Thing 1 and Thing 2 were very excited to be at the beach.  Here they are bright and early our first morning, bathing suits on, showing off their booties.

Suburban Grandpa joined us for the first few days.  Here he is enjoying a game of Chutes and Ladders with Thing 3.  Note the glass of wine by his side.

Thing 3 normally walks around with little to no clothing.  But at the beach, it seemed to take on a whole new appeal for him.

With four kids, you don’t just get up and walk to the beach.   There is at least an hour of preparation, packing, applying sunscreen, with many false starts due to forgotten items, and then, finally, lugging all the gear across the sand.

Keeping Thing 4 on her nap schedule was not easy.  We’ve learned over the years to take advantage of nap times whenever and where ever they may occur.

There was a lot of boy bonding and surprisingly little fighting.

We all climbed to the top of the Currituck Beach Lighthouse.  Well, all of us except Thing 4 who I carried to the top.  As if walking up 214 stairs in the brutal heat weren’t enough, try it with an extra 24 lbs in your arms.

Speaking of brutal heat, the temperature hit 110 on the deck of the pool one day.  The heat put a damper on some of our daytime activities, especially for Thing 3 and Thing 4.

At the the end of the day we took in the ocean breeze and a swing.

Thing 1 and Thing 2 played some mini-golf.

Probably the best part of the week for the kids was the daily ice cream.   We relaxed our dessert rules and often had it before, instead of, or as a meal.

Unlike the way he sleeps at home, it was no trouble getting Thing 3 to sleep.  He even slept in a bed with a blanket.

We were lucky to have Suburban Babysitter and her boyfriend join us for a few days.  He was a very good sport and let Thing 1 and Thing 2 bury him in the sand.

The drive back home is always the worst part of any trip.  It took 7 hours to get there but almost 9 hours to get back home because of traffic.  The boys took it well with almost no whining or complaining.  But by the 8th hour Thing 4 wanted O-U-T and the last hour was filled with crying.

It had been a yearly tradition since Thing 1 was born seven years ago. But we skipped the last two years because one year we had two family weddings to travel to, and then last year with the arrival of Thing 4 it just seemed too much to take on while sleep deprived.

Luckily I have this website to remind me of the true nature of family beach vacations. There was this trip to Virginia Beach just months after Thing 3 was born. The following year we went to Bethany Beach, which turned out to be the tale of two trips. It was both the best of times and the “why the hell did I do this” times.

This year we’re looking at the Outer Banks in North Carolina. It is just at the edge of the important 6 hour drive radius. That is the maximum amount of time that is possible to drive in a car with four kids without going insane. We have outgrown the ability to stay in hotels or condos, so the extra space and relative quiet away from boardwalks that is the Outer Banks seems like a good way to go. If nothing else, I should have some great blog material in a few months.

We also checked out the local high school which kicked off it’s first football game with an outdoor fair complete with moonbounces, music, and dunk tanks. The high schoolers were very impressed with Thing 1’s dunking accuracy – 7 hits out of 12 throws. The day ended with an end of summer ice cream party in our neighborhood.

Checking out his 1st grade desk

Adding his name to the class list

Football throw

Thing 2 marches to his own beat. Like wearing his hat like this

Ice Cream!

We wrapped up the day at the pre-school/kindergarten open house where we met Thing 2 and Thing 3’s new teachers.  A big hit was the petting zoo in the parking lot compliments of Squeals on Wheels.  It was not good to be one of the animals yesterday.  Besides being poked, prodded, pulled, and dumped on with grass and dirt by the likes of Thing 3 and scores of other kids, it was about 97 degrees in the parking lot with no shade for the animals.

Read more to see pictures of the day

Nicest bowling alley ever. With big screens over the pins, couches, and servers to bring the food

Had to pool together their earnings from $5 in skee-ball games to get one 5 cent tootsie roll each. Nice racket.

Thing 3 petting the ducks before he threw grass all over them

One of the byproducts of this stay-cation is that Thing 1 and Thing 2 are spending a LOT of time together. Not a problem as long as they are engaged in some fun, new activity. But in between those fun activities they are sitting in very close proximity in the car in DC traffic where they can’t seem to keep their hands to themselves or the decibels to a bearable level. So today SuburbanDaddy had to get tough and Thing 1 ended up sipping water while his brother and parents enjoyed ice cream and smoothies. Tomorrow I think we will build in some separation time.

Here are the pictures…

Check out that outside temperature!

On the first tee

Two hole-in-one's on the same hole!

Ready to cool off at the water park

Instead, we opted for a stay-cation with just Thing 1 and Thing 2. The younger ones will be in daycare all day so we can do some of the activities we can’t do on the weekends with strollers and toddler tantrums and nap schedules.

We have a full lineup of activities for the week and the oldest Things are very excited. Today we took a boat ride on the Potomac, ate lunch (sitting down!) at a real restaurant – the famous Fish Market in Old Town, Alexandria – and hit balls at the driving range.

It was striking as we were walking, with no diaper bags or strollers, and no particular schedule in mind, that this is what it’s like to go somewhere with no baby gear or worries about turning our head away for even a moment or saying “put that down!” every minute.  This is SO EASY!  It gives us hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel for us in a few years.

But it was also noticeable that we were missing two of our Things and it felt a bit incomplete.  Sad even.  But that feeling lasted for, oh, about a second and quickly went away as we actually relaxed and enjoyed the boat ride without worrying Thing 3 would fall overboard or throw something into the water.

A quick recap of our day in pictures after the jump.  Tomorrow, look for more of the same.

Ready to board the water taxi to National Harbor

SuburbanMommy and Thing 2

Thing 1 and Thing 2 leave their mark... J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets!

Ben and Jerry's before lunch? Different rules apply when you are on stay-cation

Heading back to Virginia with the Woodrow Wilson bridge in the distance. The Potomac River is even filthier when you see it up close.

Finish the day off at the driving range

Trekaroo’s growing community of families from all across the country have pitched in with their votes for the most kid-friendly stops in Washington D.C. Here’s the line up for 2009!

Best Kid-friendly Hotels in Washington, D.C. – voted by parents

Best Activities for Kids in Washington, D.C. – voted by parents

Some of DC’s top blogging moms and dads have jumped on board the KidsMobile, playing the role of local tour guide.  They are taking us into their fold by sharing with us their inside scoop about what’s fun for kids in their hometown.

Jennifer, a mom who loves the outdoors shares a fabulous list of The Best Kid-friendly Hiking Trails in DC.  Jennifer’s passion as an environmental educator led her to start Hiking Along – a super cool educational program where she leads groups of children, preschool to high school, on hikes and allows them to participate in hands-on science activities to learn about their natural surroundings. She also keeps a blog about hiking with kids.

Dave, better known as SuburbanDaddy, knows that cold weather is just around the corner and any parent of a young child will be eager for his list of The Best Indoor Places for Toddlers Around Washington DC.  He is the creator of Kidburst, an activities guide written by local parents about the Washington DC area with in-depth coverage of kids activities from summer camps to sporting facilities and classes.

Jennifers, tell us about 8 Things (Under $5) to Do in Washington DC with Toddlers. She is an adventurous mom of a 2 and 4 year old who has not allowed having kids to slow her down.  Although she’s based in Florida, Washington DC is one of her favorite vacation spots. She writes in depth about their family’s exciting adventures on Two Kids and A Map

Sujatha is mom to a 9 year old (boy) and 3 year old (girl) and brings us Fun Washington, D.C. Activities that get Kids Fired Up.  This list has some great ideas of places beyond the usual tour of Capitol Hill that will really get kids to perk up.  She writes candidly and casually about their travels as a family and about her adventures in parenting on her blog:  Blogpourri

Amy is a mom who sees everything as a teaching moment and traveling is no exception.  As a local DC mom, she’s got some her favorite Day Trips with Kids From Washington DC.  As a literacy consultant and former high school teacher her blog – teachmama – is full of wonderful ideas about how to weave education into holiday traditions, travel, games and more.

Jill, brings us her list of Must See Attractions in DC with Preteens and Teens.  She is the mom behind her prolific blog Musings From Me that covers a wide range of topics including parenting, travel and reviews of cool products.  Jill has been on the go all her life, living in England, Italy, and America but currently calls Maryland home.

Ms Twixt, brings us a list of What to do with Tweens in Washington D.C. As a mom to 3 tweens girls and a toddler boy, she is an expert on everything Tween.  Her Blog Twixt and Between provides helpful insights on topics that are current for tween girls and their parents. She even has a store in Georgetown Park with adorable age-appropriate clothing, shoes, gifts and accessories for Tween Girls.

Other Resources for Washington DC:

• All 100 Activities for kids in the Washington DC Metro Area
• Kid-friendly hotels in and around Washington DC

Next stop, Sunny  San Diego, CA

The Trekaroo KidsMobile is a blog carnival with a twist.  It’s designed to provide a unique opportunity for mom and dad bloggers to be featured on Trekaroo while

1) expressing their unique point of view

2) getting a web of link exchanges.

Join us for one of our next stopovers.

Between arranging flight schedules, booking car rental services, and developing the perfect budget for an upcoming trip, traveling can prove to be a stressful activity. Add a few kids into the mix and the vacation may feel close to impossible! The best way to avoid any additional stress that comes with keeping the whole family organized, on time, and happy is the preparation that goes into your travel plans before you even leave the house. Since younger children need the most attention in terms of packing and planning where everyone’s going to sleep, it’s best to seek out information regarding your accommodations beforehand. For instance, check to see the type of baby furniture that will be available to you at your accommodations. Most hotels are able to provide a reliable crib that can be transported and properly set up upon your arrival but it’s best to check in with the front desk ahead of time.

Once your accommodations and travel arrangements are in place, it’s time to develop a packing list for each member of your family, including yourself. Check weather conditions to get an idea of what to expect on the trip however, packing a little bit of everything for your children can certainly help out in the long run. Despite what the weather prediction may be it’s always a good idea to bring along a set or two of cool weather clothes in addition to rainy and windy weather gear to keep your kids as comfortable as possible. When traveling with children, the days of stuffed suitcases filled with your own clothing are long gone. Now’s the time to put all of your focus on the kids because when they’re happy, you’ll be happy! In addition, pack an extra set of walking shoes or sandals that have been worn a handful of times so as not to make your vacation the time for your children to break in new sneakers.

While we’re on the topic of keeping our children happy, now’s the perfect time to mention the essential toys and games that will keep the kids entertained in case you encounter long travel schedules or layovers. In addition to the clothing and diaper essentials, be sure to pack plenty of pacifiers, baby bottles, and your children’s favorite stuffed animals and family fun games that will cheer up any bumps you may have during your vacation. Depending on how far you are traveling, it’s always a great idea to stay mobile with children and bring along a compact stroller that is perfect for exploring around your destination. Many models offer a sleek, collapsible construction that makes it easy for parents to quickly pack up the stroller and use with the kids for an entertaining family adventure.

I wrote a few weeks ago about the best of times and worst of times during our beach vacation.  That was the best of times.  Unfortunately, it was also the exception.

This video will give a more accurate look at what our week at the beach was like.  Thing 1 and Thing 2 acting silly, drunk on Oreo’s, harassing passerby’s, and generally being unruly.  This episode is actually not too bad since we are outside in the middle of the day.  But it’s a little different at 6am.