Swimming, the zoo, the spa and golfing

If you have already stopped by my sister's blog, The Campbell Corner, you will already know that we just returned from a wonderful week long vacation at Marriott's Fairway Villas at Seaview in Galloway, New Jersey. About three years ago, my DH and I decided to invest in a timeshare, and we have been enjoying the vacations each year since then. We heard great things about this resort, and ever since 2004, I have been wanting to go to this place. The rooms were really nice and updated, and they had an Elizabeth Arden Red Door Salon and Spa which the girls enjoyed spending a little time there.

We had a great time with our family and we were able to relax a lot too. However, I do have to say that my best nights of sleep were the first night that we were there, and the first night home...why? Well, although we had a 2-BR place, my parents stayed with us, so Brady slept in a pack-n-play in our room, so when he woke up at 6:30-7:00am, he realized that we were right there, and he wanted to get up! Usually, if he wakes up at 6:30am, he will fall back to sleep, because he is by himself in his bedroom at home. He usually wakes up between 7-8am here at home, and lately it has been closer to 8am, which has been nice. (just in case you are wondering, we normally start putting him to bed around 7-7:30pm).

Well, the fun things that we did while at the resort include:

• Swimming in the outdoor pool. Brady LOVED this! He loves to splash, and we tried to get him to kick his legs a little too. We had a great time down at the pool. The most challenging thing...getting sunscreen on Brady. We usually uses the spray sunscreen because it is quicker, but he does not like it because it is cold. He does not mind the lotion, but sometimes, you just need to go the quicker route!

• One day we all went to the Cape May Zoo. I had a feeling the Brady would enjoy this, but I did not realize how much he would love it! He got out of his stroller, and would help to push it along, which was so funny - he was charging down the path! When he saw the animals, he would hold on to the posts of the fence, and point at the animals and say something in toddler language. He was really sad when we had to leave one type of animal, so that we could see more of the zoo, so I had him say "bye bye" to each of the animals that we were leaving, so he would wave and say "bye bye". It was so cute. When I was little, we went to the Catskills Game Farm (which closed down in the past year), and what I remember was going on the elephant ride (yes, a real elephant), and then I remembered how it poured with rain when we were ready to leave. I shared this with my parents as we were entering into the zoo, and it was a foreshadowing moment, because it poured with rain when we were ready to leave the zoo! The animal highlights were: zebras, giraffes, the tiger, the alligator that snapped his mouth and scared all of us, and the brown bears. There were other cool animals too, but those are what stuck out to me.

• Grammie, my sis, and I all went to the Elizabeth Arden Red Door Salon and Spa and decided to get pedicures. The was my first ever pedicure, and I really enjoyed it! I chose to get the Sea Spa Pedicure, and it was so nice to be pampered for about an hour! Later that evening, the guys went golfing on the Bay Course and had a great time whacking the ball around. It was a nice day for the adults, and of course the kids had fun together too!

• Grammie and Poppy watched their little grandsons one evening so that the younger couples could have a night out at the mineral pool. The pool does not have any chlorine in it, so it is supposed to be good for your skin. It was fun to experience that.

I am so thankful that our family is able to go on vacation together. We always enjoy spending time together talking, walking, playing games, or whatever else come our way. We had a great time, and I am looking forward to planning our next vacation.