On my Mind in June... Vacation!

*THE BEACH. The countdown is officially on as we prepare to leave for the beach later this week. Finally! Yay!! Maybe it's the fact that things have been so wild and crazy around here lately, or the fact that we're returning to our "first love" (PCB) after being away the past 2 years, or the fact that I'm just longing for a break from the regular old routine, but I am craving this vacation more than years past. Getting this excited about the beach makes me feel like a kid again. =)

*However... when it comes to this vacation, everytime I feel really excited and happy about it almost being here, I get a teeny bit nervous too. This will be our first ever vacation with 2 boys. And our first ever vacation with one of those boys being 9 months old. He's very mobile and busy, he still puts everything in his mouth, and he still takes 2 long naps a day. Hmmm. I'd better start coming up with ideas to keep him occupied and in one place while we're on the beach AND flipping a coin with Terrell for naptime duty. Haha. It'd be great if he'd take his morning nap on the beach but we'll have to wait and see. Baby boy is used to his quiet room with the fan blowing and the light off.... ocean waves, bright sunshine, and lots of people might be a distraction.

*My sister and I have already come up with a rough draft of restaurants we'll be eating at while we vacation. We actually came up with the list a long time ago, but since it's finally almost here I've been thinking about it some more. We sure have missed all the good eating PCB has to offer. Just another thing I'm looking forward to. (As long as it means my big boy feeling good and not having an upset stomach, and my baby boy content in his highchair and in a good mood throughout our dinners.)

*Father's Day afternoon, my mom, sister, and I started our list of grocery items we'd need to pack and the meals we'd have at the townhouse. My parents always take care of the cold stuff since they pack the cooler and we try to take care of the non-cold stuff. I love being able to go out a few nights and stay in a couple of nights too. It breaks things up and allows us to have a couple of longer days at the beach without having to come in and get ready but still gives us evenings out at yummy restaurants and doing fun stuff with the boys.

*I think every member of the family has been checking the 10 day forecast for Panama City daily. Last year at New Smyrna Beach we kinda had a bad experience with the weather. It wasn't very cooperative. In fact, one afternoon, the beach patrol (or whatever you call them) forced everyone off the beach. And one day Terrell and my dad had to brave high winds and pouring rain while chasing down our tent as it toppled down the beach. They sprinted out into the bad weather and chased down everything the wind tried to blow away. We watched from a distance. Sheltered from the weather. They were our heroes.

*I'm going to try a different packing method for the boys' clothes this year. My sister saw it on Pinterest (I'm still not on but thinking maybe I should just go ahead and get it over with) and I'm hoping it will make both their suitcases and all of their cute little clothes super organized. I'm going to put their outfits for each day in seperate ziplock bags that will be labeled with the day of the week. That way I'll avoid pulling out tons of clothes and making a big mess when trying to decide what I want them to wear everyday. It will already be decided and it will keep the suitcases nice and neat. Now we just need to finalize the nights we're staying in and the ones we're going out (and to where) so I can get started on this new idea.

*I still don't have a book to take with me... I'm sort of torn about it because I know most of my time in the car will be spent entertaining/answering questions/reading to/singing with, etc one or both of my boys, and my time on the beach will be spent watching their every moves and making sure they aren't in danger or eating sand. Still, I'd like to take one just in case. I'm sure I'll have some opportunities to read in the car. And some during naptime maybe. But in order for me to get a book, I have to go to the library. Which means Garrison will want to check out some books too. Except I don't want to take any library books for him to the beach because I'm afraid of losing them or forgetting them or something bad happening to them. I'm thinking we'll just take some from home. Hmmm. When can I go to the library by myself??

*Unfortunately, I am still lacking in the "tan" department. When it's super hot outside, we tend to stay indoors... or do fun things out and about indoors... or just wait for daddy to get home. And since I can't take the boys to the pool by myself, I haven't seen a whole lot of sunshine lately. I still apply my Jergens Natural Glow lotion daily. It works... just not as good as whatever the youth girls at my church are using. Every teenaged girl I saw at church on Sunday was a tanned goddess. They know the secret. I'm wondering if it's a tanning bed. Or unlimited time to lay by the pool. I'm convinced it has to be one of the two. Oh well. Hopefully I won't burn from all the exposure. That's why I'm packing plenty of SPF.

*Getting ready for vacation is exciting and overwhelming and lots of work and exciting some more, all at the same time. Now I'm praying we all stay healthy, all stay safe, and all have a great time!!