Some Much Needed R & R

DAY 1

We were in desperate need of an escape. Jacob has been really stressed out at work so we decided a last minute adventure was just the medicine. Jacob took Friday off and I booked a really cheap Hilton on priceline.com. Early Friday morning we were off. We drove 3 1/2 hours to Virginia Beach. It was overcast but we could have cared less.

I guess Heavenly Father knew how badly we needed this escape and threw in a few bonuses for us.

When we arrived we immediately noticed that they were holding the North American Sand Soccer Championships on the beach. It was really cool! We got to watch a couple of pro games for free with teams as far away as Brazil playing.

Then as we walked a little further down the boardwalk we saw signs for a Latin Fest. So we got to go to a couple free concerts with Latino music and dancing. The girls loved it!

This is Aliya discovering the ocean for the very first time. Can you believe we have a baby born in NC and it takes us 18 months to show her the beach? She was a little unsure and did not like the sand on her hands but she had a lot of fun.

Here is Jacob with 3 of his loves.... 2 girls and the ocean!

The only thing missing is me and Aliya.

I don't remember which teams are playing but they were not very good. They were pro but this was the first day of the tournament.

The girls are watching a group warm up before the Latin concert.

DAY 2

We slept in! It was raining in the morning so we took our time getting ready. We headed down to the beach. First we watched another soccer game and then we checked out some of the Latin dancing. We went to this cute little restaurant close to the shore and ate lunch. After lunch we went to the beach and spent the rest of the afternoon.

While at the beach Jacob got in some good body surfing in between building sand castles and looking for seashells.

Aliya mostly just watched from the comfort of the blanket. I got to play a little bit but Aliya wanted company on the blanket and it was a little windy so I didn't care to get wet anyway. I had more fun watching.

Waiting for lunch and being goofy!

Lookin' Good!

Gotta love those dimples!

The girls made the best cheerleaders. They would watch Jacob surf from the sidelines and yell, "Go Daddy Go!" He is getting pretty good. The weather was good for surfing too. There was some extra wind so it was creating better surf.

This is one of many sandcastles and sand structures over the weekend.

There she is. Looking cute and staying away from the sand.

DAY 3

On our last day we headed to the beach early. We had to load the car and take care of a few things but we were camped out by noonish and did not leave for almost 7 hours. I spent most of the day observing the differences in my little girls.

DENAE

This little princess pranced around on the sand collecting treasures. She found tiny little creatures like miniature clams, shells and crabs and named them things like Sparkles, Flower, and Princess.

She played hard and somehow remained mostly clean.

She would imagine she was a mermaid or a pirate or a shark. She observed nature and was amazed by its beauty. She would say things like,

"Mommy I am so glad Heavenly Father made the ocean", and

"Mommy, this is the bestest day of my whole entire life!"

She was lost in the possibilities of her day and she loved every minute.

NAOMI

My little "Luv" spent most of the day with a huge grin and sand between her teeth.

She completely owned the phrase, "covered in sand". She would run back and forth, this way and that, then plop down and roll around in the sand.

She would help collect treasures from time to time and occasionally humor Denae in playing one of her games and then bolt into the sand like she was burrowing. Dirty did not bother her in the slightest and loved any of her Dad's attention.

She did not slow down once and was so upset when it was time to go.

ALIYA

Miss Ali demanded ALL of Mommies attention!

She was not interested in the sand or the ocean. She loved the view though! She spent most her day watching people. Watching the girls play, watching Daddy, and watching weird strangers. Her and I played as much as we could from the safety of our blanket.

Her favorite thing was napping in the shade which she did both days.

Although she didn't want to enjoy it the same way her sisters did, she still enjoyed it. She spent all day with a smile and was not cranky at all. She just needed to have the choice to do it her own way.

CLEAN.

Daddy made his girls a couch out of sand. Don't ask me, I thought it was pretty incredible too. As did many other kids on the beach who came over to try it out.

There they are.

All three of them as unique as humanly possible.

I could not love them more!

We had such a great weekend, we made some really special memories and only suffered minor sun burns.

All in all it was just what we needed!