Alone with my thoughts

Josh and I along with all three children are in the middle of our first vacation as a family of 5! So far, it has gone really well! We haven't done much more than hanging out at the beach and pool and doing a little shopping. We've spent a lot of time hanging out at our condo too. It's so nice to just be the five of us with no where we have to be and nothing that we have to do.

Surprisingly, I feel as though I've had a lot of time alone with my thoughts. These times come as Josh is playing in the waves with my two biggest and me and Asa are lounging in the shade of our umbrella (or now when the big kids are with daddy at the pool and we are snuggling on the couch). My thoughts have mostly wandered to how incredibly blessed I am! I love being a wife and mother and I'm so blessed to call my family mine.  Vacation is such a great time to be reminded of this as we are together and just enjoying each other.

One of my absolute favorite parts of vacationing with little ones is seeing it through their eyes. Seeing the excitement on the kids' faces when we finally get to the beach, watching them as they squish their toes in the sand, watching as the waves crash into their feet, watching as they work tirelessly to build the perfect castle or make us a sand pie/cake. Listening to their giggles....seeing their delight when they rush back up to tell me about the fish that they saw (and touched!) when they were in the ocean with daddy. My babies definitely make everything more fun! I love experiencing life through their sweet, innocent eyes.

And...this is the first time we've ever brought a baby this small to the beach! Asa is doing pretty good aside from the fact that he is teething. He has pretty much just gone with the flow. He has enjoyed watching his big brother and sister play in the sand, enjoyed watching the waves, and he's even had his first taste of sand. He wasn't a huge fan of the ocean water but putting his feet in the pool wasn't so bad :). He is even sitting up alone for a couple of minutes! He does not want to lay down when he can sit up and watch everybody play on the beach!

Oh how I love vacation! Oh how I love my family! It will be hard to go back to reality in a few days!!