EI, EI, ooo ohhhh

So my bestie invited me to come the beach and stay the night so of course I pack up all our baby junk (including the ridiculous amount of beach stuff) and headed down to Emerald Isle to enjoy at least two full days of sun, sand, and water with my little beach bum.

This is just what we need for one night...

And this is what we need for the beach! 

My little beach bum had a great time playing, scooping sand, and sitting in her mini chair!!  She was so much fun and really into everything that she was doing.  It's like she was saying, "Go ahead Mom, have some fun...I'm cool."  

A little water to wash down all that sand.

After a few hours on the beach I thought Sutton might need a nap so I decided that she should take one on the beach in our pop-up tent. How hard could this be?!?!  I see people posting pictures on facebook all the time of their sleeping babies on the beach under an umbrella, with sun kissed cheeks, letting their parents enjoy the afternoon.  If you have been following this blog, I think by now we all know that my child is not at all predictable in these sort of matters.

Sutton, unfortunately did not get this memo...she was not going to lay down at the beach....puleassssse! So I did what most parents do...I carefully weighed my options and decided that I would surrender and put her to bed early.

Later that night after she was asleep we decided to play tequila-monopoly and listen to rap music...just like spring break (minus the baby).  The next morning Sutton and I hit the beach one more time before we headed back home!

Go to Jail, Do not collect $200 but take you punishment in form of a tequila shot. 

Let's Recap on the major lessons learned this trip....

1.  Pictures of sleeping babies on Facebook are a lie and probably really fell asleep after a lot of screaming, crying, wrestling, and rocking!

2.  When a friend invites you and you child to the beach for a quick trip, it is ABSOLUTELY worth packing up all your junk....GO GO GO!!

3. Babies like sand, and they will try and eat all of it.  Don't fight it.

4. Monopoly + wine + rap music = a guaranteed good time

5. No matter how much your friends says "Take this shot of Tequila, I'll get up early with you and the baby."  They wont, so don't take that shot!

A few weeks later Court's Internet was broken and she sent me these little gems while she was bored and playing on her phone.

She is her mother's daughter.

On the Road again...

So we got home from Panama on a Saturday and we were packed and in the car the following Friday all for this guy.....he's turning 75 and having a surprise birthday party!!

I have a special relationship with my Mommom and Poppop...I genuinely enjoy hanging out with them. They aren't your typical grandparents who can't hear you and smell like moth balls.  No folks, they are wine drinking, silly acting and smell like meatballs and Aramis (a cologne that will always remind me of my Poppop and his comb over).

Our time in NJ was limited because of our recent trip so we had to get the fun started quickly... This is where the truth serum made its appearance. We sat around the dining room table after dinner laughing, joking, dancing, and drinking wine.

Luke's impression of my Poppop saying "You breaka my name, I breaka your face!"

Top me off a little more of that truth serum, Jan!

Still got it after all these years...

Now some of you might be like "OMG, they just got back from an international trip and then they loaded their baby back up for an 8 hour drive for two days!!! Are they crazy?!?!?!"

Well the answer to that is simple....."Yes, yes we are crazy". I'm not going to sit here and lie to you...you're smart folks and would see through my BS from a mile away. That road trip was hard...but the fun we had was worth it. Definitely better than sitting at home letting our lives pass us by.

At the Surprise party, my brilliant family yelled "Surprise" at the top of the stairs....were they trying to give the guy a heart attack and then seal the deal by making him fall down the stairs? 

Here Fishy, Fishy...

After long days of playing and relaxing on the beach we headed back to our house to fish

a little before dinner.  We found some shrimp and Fortunato brought out the fishing poles and 

we loaded up for some serious fun!

We had two poles and Luke and Fortunato went first.  Before I could even open the 

Presidente that I had taken out of the cooler I hear someone shout, “I got one! I got one!

Quick, Ashley, go get the camera! Come quick!!”  So I put my cerveza down and scrambled

to get out the camera and ran over expecting to see some beautiful dorado (aka Mahi Mahi) 

or some other prize fish….

Well, it wasn’t dorado, and we couldn’t exactly eat it, but it was the first official catch of the 

day.  We all  took turns casting, catching, releasing, and drinking until we ran out of shrimp 

and cervezas.  

My first, and only, catch of the day.

Luke reeled in the prize fish of the day!!

We both caught a fish at the same time, but my fish broke the hook!!

Poor little guy....

I'm going to throw you back so you can get big....ok!?!?

So Fortunato brought a bouy that they paddled out on the surfboard  to see if we could catch anything further out....

And this is what we caught after all that work.....

Nothing.