Cape Cod Day 5: Mayflower Beach

Wednesday was our best beach day -- weather-wise and beach-wise. We arrived at Mayflower Beach as the tide was at its lowest  point. When the tide goes out that far out, it leaves behind plenty of tidal pools to splash in and sticky sand to play with. It was perfect for the kids. The little ones spent most of the morning building sloppy sand castles and digging rivers in the tidal pools (Gwen tried boogie-boarding, with little success). Meanwhile, Morgan and Cooper waded far out into the water, which (thanks to the low tide) never got over their heads.

 
When the tide came back in, it came back fast, and quickly washed away the tidal pools. Luckily, we had left our stuff safely on dry land, but there were lots of families who had picked a spot closer to the water who had to scramble to grab all their things before they were swept out to sea.

In the afternoon, the kids had fun exploring the beach, and swimming in the (now deep) water. The water was just one way to cool off, though. After Morgan discovered how the cool sand felt on her feet, it was just a matter of time before all five kids were buried to their waists in sand.

By 3:00, everyone was wiped out. We headed back to the house to clean up and rest up before heading back out for dinner at Seafood Sam's -- one of our favorite fish-fry joints from our vacation last summer.

Amazingly, we got all five kids to pose together for a photo. Needless to say, it's amazing how much they've all grown since our Cape Cod vacation last summer.

We finished off another busy day on the Cape with a pitstop for ice cream. Morgan discovered that "funnelling" through the bottom of the cone is pretty cool way to get those last few drops of chocolate.

Cape Cod Day 4: Sandy Neck Beach

By Tuesday, the weather on the Cape was finally beach-worthy. So we packed up our family trucksters (all three of them) and headed to Sandy Neck Beach. As advertised, Sandy Neck Beach was sandy. So the kids immediately set out to build a sandcastle. After 45 minutes, their masterpiece was complete -- including a dinosaur-filled moat, yellow and pink snakes, and Fisher-Price Little People. 

Morgan and Cooper spent a lot of time in the water. As the tide rolled in, Morgan loved bobbing up and down in the waves. She squealed (and I quote), "I'm going up and down so much I'm going to shoot my cookies."



After lunch, Cate and Gwen decided (on their own) to take a break from the sun and sand. Apparently, the felt like they needed a little "girl" time to chill out in the tent and blow bubbles.

Sandy Neck Beach is obviously sandy. But, as Morgan and Cooper discovered, it's also rocky. So while the little kids played, the two big kids explored up and down the beach, looking for colorful rocks to bring home for their collections.

After a long, hot day at the beach, we cooled off with ice cream at Smitty's in Barnstable.

Cape Cod Day 3: Natural History Museum

Forecasts on Monday called for cloudy skies. So rather than risking it at the beach, we headed to the Cape Cod Natural History Museum. The kids learned about some of the wild life, did some bird watching, and got up close and personal with a bee hive.

But the most amazing specimen we saw at the museum wasn't a turtle, fish or bird. It was a little boy who could have been Gwen's twin. After we entered the museum, we both caught him running around outside out of the corner of our eye and instinctively thought Gwen had escaped. But it was actually this kid, with the same curly blonde hair, same blue eyes, and same spunky demeanor.

When the two look-alikes final came face-to-face, even they were amazed at the resemblance. So were all of the parents, and even a few other people at the museum who didn't realize they weren't actually twins.

After the excitement (and confusion) of meeting her doppelganger, we all headed outside and walked  through the nature preserve. The half mile path took us through the woods, over the salt marshes and eventually to the water, where Morgan kicked off her shoes and slopped through the mud.

We headed home in time for the girls to take a nap. That afternoon, we hung out in the back yard of our vacation house, played games (water balloon fight!) and grilled-up some dinner.

Ariella brought a giant white canvas and enough paint for all five kids to make a mural of their vacation on Cape Cod. The kids took turns making lobsters and crabs out of the handprints and footprints.

  

After dinner, the kids took a relaxing swing in the hammock. Tomorrow, the forecasts called for sun, so we were headed to our first of three straight beach days.

Cape Cod Vacation Day 2: Millway Beach

From August 18-24, we enjoyed our second annual vacation on Cape Cod with the Bonsteels and Chiaverinis. This year, with the kids all 12 months bigger than they were last summer, we rented a bigger house in Barnstable, MA. After settling in on Saturday afternoon, we finally set out to explore the area on Sunday morning. The closest beach to our house was a small, private spot for the locals called Millway Beach.

When we arrived, the tide was out which meant that there was plenty of sloppy, wet sand for the kids to explore. Morgan, Gwen, Cooper, Cate and Lucas found plenty of snails, tiny crabs and even a few little fish.

 

While Gwen discovered horseshoe crab shells, Cate, Cooper and Morgan took to the high ground to get a better view of Barnstable Harbor.

Morgan and Cooper are best friend by day. But when night falls across Cape Cod, they don their disguises and assume their secret identities as the famous, bedtime crime-fighters: "The Pajama-vengers!"