We came home from the beach on Saturday. My mom had lovingly cared for my dog, fish, and plants, and there were even little green baby tomatoes for me to see!

Noah and I avoided sunburn, but David and the big kids all got it. I tried to warn them, slather sunblock on them when I could, but my efforts failed. A good amount of damage happened the day the big kids went to a water slide park while David, Noah, and I took the ferry to Cape May. They forgot to reapply sunblock.

Some pix:

Noah's first day on the beach. At first, he wouldn't even get on the beach, but sat down on the bottom step of the boardwalk, and told me he wanted to go home. I picked him up, and put him down near our spot, and he stood frowning at everyone and everything for a good ten minutes. David and I were very entertained by this, but I knew I needed to take action. So, off came the shirt and sandals, into his hand went a shovel, and all went well. He didn't go near the water, but enjoyed the sand.

Noah's favorite part of the whole vacation: Funland at Rehobeth's boardwalk. He went on the kiddie rides again and again, though the merry-go-round frightened him.

And then it rained... I forgot to rotate this when I was resizing it, but you get the picture. We were stuck inside, working puzzles, reading and watching TV. Sarah, Rebekah, and I watched Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca, which was perfect for the weather.

Some friends Noah met. He's not unhappy here, just reacting to the sun in his eyes.

At Cape May. I want this house! David was daunted by the all the painting it must take. Sadly, by the time we got there, we could only spend an hour and 45 minutes. This was due to ignorance of the ferry system, and my forgetting to turn off a curling iron, resulting in us returning to the rental house, and going back to the ferry terminal, losing an hour. Oh well, at least we got there. Noah and I enjoyed the ferry ride across the Delaware Bay. David did not. You could say he didn't get his " sea legs. " It was a bit choppy.

All in all, it was a nice trip. Except for Noah, we all enjoyed the waves, especially Ben, who had a boogie board. One day, David surprised me with a silver watch I had admired in a shop. He and I even got to go on a " date " for a crableg dinner and relaxing walk around Bethany's little boardwalk. We wandered into a gift shop and found sunglasses for him, and a shell for me. This shell reminded me of one my sister, Wendy, had when we were kids. It was rather magical to me because I had never been to the beach throughout my young childhood, and I used to finger and study it, and listen for sea in it. Wendy had been to the beach, and it seemed to me that she found the shell there. Now, I think Dad must've bought it for her, it's so big. Anyway, I just had to have it, and it was cheap. After this, David bought me a silver shell charm for my charm bracelet and a mug I liked that said, " Mothers of little boys work from son up to son down. " I was a bit spoiled that night - tee-hee!