If you follow me on Instagram, you probably noticed that our family spent some time together at the beach last week. Once a year, we make the trek to South Carolina to spend time with some family, relax & enjoy the ocean air. My parents generously provide the accommodations and we provide the chaos!
During the day we do our own thing. We spend some time at the beach & the pool & sometimes participate in a random activity offered by the resort. But we always meet up together for dinner & the adults take turns making the menu & preparing the meal.
This year I had a grand idea – let’s have a picnic dinner on the beach! Hot dogs & chips & carrot sticks & lemonade & s’mores. Easy, right? I guess the meal itself wasn’t grand, just the location. It was something we hadn’t done before in all our years of gathering at the beach.
Here’s why it seemed like a grand idea at the time, at least in my mind:
1. The grandparents can spend time with the kids without the crazy midday beach crowd & overwhelming heat.
2. For me, the photography nerd, it’s twilight hour – the perfect time for photos.
3. Eden & Stone could fly their kites that they have been saving since they received them as Christmas gifts without the fear of crashing them into someone sunbathing.
4. The relaxing ocean breeze & cool sand.
What I didn’t take into consideration when I had my grand idea to have a picnic dinner on the beach:
1. The amount of stuff you need to trek down for a picnic on the beach for all 9 of us – chairs, blankets, beverages, condiments for hot dogs, a hammer {to crack a coconut, of course!} a camera & a tripod {for the family group pictures & twilight hour photos, of course!}
2. The wind – yes, the wind was PERFECT for flying kites! but not so perfect for trying to spread condiments on hot dogs.
3. Even though I’ve done this before & I’ve read about the perfect settings for my camera during twilight hour, I still manage to forget all I’ve learned when I start clicking. I decided to not let it fluster me this time and just take pictures. Some came out with the right exposure, some didn’t. Oh well.
The kids didn’t care that they had to eat their dinner in stages because there was no possible way to eat off of a paper plate in that crazy wind. They grabbed the hot dog bun, slapped on a hot dog & their favorite condiment and walked around in the sand and the wind and enjoyed every bite of that hot dog! Even if it had a few grains of sand in there.
When the week comes to an end, to help ease the pain of driving away from the beach, we talk about our favorite things that happened that week.
Guess what? This year, the hot dog picnic dinner on the beach was one of their favorite things.
Sometimes, as adults, what we perceive as an inconvenience can become a lifelong memory for your kid.
Here’s to more “inconveniences” this summer!
Pass the mustard!
Gwen Mahaffey says
Waking up knowing most of the family was in the same villas with me all week long.
Watching grandchildren Eden Stone Gunnar Tygar Dakota being happy – Swimming (never heard playing Marco/Polo) in water – riding waves – looking for shells – building sand castles – seeing and believing Stone could actually climb a palm tree – eating most everything placed in front of them – watching them from Sea Captains & eating everything on their plate – playing basketball – swimming at aquatic club – helping carry groceries – unload and pack cars – eating s’mores – watching Caroline capture photos (did you see the moon over the ocean at dusk) – how about the hug on the beach photo – kite flying – Eden swimming without holding her nose – Pop and Dakota rise and shine for swim practice before sunrise – Tygar Dakota & Gunnar cleaning kitchen as a comedy – Pop sitting around baby pool staying in the shade – Gregory grilling a making new friends. We did miss David and Lia.
caroline says
all great memories Mom!
kimmie says
Would LOVE a hotdog on the beach! We’re going on a family vaca to the wilds of Wisconsin. Not quite as glamorous as the beach….and probably a lot more bugs. LOL
caroline says
The beach is an easy one for me because i love it so much & now that my kids are older, there are less “inconveniences” 🙂 I have a feeling that I would have a harder time choosing the “inconvenience” in a surrounding that wasn’t one of my favorite places…
Have a great time in Wisconsin! Find some fried cheese curds & that will sooth any bug bite 😉
kimmie says
I would totally trade for the beach but I guess Wisconsin is more convenient. hahaha. I’ll have to remember about the cheese curds!!!
Kristie says
Your evening sounds absolutely wonderful. I love your outlook on things. Beautiful photos too!
caroline says
Thank you Kristie!
Tracey says
Your mom with the hammer!!!! Laughing for days.
caroline says
I was wondering how long it would take for someone to comment about the hammer! 🙂 watch out for grandma’s with hammers!
Anita says
I’d say it was worth it. Made me smile…and laugh. Good point taken!