Home again!

Our last day at the beach
After clearing out of the hotel rooms, we were able to get one last play time in at the beach before starting the drive home.  The clouds had moved in and there were scattered sprinkles of rain but the kids enjoyed themselves.  Then we loaded up our toys, cinched everything down and headed for home.

Hum-Dinger Hamburgers
As we were driving to the beach, I spotted a small hamburger restaurant near the Hoquim River.  After checking reviews online, I decided to stop there on the way back home.  I can't resist a tasty burger and milkshake.  The reviews said that if you were within 50 miles, it was worth making a detour to eat here.  I don't know that I agree with that but the shake was mighty tasty!

Green Smoothies
I didn't want to be without my green smoothies so before the trip, I made extras and froze them. I had enough to have a quart each day. I noticed something our last day at the beach. After eating praline pecan ice cream, creme brule cheesecake and chocolate peanut butter milkshakes, green smoothies don't taste so good! It's time to save goodbye to the sweets and hello to natural flavors.

Recap
I don't know how we managed it, but after 40 days of rain (hello Noah!), we had two beautiful sunny days at the beach.  Saturday the weather went down hill and by Sunday we were back to the rain.   We couldn't have planned the timing of the trip better!

As we were driving away from the beach Jacob told me that he didn't really understand why I was willing to take everyone on trips.  I asked him if I seemed especially stressed or aggravated on trips.  He told me it wasn't that, but it just seemed that trips are a lot of work for me.  I told him that they are a lot of work, but it's hard to make lasting memories when all you do is spend time at home.  I told him that when we adopted the kids, I told myself I'd never let the size of our family be my excuse for not doing something.  Even though going to the Ocean for spring break is more work than staying home, it's something I look forward to each year.

We got home and everyone helped empty the van and put things away.  Although it took a fair amount of prodding, in less than an hour, the van was empty, vacuumed and washed.  The bins were emptied and the washer was going.  Then, it was finally time to relax and start to recover from vacation!