Virginia Beach Summer Trip

At the end of July, we took our first week long family vacation with just the four of us. Our spot was Virginia Beach. We had a great time, nice apartment and we really relaxed.

 I was probably most excited about this kitchen sink. One of the most important things to me in a kitchen (and one where I am currently lacking) is a window above the sink where you can look out and gaze at nature. This kitchen had a whole row of glass doors looking into a pretty backyard.

 Now that tile you see there on the counter wasn't too easy to clean, but the size of the kitchen made up for it.

We had lots of seating both inside and outside. The kids slept on the LR pull out sofa which we folded up each day. 

We had the run of the backyard complete with hammock and shade.

 We were a short walk from the beach and set up our umbrellas each day. I'm not the biggest beach person, but I got in the groove and totally loved sitting there with my book and occasionally taking a dip in the water.

 You couldn't get Eddie out of the water though. Here he is surfing on Peirce's back.

 I preferred to sit in my chair in the shade. :-)

 The boys built sandcastles, moats, and eyed the competition up and down the beach.

 I taught Eddie how to make steps (after I eyed up the competition making steps of course).

 All my boys were so happy. 

 One night, we had an after dinner treat of ice cream.

 I got one of my favorites...creamsicle...orange and vanilla. Yum. Brings me back to my youth.

 We realized on Thursday that we hadn't done anything besides sit on the beach, so I knew we needed a trip out. We went to Mount Trashmore Park. Yes, two huge hills built on a landfill.

 Complete with playground....who needs to travel to Utah when you can get the plastic version here?

 We were lucky enough to be able to meet up with our friends, Todd and Emily (and son Jeb, hiding in the background) while they were in town for a bit. They introduced us to a fantastic restaurant with the best happy hour special ever. See my yummy fish tacos?

 My favorite part of the trip was the "dog party" that was on the beach every morning. These men and their dogs meet 365 days of the year to chat, throw balls and just enjoy each other's company. 

 These dogs were so sweet and they enjoyed the boys.

 One of our favorites was Mosby. He adored the boys more than the grownups. He would drop his ball and nudge it back to you with his nose in hopes that you would throw it again. Look at the size of his paws. They were huge!

Another cutie was Tug. He played Keepaway with his ball until his owner told him to give it up. Clearly, I need a dog if I am writing about dogs on my blog.

Thank you VA Beach for a great time!