Chase in the pool with his awesome daddy
Chase playing in the sand
Chase with Mommy's big sunglasses on
Chase playing on the piano....little Mozart
Chase riding in a dump trunk ride at Chuck-E-Cheese's
This past month has been an exciting one as we vacationed down in Nags Head, NC for a week with my family. The days leading up to our vacation were filled with anticipation as we longed for a break from our normal routines and couldn’t wait to stick our toes in the sand and ocean. Tim, Chase, Dexter, and I left for Nags Head, NC on September 18th and made our first stop down in Oregon Inlet since we had time to kill before our cottage would be ready for us. The surf was rough and the water was a little bit cool on that first day, but it was still pure exhilaration for us to know that our vacation had finally begun.
One of the best moments of our vacation was when we first arrived at the Tradewinds North cottage at milepost nineteen. The cottage had three levels including eight bedrooms (most with adjoining bathrooms), flat screen televisions everywhere, a recreation room with a pool table, two hot tubs and a pool, and a huge kitchen and living room area on the top floor that overlooked the Atlantic Ocean. Tim and I chose a bedroom on the second level that had a door leading to a balcony that also overlooked the ocean. We kept the glass sliding door in our bedroom cracked on most nights so we could hear the soothing sound of the waves crashing.
Once everyone else arrived at the cottage, the fun began. The guys played dozens of games of pool while the girls lounged around chatting. Bella and Chase put lots of miles on their little feet exploring the cottage. We spent many days at the beach getting all sandy followed by a dunk in the pool or hot tub. We even snuck in a day to go to the NC Aquarium in Manteo. As the days went by, the surf calmed down and the temperature got warmer. Surprisingly, Chase did not divert from his typical sleep schedule throughout the entire vacation, which unfortunately had me getting up at the crack of dawn every morning. However, the plus side to getting up around 6 or 6:30 in the morning is that it allowed me to watch sunrises and take Chase for peaceful strolls on the beach. Laurie was in the same predicament I was in with having to get up with Bella every morning. Chase and Bella both had horrible colds during our vacation, which was definitely a bummer. Chase started to feel better as the week progressed, but he still battled a runny nose and was extremely clingy to me. He said “momma” (finally after all of the months we’ve been hearing “dada”) several times during our vacation. He also learned to say “bye-bye” while waving this month. He’s been waving for quite some time, but we couldn’t get him to say “bye-bye” and wave at the same time until recently. In contrast to his limited vocabulary, Chase’s diet during our trip included quite a variety: bananas, green beans, hot dogs, raisin bread, applesauce, squash, peanut butter crackers, Cheerios, etc.
Speaking of eating, I was disappointed we didn’t have our typical seafood buffet indulgence while we were down in OBX. It was easier (and cheaper) to fix meals at the cottage rather than drag the kids (especially two sick babies) out to a restaurant. I was also saddened that I didn’t have more time out in the sun since most of my beach trips were brief with having a 17-month old with a short attention span battling a cold. I guess a part of me is still selfish and trying to get the hang of parenthood; I was somehow disillusioned when I envisioned coming back from my vacation with a golden tan and completely relaxed. The bottom line is that when you’re a mother, you really don’t ever get a complete vacation when you have to watch after a little one all day. Bless my mother’s heart; she helped out a lot with watching Chase while we were at the cottage so that I could still sneak in an hour of napping in the sun in my beach chair or reading my Parents or Lady’s Home Journal magazines at poolside. Nonetheless, life isn’t quite the same as it was when Tim and I were “Chase-less” and we could spend a full day basking in the sun and staying up late not having to worry about waking up at six in the morning while on vacation.
My family left the cottage on Friday to head back to Hampton Roads, so Tim, Chase, Dexter, and I spent the last night in the cottage by ourselves. It was a nice way to wind down the week. Tim and I had one last night to look at the full moon and sparkling water beneath as we sat on the third floor balcony after Chase went to bed. We headed back home on Saturday, September 25th. We stopped at a Hardees’ drive-thru on the way home for lunch. I was turning around in my seat to give Chase French fries when I somehow pulled a muscle in my neck. I spent the first night back home in my own bed with a sore neck that hurt every time I rolled over in bed. Oh yeah, and I almost forgot to mention that the motorized cooler is temporarily out of order and at home in the garage about to undergo a serious overhaul after the chain broke on it and the motor mount got warped when Chase and I were riding it down in OBX. (Tim was not happy about that.)
All of this may sound like I’m complaining, but the inevitable truth is that I’m head over heels in love with being a mother to Chase and I still wouldn’t trade it for any other lifestyle. I’ll gladly wipe my son’s snotty nose at six in the morning while I’m down at the beach. I’ll also cheerfully rub in self tanning lotion to fake the deep tan that I didn’t really get on my vacation. I’ll pull a muscle in my neck to keep my son fed and happy while we’re stuck in traffic on the way home. Last but not least, I’ll even break a ridiculously expensive motorized cooler if it means a few minutes of me getting to ride on it with Chase beaming. Life on a sandbar isn’t always as blissful as I expect it to be, but I’m just thankful I had the opportunity to go on a vacation with the people I love the most and end the Summer of 2010 with happy memories. I look forward to sharing how Chase will grow in the next month as we venture into autumn. Until then, Tim and I have one last day of vacation (we took Monday off from work too) while Chase will be at my grandmother’s house all day…it’s always good to have a vacation from a vacation!
