babymoon part 3: the conclusion

So, I just have a few more things to share from our trip down the shore!

The boys had a lot of fun playing game after game of Baggo...

For those of you mid-westerners, that's Cornhole!

One afternoon Drew and I took a ride down to the boardwalk. It was a pretty cloudy day, but perfect for walking around and eating lots of bad-for-you, but delicious foods!

Drew treated me to a piece of boardwalk pizza -- the best!

As we were walking along we saw this place

which I knew my nephew Owen would love! Next time he has to come along with us and take a ride on the Monster Truck!

It really was a great trip. We're so grateful for the chance to see Drew's family and spend some relaxing time on the beach!

Next year, the bean makes 3!

babymoon part 2 - down the shore

For those of you who aren't from the PA/NJ/NY region, this post might be full of a phrase that you're not familiar with -- namely, "down the shore."

We don't go to the beach or spend time at the ocean. We head "down the shore." Now, I wasn't raised right on the Jersey shore, so it's a little harder for me to leave out the "to" -- I always want to say "down to the shore." This isn't quite right, but I'm hoping everyone will let me slide.

Yesterday I left us in the driveway with Drew's bandaged finger. Well...9 hours of driving, 2 bathroom stops (not bad for a pregnant lady!), lots of tolls, a few angry words as we got through Philadelphia...and we were met with this

We made it down the shore!



It was so wonderful to arrive at the shore and be greeted by Drew's family. We hadn't been able to see them all in a long time, so this was a great opportunity to spend time together.



Drew has 3 brothers --- there were many board games and lots of frisbee.



Chris & Lisa making fajitas for dinner



me & Raegan



Jared, Matt & Alden



One of the best parts was seeing our twin nephews, Alden & Mercer! Drew and I hadn't seen them since last November and it was amazing how much they had changed. They're almost 2 now and have great personalities.



Vacationing with 2 year olds is not easy, so thanks Jared and Raegan for braving it and coming down from Maine!

Thanks, Mom and Dad for a wonderful vacation!



There were quite a few little adventures throughout the week...more to come.

babymoon part 1 - getting there

About 4 days before we were leaving on our babymoon Drew started to complain that his finger hurt. It was really red by the nail and getting pretty swollen. As a non-medical professional, I declared it "not good."

I tried to get Drew an appointment with a doctor, but that's impossible on 3 days notice. He decided to soak it, apply Neosporin, and hope for the best. Until Friday. Then he decided it hurt too much and would ruin his vacation, so he went to the ER.

As it turns out he had a staph infection (yikes!) and needed to have some major antibiotics pumped in. I'm glad he went to get it treated before our trip -- but the giant bandage did make it a little harder to pack the car.

Drew was pretty sad to have a bum finger...



but then I reminded him that we were heading to the beach and he perked right up.



The next morning we started loading our pile of vacation essentials.



It all fit!



Only 9 hours in the car and we would be there!

babymoon - prelude

Drew and I leave for our babymoon / family vacation tomorrow morning!

This will be our only vacation before the baby comes, so I decided that it's a babymoon.

:o)

We have both had pretty hectic work schedules over the past few weeks and are really looking forward to having some quiet time together. I'm envisioning lots of meandering walks on the beach, sleeping in, and eating tons of bad-for-you-but-delicious food.

Hopefully this family journey to the shore will become an annual tradition. If it does then next year the bean will be along for the ride!

That will certainly be a different experience than this year, but just as great -- or better!