Broken Beach Visit

We traveled down to Ocean City, Maryland, for our family vacation last week with my parents and brother.  While the beach is not as certainly not as spectacular as a trip to Disney (at least what I've imagined in my mind) or as exotic as a trip to Costa Rica (someday....), it is a nice, predictable family vacation destination.  We rent two 3-bedroom condos for a week so we all have ample space.  There are plenty of family-friendly places to eat, things to do, etc.  The kids like the beach and the waves, flying kites, building sand creations, biking on the Boardwalk, playing on the playgrounds, and riding at the amusement park -- all interspersed with daily visits with grandma and pops.  Other than the constant sunscreen application battle and massive amount of laundry, it is an "easy" vacation to plan and execute (as "easy" as things get with 3 kids). Also, since we have a full kitchen, we can keep expenses down by eating in for many meals. 

Our vacation was off to a good start.  We arrived on Saturday afternoon and hit the beach.  On Sunday we had a great swim before the torrential rain in for the afternoon, which felt very cozy rather than oppressing.  On Monday morning we biked on the Boardwalk, which was especially nice for me since Caroline was able to bike alone for the first time.  I only had lug Ben in the tow carrier, rather than both Ben and Caroline.  Actually, having Ben in the carrier slows me down just enough that I can pace Abby and Caroline pretty well (if I don't have Ben, it's actually kind of hard to bike slowly without weaving).   

On Monday afternoon, we hit the beach again and started to have another fun swim.  Then, our vacation kind of........tanked.  The short version is that Scott and I spent a chilly afternoon in the ER of Atlantic General Hospital in Berlin, MD, while the kids watched two movies with Grandma and Pops.  We missed the big annual crab feast while Scott learned he had fractured his humerus (left arm) that he injured in a body surfing wipe-out.  My bonehead beloved husband was trying to show the kids how much fun the waves can be.  See kids?  I only broke my arm on this one!  It's really safe out here!!!  I'm sure they aren't scarred for life or anything.

It could have been a LOT worse, and I've had time to reflect on that.  He could have broken is back.  Or neck.  Fortunately, he doesn't even have to get a cast -- just a sling.  But, our vacation lost some steam after the whole ER visit/broken arm thing.  Scott is a trooper for sure, though. We still made it to the Trimper rides on the Boardwalk.  We ate some cold steamed crabs (which are still pretty good even though I had to give half of what I shelled to Scott).  We went back to the beach without further injury, flew a kite, and drank some delicious Dumser's milkshakes.   

So....we're back now. I don't feel very rested from this vacation.  We came back a little early for Scott to visit the orthopedist, who was running a full two hours behind schedule, which felt like an eternity after a 4-hour car ride. The kids hung in there, though. And, Scott will be just fine after 6 to 8 weeks.  Aside from the broken bone/loss of use of one arm thing, the only real logistical problem we have to face is that Scott can't drive.  So, I'll be adding about 1.5 hours of bonus commuting time to my day with the kids for a few weeks. Ew.  I  looooooove spending time in the car with my kids.  No one ever bickers in the car.  Or touches each other.  Or screams.   Or asks for anything.  Oh well.....  

See how much fun we were having before the big break?