass-Beverage-Bottle/dp/B0070TZ7UM/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1342707439&sr=8-5&keywords=lifefactory+16+oz+flip+top
YoungHouseLove says
Wahoo!
xo,
s
YoungHouseLove says
Wahoo!!
xo,
s
AnnMarie says
I’ve been singing it as “let’s go to the beach, beach let’s go catch a wave” hahaha nothing like making up your own words!
YoungHouseLove says
Me too!
xo,
s
Raylan says
Spent last week in the Virgin Islands. It was our fist time visiting and we can’t wait to go back to The Baths on Virgin Gorda. Seriously….if ever get the chance, that alone is worth the trip. It’s breathtaking there!
Hubby & I are headed to NYC next month. Since you’ve lived there, got any suggestions for must-visit (and affordable) home stores?
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, everything is different than it was a half-decade ago when we lived there but we loved going to CB2 and Muji and ZGallerie! Other small shops down near Chinatown (on Broadway in Soho) are fun too!
xo,
s
Laura says
You should try Northeast Seafood next time you go to Bethany. It’s the same owner as Bluecoast and it’s DELICIOUS!
YoungHouseLove says
Mmm, sounds awesome.
xo,
s
Heidi P. says
Those family photos – could Clara get any cuter?!
This post was so funny. I died laughing at John’s lunge. And that he called you $herdog. hahaha.
Love the artsy shot. And I think you should frame the pic of Clara eating ice cream in front of the corrugated metal.
Happy Anniversary, you sneaky, cute people!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha thanks Heidi!
xo,
s
Lauren says
Looks like you guys had a great time! I’m super jealous… I’d like to relax on the beach soon! Too funny about the “naughty Barbie in the filter!”
Anne @ itsabaltimorelife says
Yall seriously have the best traditions! I love the family pictures!!
Misty says
Happy Anniversary you two!!! It looks like y’all had a grand time!
We went on vacation this past weekend. We celebrated our oldest sons 7th birthday at Legoland and The Florida Aquarium! We had so much fun that I didn’t want to return home. That is until I remembered I was returning home to a new bedroom. While on vacation my best friend wanted to give my husband and I a surprise bedroom makeover for our 10 year anniversary. Our anniversary isn’t until September but she knew this is the only way to do it so I couldn’t peek. Haha!
We were told to hand over the money and she would do the rest. We had no idea what our room was going to look like. She did a amazing job and I still can’t believe that our room could actually be so beautiful!
So we went on vacation, celebrated our sons birthday and our anniversary all in the same weekend! So much fun!!!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so exciting! What a fun gift!
xo,
s
Megan @ Two Live Colorfully says
The new family photo is so adorable! Looks like ya’ll had a great time on vacation.
My and my hubby are scheduled for a family vacation in about two weeks and we can’t wait!
Nicole says
I just love your anniversary photo tradition and wish we had thought of that! Of course, its not surprising b/c you two do so many creative and fun things!! Thanks for sharing!
Sarah says
Just saw this on Desire to Inspire and thought of Sherry’s new purchase. Can’t wait to see how/where you use it!
http://www.desiretoinspire.net/blog/2012/7/18/stalking-a-suburban-resort.html
YoungHouseLove says
Gorgeous!!
xo,
s
Claudia says
omg how fun – LOVE that first pic you guys like, I just took 20+ pics of my boys and not ONE was “grandma portrait worthy” if you know what I mean. Most of our outings lately involve cupcakes – heck, it’s summertime!!!
[email protected] says
We took our vacation to Rehobeth/Bethany area last week too! While I was there I thought how neat it’d be if I ran into you 2! Oh well I guess I missed ya. But speaking of that hot air balloon ferris wheel. We had to take my 2 1/2 yr old nephew to funland of course and we witnessed a 7 ft tall man weighing probably 275lbs riding in it with his son. I almost died laughing because as you know they are barely big enough for the kids!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw man, sorry we missed you!
xo,
s
Paula Koziol says
Have you heard of the best way to “de-sand”!?! Sprinkle a little baby powder and the grains just brush off! Especially between the toes…
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, it’s so smart!
xo,
s
Vanessa says
Happy Anniversary! We just celebrated our fifth anniversary as well. We’re doing portraits this Saturday … in my wedding dress … at our newly purchased home! It’s gonna be big fun. Congrats again! Love that chopstick tradition, btw.
YoungHouseLove says
SO cute!
xo,
s
Crystal says
My hubby and I just celebrated two years on June 26th (so I guess it’s not “just”…jeez how time flies!) but we decided a little while back that every vacation we would go somewhere new! There’s so much world to see, we figure it’d be wasting it if we went to the same place every time. (Although when we have kids that may change, who knows!) So this year we’re going to Memphis, TN (we had to wait until our schedules died down, so we’ll prolly be going in August) to see the Gibson Guitar Factory and the Memphis Zoo! We’d love to take a big trip soon..maybe take a page out of the Petersik handbook and go to Hawaii!
YoungHouseLove says
I love that tradition of somewhere new!
xo,
s
Shereen says
My hubby and I are on vacation for 5 weeks doing Spain, morocco and Portugal! Unfortunately I have to stay connected to work Durin our holiday but really its no big deal because hello I am in morocco right now an not in my cubicle ;) there are so many unbelievable finds here (we just left Marrakech after 3 days in 47 degree CELCIUS heat and are at the coast town of Essaouria). Yay summer vacation! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Wow- that’s amazing! Have such a good time!
xo
s
Wendy says
In our house, Clara’s updo was called a “whale tail” :)
YoungHouseLove says
So cute! My mom calls it “Fountainhead”!
xo,
s
malissa says
Fun trip! My husband and I share an anniversary with you and we went to Austin this year. It was a blast! The park there has a lot of fun thinglike canoes and bikes to rent as well as a natural cold spring. They have tons of weird little shops and the food truck scene down there is legit! You can eat some amazing food for super cheap. We even bought a living social deal to have our pictures taken professionally for $65 including two 8×10 prints.
YoungHouseLove says
We have heard amazing things about Austin! I can’t wait to check it out!
xo,
s
Rachel says
You guys looked like you had a blast! Jealous!!!
You guys have the right idea about renting a place to stay on vacation. Do you use a certain search website for the rentals you choose? Or how do you find them?
YoungHouseLove says
Thankfully since we’re such a big group there are usually a few people (John’s older sister and sometimes his parents) who like to do all that. We just show up and pay our share and we’re always happy with the place since we’re easy. I think they might use Home Away to find the rental?
xo,
s
Karen says
Clara is so cute on the beach! :) Love the Ferris Wheel so funny! I’m just back from a 2 week stay in Canada to visit my boyfriends mom, he came too of course! I’m from Ireland so it was a big trip… and my first time meeting his Mom & Grandma!
Abigail says
Looks amazing, I am jealous. We aimed to have a vacation by the lake, but the house projects exploded and with the heat wave and a tree falling so we had a stay-cation of house projects. Next year!
Michele @ Moonfield Lane says
Happy 5 years! You guys are just so darn cute. I love Clara in mid-jump off the boogie board. Two things: Apparently there’s a song called “Young Homies” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Homie.) I haven’t heard it but if you start to type in Young House Love in Google, it comes up. Made me giggle a little ’cause I thought it might make a good theme song ;) Also, do you get the Antique Farmhouse flash sale emails? The current sale has lots of cute bee-themed stuff.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, thanks for both tips! Hilarious and adorable (in that order).
xo,
s
Kim Hannemann says
OMG to coin a phrase. We STILL do Funland and our kids are 31, 28 and 24 and there are no grandchildren. The Funland staff draw the line at getting into the spaceships and shooting at each other, because they can’t go with 170 lb people in them.
Kim says
Great pictures! I love Barbie being banished to the pool filter, hahah. Just curious – would you guys ever consider relocating full time to the beach? I was born and raised in the Lewes/Rehoboth area and sometimes dream about moving back (all of the family is there!). When I think about having kids in the future, the pull to be closer to family seems all the more strong. Sherry, do you miss NJ and where you grew up? Would you ever move back to Jersey? ;o)
YoungHouseLove says
Oddly enough we love Richmond so much since a lot of our family is right here (two of John’s sisters and his parents) and my mom now lives in NY (which isn’t where I grew up, so it makes me less homesick I think since not many people are still in NJ). My dad of course still lives there, but many of my childhood friends now live in other states, so it’s sort of like the band broke up. Haha. We love the nice weather and the proximity to a lot of our family (and the fact that my NY mom and NJ dad like to travel down to VA to visit – especially when it’s snowy and cold up north). Haha.
xo,
s
Kim S says
We took a combined family trip (mom, dad, sister, sister’s boyfriend, mother-in-law, and father-in-law) over Memorial Day weekend. We did a 4 day cruise and had SO MUCH FUN. My husband and I planned it as a Christmas present for everyone, so I would have felt responsible if anyone was seasick the whole time or anything like that! Luckily, before the trip was even over, everyone was asking if we could make it a Memorial Day tradition.
As for our next vacation plans, my husband and I are headed to Australia/New Zealand for two weeks in December! I’m excited and maybe a little bit nervous…I’ve never been so far away and for such a long trip! I’m sure as it gets closer and all the plans are finalized, the excitement will overtake the nervousness. :o)
YoungHouseLove says
Sounds so awesome! Hope you have the best time!
xo,
s
smart momma says
hi sherry,
I am awarding you the “Sunshine Award” – your blog inspires me a lot…thank you..
To read about that, the link is here:
http://smart-momma.blogspot.com/2012/07/sunshine-award_18.html
huggies ***
smart momma
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks!
xo,
s
Tracey says
Love the beach. Hate the sand that follows you home, but learned a great trick to help the cause. I once read that baby powder gets rid of the sand very easily. Last time I was at the beach (Yes, the same beach you just visited! Such a great family fun spot!) I tried it and it really works. Just sprinkle and the sand just completely falls off with little or no effort. As for vacation, I’m spoiled and get 10 weeks off! I’m a teacher who loves June, July And August. I just got back from a 10 Day drive across the country to AZ and back.We went to pick up my dad’s car he no longer drives. It was 3 days driving out, 2 1/2 days visiting and 4 days driving back. Needless to say, not really a vaca, more like a chore. But my niece got a new used car out of it. We did the same trip last year but had more time to visit. We’ ll visit at Xmas, but will fly thank God.
YoungHouseLove says
Love that tip about the baby powder! Thanks to everyone who shared it!
xo,
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renee says
Thanks for the anniversary post; looks like an all-American vacation!
I just got back from two weeks touring Norway with my mom, sis in law and two nieces (ages 15 and 20). We met cousins for the first time and gasped at the stunning scenery there – just amazing!
Carly says
We’re going to Rehoboth beach for vacay in a couple weeks, so this is really exciting to read! Happy anniversary and thanks for sharing.
Karen says
My family used to go to Bethany every summer, but we haven’t since the kids (like me) started getting older and going their own ways. I miss it so much and now that I’m a mom I hope to take my son there to make memories of his own. In the meantime I love reading your posts about Bethany, it brings me back!
Kathy says
Mm, ice cream. What kinds does Clara like? I never liked ice cream until I was almost 10. Then I ate too much of it while living in Germany a few years ago, so I’ve been slowly making my way back. No crazy flavors for me… I got on the fruit-flavor kick in Germany and have stuck to it. Though I wish we had mango ice cream here in the States…
YoungHouseLove says
She likes regular old vanilla the most I think. Sometimes she goes for something interesting like Gingerbread or Cotton Candy though!
xo,
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Allie says
What a small world! I worked at Bluecoast every summer for over 10 years (even way back when it was called “Redfin”). How funny! Hope you enjoyed your trip to Bethany — we’ll be there next week!
YoungHouseLove says
No way- we loved it there!
xo,
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