The Beach House!

This year for our family vacation with Dad and Joanie, we decided to stay close to home. When planning, we knew we'd have a brand new baby, and plus the workers in the family couldn't get a lot of time off. So Joanie found an adorable beach house in Oceanside that was right on the beach and over 100 years old! We had a great time together.

Are you wondering what Cartwrights and Hamptons do when they vacation? First, lots of eating. We ate appetizers as we watched the sun set, enjoyed delicious dinners every night courtesy of Joanie, and toasted s'mores by the fire for dessert.



Second, lots of running. Running is serious business for our family, and every morning found several members of the family lacing up running shoes and taking off down the beach. Sorry, no pictures of that. Just not pretty.

Third, lots of laughing, mostly at each other (mockery is a favorite pasttime).


Fourth, lots of hours logged at the beach.



And fifth, LOTS and LOTS of sleeping.


This next picture is on the last day of our trip. I was supposed to be packing, but took a few minutes (maybe hours) to take a little nap snuggled up next to Claire. When I woke up, this was the view from our room. It was so peaceful and relaxing, I had to snap a picture.



And more picture overload!









Other than the fact that Claire was a little on the gumpy side all week, it was a wonderful and relaxing getaway. And yes, turns out October is an excellent time of year for a beach vacation! Gorgeous, sunny weather all week long, and hardly any tourists on the beach! Thank you Dad and Joanie, for an amazing week! The kids LOVED it, despite Kenley announcing on our last night that she "couldn't wait to FINALLY be free of this place!" We loved getting to spend so much time together!