Summer Vacation

Our beach bums

Aren't these photos precious!!!!

The swings were a hit at the park!

We packed up and headed to the shore for a week of vacation and it couldn't have come at a better time! I'm not much of a vacation planner and tend to take them on a moment's notice, but it's not as easy when you have a husband and two children as well as GOBS of stuff for the children along. So, recently I've conceded to go on some vacations planned more than a couple weeks in advance.

Chris planned this month's vacation to the Jersey shore back in March, so it's nice how the timing worked out - we left right after my last day of work from a career that spanned 13+ years at my employer before I was laid off. So, for me it was nice to head out of town to relax with the family. And, this got me thinking that this isn't our only recent pre-planned vacation that might not have happened if not planned well enough in advance. Back in Dec. 07 we headed to Orlando, FL right after we received Emma's profound hearing loss diagnosis. That trip was a brief calm before the storm and since that trip we've embarked on a crazy new journey of cochlear implants, cerebral palsy, insurance disputes, and a lot of therapy so it's nice to kick back our feet a bit.

This year we rented a second floor house in Ocean City, NJ and were pleasantly surprised to learn that our deck had a great view of the fireworks for July 4th. What a treat! The fireworks were beautiful and both Julia and Emma enjoyed watching them and then didn't put up much of a fight about going to bed right afterwards.

We didn't have any real plans for the vacation and it was so nice to fill our days with what fancied us that day. We spent a few lazy days at the beach, an afternoon at the zoo, a morning at a fantastic park that had most of the play stations available to those in wheelchairs (YEAH!), took a lot of walks, cruised on a sunset dolphin boat ride, enjoyed the boardwalk scene with the rides, Chris went for a few 5 mile runs, and we even got a chance for just me and Chris to go on a dinner date. Both sets of grandparents joined us for some portion of the vacation and the girls were in their glory with everyone around.

Aren't we lucky that the girls grandparents were able to help us enjoy our vacation!

It was so nice to just relax. Our weeks are so busy that it is nice to take time out to recharge our batteries. I read a book. Chris went for some runs. Emma got a much-deserved break from therapy. She works SO hard every day and this was a chance for her to just relax with Mommy, Daddy and Julia. The only therapy we worked on while on vacation was her acknowledgement of a certain 6 sounds (called conditioned ling sounds) since we are hoping she will remember this for a good CI programing session planned for the Monday after our vacation. Julia took a break from school and camp, but she hosted circle time and group time each day. We all took turns as Miss Julia's helper :-) When told on Friday that we were going home the next day, Julia jumped up and down shouting YEAH, do I go to school then? She calmed down a bit when we told her she had to wait until Monday, but was excited again when she found out that we would pick Finnegan up on Saturday. It's a good thing I wasn't expecting tears from her that our vacation was ending!

Julia got her hair wrapped on the boardwalk.

The boardwalk was a HUGE success with the girls. Julia loved the rides and the ice cream. Our last night there, we did some shopping on the boardwalk and then Julia went off for a Daddy/Daughter event of mini-golf and won a free game! I'm sure we'll be back to collect on it. Emma loved all the people watching on the boardwalk and also enjoyed some rides. We were able to take her on quite a few and Chris and I rotated taking the girls on the rides. Emma loved the wind whipping through her hair on the rides and it seems that she is a bit of a thrill seeker! She also caused quite a stir on the boardwalk. Chris designated her a local celebrity as so many people walking by her stopped to wave or talk to her. Emma's gorgeous blue eyes and winning smile just draw people to her.

The rides were a huge hit with the girls!

Now, I'll leave you with a photo that tugs at my heartstrings - Julia loved holding Emma's hand while walking the boardwalk. Sometimes Emma didn't want to hold hands and Julia didn't appreciate that one bit! The conversation between them on these occasions made me laugh out loud. How lucky they are to be sisters, how blessed we are as a family!