It’s wintertime and while this year’s weather is absolutely bonkers, we’ve had a few cold spells. It’s during these cold months that Carlo and I tease each other about how we much we miss summer, or more specifically…. the beach.

As I mentioned in the previous post, I gave up “relaxing” too much to be more present and enjoy my time in the sun.

Last year, I wrote about our essential items we used. This time around we bumped it up a notch.

We scheduled 10 days at the hotel and I was not about to work too hard on my vacation.

LAUNDRY ITEMS:

Miss C had just finished potty training but was still using diapers at night so that was unavoidable. However to make it easier for all of us, I packed clothes for 5 days with a few extras and hand washed everything. I brought along a small bucket, laundry detergent and stain remover. It was so much nicer washing clothes as we went along instead of having them pile up and bring them back home dirty and full of sand.

PICNIC ITEMS:

After several trips to the lake, we decided to buy an inflatable ice chest. This proved to be very handy at the beach. As you can see, it collapses easy and well insulated. We brought along our water bottles and refilled them at the hotel. Once we settled, we made our way to the supermarket and got some snacks and I bought fruit at the market. We just rinsed at the water fountains and they were ready for snack time.

CARDS, CRAYONS AND MORE… 

Once again having something to entertain the kids was a MUST. I made small bags for each girl that consisted of their own colored pencils, pens, pencils, sharpeners, and markers. I was not about to have any fighting. Each bag was labeled with their names and I had gotten activity books along with coloring books my mom sent them. We also made sure to bring several types of card games. Uno, Happy Family, and memory… to name a few.

RELAXING FOR MOM:

Just like last year, I tried to stay off my phone as much as possible. The wifi at the hotel is spotty and cell service was bad at the beach so it was actually manageable. I dug out my old shuffle and loaded it up with songs. Only thing was the it wouldn’t recharge so I ended using my phone again to listen to music. I brought along a puzzle book, a novel to read and some yarn and needles which were never touched.. but they were there.

SUN PROTECTION:

As I’ve mentioned before I have an allergy to the sun/humidity so I have to be extra cautious when it comes to exposure. I spoke to my pharmacist and they suggested a spray to use for sunburns. Every night when the itching of the rash got to me, I’d spray some on the affected areas and within minutes, the cooling effect would take place to give me relief.

 

What saved me the most from suffering were these UV protection shirts I got. You can pick them up at any sporting goods store. The secret is to keep them wet. The cooler your body temperature is, the less you’re likely to get a rash. So with a combination of a shirt, sarong, and SPF 60+ sunblock I was feeling mostly good. Somehow I had forgotten my sarong at home and had to buy one at the beach which didn’t give me much coverage so I did get a rash on my legs BUT… my arms were clear.. and that’s the first time in over 10 years!!

We learned our lesson from last year and each girl had 4 swimsuits each. They changed after lunch which gave me time to soak their dirty ones and wash them with plenty of time to dry before the next use.

We seriously can’t wait to go back..