family vacation

Ryan's vacation time is this week. We debated off and on if we should go somewhere for a family vacation. Finance reasons have kept us from committing to a vacation but just seeing the disappointment on Ryan's face Monday morning was enough to pack up and get out of the house for a few days. A coworker told Ryan about a beach he always takes his family to, not too pricey, so that's where we went... Rehoboth Beach in Delaware.

The drive was not bad, about three hours. Once there we unloaded our stuff into the hotel room and headed out to the beach. Wednesday was a bit overcast but the temperature felt great. It even rained a little but then stopped.

Ryan took Jonathan out and showed him how to Boogie board. We bought the board on Tuesday and all he could talk about was when he could boogie board. Needless to say he had a blast. Jonathan had a major spill in the water and became hesitant if boogie boarding was for him. While he rested, Ryan took Ella out into the ocean and she loved it. She giggled at the waves splashing her little body.

It was getting late so we went to our hotel, changed and went back to the boardwalk to get some food. We didn't know where to eat, wandered around aimlessly, and ended up going to Hooters... yes, Hooters. The food was actually pretty good even though I didn't eat much because Ella kept asking to use the bathroom. About halfway through dinner Jonathan whispered in my ear and asked me why they hired so many girls. I whispered back that it was to try and get boys to eat there. Ohhh. Towards the end of our dinner the boys started coming in and Jonathan quickly understood.

That night I put Ella to bed while the boys snuck off to swim in our hotel's pool. Ryan worked with Jonathan in learning how to swim along with floating. He was impressed how much Jonathan has improved. Still not an excellent swimmer, but getting there. It's nice the boys get moments like this together.

The next day was our full day at Rehoboth beach. They boys needed sandals so we went out to the outlets and luckily found some. Ryan's friend told us about a place with amazing donuts so we had to check it out... umm, you know, for the kids;)

The place is called Fractured Prune which has a local story behind the name. We were the only ones there so no worries in disrupting other customers. The donuts are made on the spot and you get to choose an icing and topping. Ryan and Ella were in heaven. We placed our orders and then enjoyed delicious warm donuts. We did save a couple which were quite tasty the next day since the donut was cooled off and more of the icing flavor came out. Kind of like eating pizza for breakfast the next day.




During the latter part of the day we headed out to the beach and met up with Ryan's coworker and his family. We ended up staying there four hours. I am not a beach person at all. I think that is a record for me. I took Ella out into the water while Jonathan caught some waves with Ryan. Ella enjoyed jumping waves. A few times she fell, a wave came, splashed her an then she would squeal with joy. I stayed out there as long as I could. A 35 week along pregnant lady's back has a limit of bending forward spotting a crazy two year old while bearing the extra belly weight. Luckily Ella became rather occupied on the beach destroying the other kids' sand castles, climbing into a water filled bucket and just playing in the sand. My back was able to get a much needed break until I took her out later. During all of this Ryan took off for a bit with his friend to do some surfing. It was challenging to catch a good wave but he had so much fun. All of us had a great, relaxing time.



By the end of everything, Ella was exhausted so we ordered in pizza... a suggestion made by Jonathan. We had so much fun at the beach, none of us had much to eat that day, just a few donuts and some snacks. Boy did the pizza taste delicious.

Our last day was filled with ups and downs. We went back to the boardwalk to Funland. Unfortunately we arrived two hours before the rides opened so the kids enjoyed playing some games. Ryan kept handing out coins and the kids kept playing. Jonathan hit the Jackpot and won 125 tickets. That gave him enough tickets to win a Bakugan... very exciting for a 6 year old boy. Ella played against daddy in some water game which she won and received a teddy bear! Ryan said she instantly hugged it but of course when she saw me, I was instructed to hold it for her. I ended up being a pack mule carrying everything. Well at least I was good for something because I couldn't go on the rides.

Oh, the rides. Ella had a first in going alone on a ride. She didn't know what to do at first but towards the end had fun. We then went on a carousel but Ella wanted off. I tried to comfort her and ended up getting stuck on the ride trying to keep some peace until the ride was over. Of course when it ended she wanted to stay on but I wasn't willing to take the risk. After that experience we tried feeding her popcorn to get something in her stomach hoping her mood would change. It did when we found a bounce/ ball pit where she had a blast. She played for quite some time while Jonathan climbed around the area for older kids. Both kids had fun.

Jonathan hitting the jackpot.

Ella's first ride by herself.


Out of all the rides, I enjoyed watching Jonathan go on some car ride that spun him around super fast then it stopped and spun him around backwards. He had the look of pure excitement/ joy on his face. Then I looked up and saw Ella with Ryan on a Ferris wheel and Ella had the same look on her face. She was enjoying her ride but also was waving at Jonathan. That moment just reinstated how Jonathan is no longer a little boy... just a boy and Ella is now our little girl, not a baby. Kids grow up so fast!

After all the fun comes the melt down. GorElla had a breakdown and I just let her go through it while they boys went on one last ride. A ride Jonathan didn't want to go on but daddy made him. He did end up enjoying it and realized it was not as scary as he thought. Once all that was done we left and Ella proceeded with the melt down until she fell asleep in the car. This is where our vacation ended and we began the ride home. We stopped for a bathroom run where Ella woke up and things were miserable again. Ryan placed our order with Ella screaming in the background. We found a Hardee's, same logo as Carl's Jr., and hoped they had a western bacon cheese burger. Something Ryan and I are not able to find out here which saddens our taste buds. They had a BBQ burger but it was not the same as a western. Oh well, we tried. Anyway, Ella had a fit over 40 minutes long and then was able to muster up a polite, "excuse me mom". We then paid attention to her and everything was fine after that moment. That child is stubborn but finally figured out we would not listen to her until she calmed down.

All of us enjoyed the mini vacation and want to go back. It was nice to finally see Ryan relaxed and able to decompress from the everyday stresses of being an ER resident.

As a complete side note there are differences between west coast and east coast beaches. Rehoboth beach did not have the strong beachy smell you get on the west coast. Also, on the east coast you encounter jellyfish and small, black, biting flies. BUT the breeze is cooler and it was a short walk to the water.