Our first two weeks of Summer have been filled with sun and beach time which is evident in the trail of sand leading from our cars into the house and the pile of sand-coated flip flips that are scattered at the front door.
Our first full week here was Ev’s first week of golf camp at Grandpa’s course, Bear Trap Dunes. They were a huge group of 20 ranging from little tykes to young teens. Evan had funny stories each day as he hopped in the car grinning from ear to ear. The coaches at the club are great with kids (and highly caffeinated) as they make it fun to learn and practice. Evan had a little admirer giving him flowers and hugging him throughout the week which was super cute.
We have gotten out to play a few rounds of golf. Yesterday we had some serious thunderstorms and much needed rain but we snuck in 9 holes and Evan shot a 46! Today the guys are playing with some cloud cover and a breeze this morning giving their skin a break from the sun.
(Uncle Bob, Grandpa, Ev and Dan)
Grandpa, Evan and I kicked off crabbing season from the dock in their community where you can fish, crab or launch your kayaks into Indian River Bay. Last year they caught over two dozen crabs in one afternoon. We weren’t that successful our first time out this year, but we caught just under a dozen crabs and one rather large horseshoe crab! Grandma made crabby tots from our catch and they were delicious!
For Evan’s 13th birthday, Uncle Shawn and Aunt Renee gave him a surfboard with a plan to give Evan a few surfing lessons this summer. Below is Ev at Fenwick Island Beach just itching to try out his new board in the waves. Uncle Shawn spent the afternoon teaching Evan the ins and outs of surfing. Ev picked up on it quickly and is absolutely hooked!
The picture below is by far one of our favorite photos we have ever taken of Ev! For our friends back home, I’m sure you will soon see this mounted in our house somewhere! 🙂 He has a natural ability which was spectacular to watch!
It wasn’t all work for Uncle Shawn. He caught some waves of his own!
Chewy loved his first visit to the beach! As we stepped over the dunes and into the sand, he hopped and trotted his way down the beach. He isn’t a big fan of the ocean waves but he loves being in the sand and hunting for hermit crabs and seaweed! He is covered in sand from his nose to his tail by the end of the day!
We managed to capture one, good family photo out of a dozen or so pictures taken with our camera on it’s timer!
With GG (Evan’s great grandma) living in the neighborhood, it’s only a quick bike ride to her house. One evening, Evan and I decided to see how Chewy would fair riding in the front basket on one of the bikes. The first ride was precarious as he jumped out while still attached to his harness and leash. He dangled like Tom Cruise in a Mission Impossible movie while I tried to slow down, steer with one hand and keep us from crashing! This seemed like a great idea at the time. No photos were captured.
We spent the 4th of July swimming, surfing, playing beach paddle ball and enjoying a delicious picnic. Bethany Beach put on a colorful display of fireworks that we enjoyed with 5000 other people!
Dan, Liz and I took Evan, Mia and Gianna to the Rehoboth Beach rides where they thoroughly enjoyed being spun and swung this way and that. Evan rode the ride on the right which had me reciting Hail Mary’s. He is a little dare devil. The kids had a great time!
Shawn and Renee took Dan and I clay shooting which proved to be very fun! The next time we go back, Renee and I will be wearing some serious 80’s shoulder pads! We didn’t capture a group picture but we laughed until tears rolled down our faces talking like hillbillies! We ended our day at Jeff’s which is supposed to be the best burger place in Delaware. It was YUMMY!
We have indulged in many east coast pizza pies, we’ve sampled some of the areas best crab cakes, we’ve indulged in our favorite brews at Maureen’s Coffee in Bethany, we’ve begun our sampling of local oysters, and we’ve eaten far too many of what Dan call’s “salad cookies.” We have enjoyed some time with GG, Uncle Bob, Aunt Terry and their crew, Uncle Chris, Liz, Gene and their family. We’ve played some fun games at the kitchen table and some not so fun games at the kitchen table. 😉 Dan has been a great sport about traveling back and forth to Seattle for work which Evan and I are super thankful for as we miss him very much when he’s not here to make us laugh and give us his bear hugs.
We hope that you are all enjoying your summer as well! We pray that the days go by slowly and that we can all take the time to slow down and and enjoy the company of friends and family. xoxo
Chasing Waves 