Virginia Beach, early February 2013

A dear friend who has watched the boys since the triplets were infants when Jason and I have gone away for a weekend got married the first weekend in February and we were invited to attend. Jason and I thought it would be a nice family trip to take since the wedding was in Virginia Beach and I had never been and there was an amazing aquarium and boardwalk where the boys could play.

We asked Grandma and Nana if they wanted to come along and if they would be willing to watch the boys while we attended the wedding and reception and they graciously agreed. So we loaded up the car (4 adults, 4 kids) and off we went. We timed the trip there just after lunch and while they little boys would nap so the ride up was fairly uneventful. The bad news was that the weather was COLD! So much for the beach and boardwalk plan I had thought about. We arrived at the hotel (which was Oceanside) and the boys were instantly drawn to the balcony. Why? First, they are boys and being up high is cool! Second, there was a construction crew reclaiming the beach which meant heavy equipment and big boats! Since it was freezing, I made them all put on their heavy winter coats, hats and gloves to stand on the balcony. They didn’t argue at all and lined up for the great clothing parade and headed outside.

We had dinner in the hotel restaurant that night – which was very kid friendly – visited with Emily, the bride, and some friends and family and went back to the room for the night. Bedtime was not as smooth as we had hoped but we finally got all the boys to bed so we could visit the aquarium the next day.

We headed off after breakfast in the room and spent the entire day at the aquarium (with one pit stop for lunch and naps in the car) before we went back to the hotel to play outside on the beach and playground equipment. Yes, it was still freezing but the goal was to wear them down as much as possible since Nana and Grandma would be in charge that night and we did not want a repeat performance of Friday’s bedtime fiasco. Jason and I got ready for the wedding. I left Grandma and Nana with a menu for pizza and syringes full of Benedryl along with DVDs, games, books and blocks that were new to them toys.

Kimono dragon that the boys were enthralled by. You can see their reflections in the glass

Danger!

Pausing for a brotherly picture (J, G, C, A)

Row, row, row your boat (only Chase got a paddle though!)

Riding a dolphin (A, J, G, C)

The wedding was beautiful, as was the bride, and the grandma’s reported that all the boys did quite well and bedtime was uneventful. We headed home the next morning with a lunch stop with some outside playtime (again, bundled in our heavy coats, gloves and hats) before reaching our final destination – home!

 

All in all, the boys did really well on yet another road trip which is encouraging because we have several more in store this year. A wedding in Delaware coupled with a visit to Sesame Place in Pennsylvania in early May, Savannah in late June, Oak Island for a few weekends, I am sure, and another wedding in Charleston in the fall. Good thing these boys are handling the car so well, looks like we are going to spending a lot of time in it this year!