Samantha's first blog

pamelamyers | July 10, 2016

The last day at the beach! It’s so sad every year. It comes so quickly. You just start to settle in and have fun…and it’s time to go home. The last day was the day the water was the warmest. It was finally water you didn’t mind getting in. At least we had that one day.

Sam went in pretty far with Mark this year, which surprised me. Well, not in this photo, but she did!

Back on the beach, it was time to bury Mommy. I hadn’t let her do it the whole trip, so I thought, oh, why not. It’s just sand. Yeah, easy to say until you are covered then you regret it…It makes her happy.

More photos of Mommy and Daddy, courtesy of Samantha.

Our last night, on the way to get our last ice cream, we stopped, per Sam’s request, at Grammie’s bench. She started calling my mom Grammy, and I have no idea why, I think just to be silly, so she wanted to take photos there.

Grandmom and her best girl.

We needed to take a new photo on Sam’s bench too, of course!

It was a beautiful night, so we grabbed the opportunity for more family photos. There’s nothing like a beach for a backdrop, is there?

Last stop, ice cream!

Mark took this on the way home. We love how, together, Sam and Grandmom make a perfect Stars and Stripes. 🙂

The end to another vacation full of fun and memories. Every second is exhausting, but it’s totally worth it!

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pamelamyers | July 10, 2016

On our first day at the beach, Sam, my mom and I went grocery shopping and stopped at the store next door like we always do. Sam stopped to look at the postcards that are right by the front door. We used to make it a point to buy a postcard or two for Sam to send to her Poppy. It seemed so sad to me to not have that to do this year. To try to soften the blow, so to speak, I asked Sam if she wanted to send one to Zach and Penelope. We had to board them at the vet and none of us were happy about it, but we just didn’t know what else to do. We had no one to watch them and it is important to us that they are safe and well cared for.

Sam loved the idea! Here is the postcard she picked, and what she wrote.

I did write it for her since there is not a lot of room, but she wrote her name and covered it with hearts.

You have no idea how happy we were when, on the day before we were to leave,  my phone binged with a text message. It was from an unknown number that turned out to be one of the vet techs at the vet. She sent me this photo and message:

“We cannot believe we got mail from you guys! We were so excited and showed all our other friends here! Wow…we feel like VIPs. We must confess that our reading skills aren’t terrific so we are gonna send you another picture of the nice nurse, Jess, who read every word to us! We love you! Headbonks and Purrs, Zach & Penelope xoxoxoxo”

A few minutes later, I got this photo and message:

“Okay, so we asked Jess to read it to us about 10 times…it was so much fun!! We miss you but we are very happy that you are having a nice vacation. We are having a pretty nice time here…getting spoiled rotten 🙂 XO Penelope & Zach.”

It made our day! All of us, but especially Sam. She missed her kittens so much and was so happy to see that they got her mail. I love our vet and this is just one of the many reasons why. 🙂

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pamelamyers | July 10, 2016

Another day at the beach, bright, sunny, warm, and gorgeous! Mark and Sam played with his new bouncing on water ball (orange of course, picked by Sam) and we all tried to get some relaxation in.

Sam played a lot of Barbie on the beach this year, which she has never done. Krista got roped in to helping to make clothes for Barbie out of seaweed. Better her than me…

Oh, it’s a hard life! Doesn’t she look exhausted?

As I mentioned previously, the 4th of July was quite a washout. I had brought a ton of glowsticks and whatnot for the kids to play with on the beach while we were waiting for fireworks. That didn’t happen. So, we decided to make our own 4th of July later that week. One night at dusk, Mark, Adam and I took the kids to the beach to light sparklers and play with glowsticks. We were all shocked to see something we had not seen before, in all the years we have been coming to the beach — a turtle! He (or she) was just strolling along the beach near the dunes.  Sam was just about ready to scream with excitement!

We left the turtle to his journey and went on with the fun! The wind made lighting the sparklers challenging, but we managed. Adam got that fun job! Better him than me…Hmmm…that’s starting to sound familiar. 😉

The kids loved it, of course!

After sparklers were done, we gave them glowsticks. They were originally in a foam casing to look sort of like light sabers but both Sam and Maddox preferred them out of the foam because they were brighter. They had quite the sword fights!

The next day at the beach, Maddox tried to teach Sam some of the karate moves he has been learning. I don’t know that she got it, but she was certainly paying attention.

Ryder liked the tidal pool that was there most of the week, as did most of the little kids. It grew every day until it was huge!

She got him, she got him!

Come on in, the water is great!

It was back to the boardwalk that night, and on to spooky golf! Sam couldn’t believe we were finally in there. It was hard to get her to actually golf because she was so busy looking around! Grandmom and I both got a whole in one!

Last year, Mark wanted Sam to ride the bumper cars but she chickened out at the last minute. This year, she was totally game! Once she rode with Mark…

…and once with me so Daddy could kick our butts! Sam liked to steer. She only smashed us into a wall once or twice, which is pretty good I think.

Did I mention she still loves the spooky house? Yup, we only went through there I think three times! She made everyone go, even Grandmom.

Sam had just about given up hope of seeing her favorite boardwalk pal, Salt Water Taffy, but there he was! She had seen just about every other character and gotten her autographs. Whew. It’s a good thing she spied him! She loves that guy. It was a great boardwalk night, and a great beach day. How is vacation almost over!?

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pamelamyers | July 10, 2016

On our walk down the Promenade, I asked Mark if he would take a very special picture for me. There is a photo I love, that I have always loved. In 2011, almost exactly 5 years ago, I said this:

“One of my favorite things to do with Sam is just hold her hand and walk. I have waited for what seems like an eternity to do just that with my little girl and now that I can, I never want to let her go.”

Well, I still have that dress. It may be a little tighter, but it fits. And I definitely still have my girl. And I definitely still love holding her hand. And I definitely never want to let her go. I love you, Samantha. Thank you for all that you are and do. You are Mommy’s dream come true.

And thank you to my wonderful husband. For the original picture, and for your amazing talent that made taking the new one possible. Thank you for capturing our lives. The big stuff, the small stuff. All of it. You think you won’t forget, but you do. Your beautiful photos help us remember.

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pamelamyers | July 10, 2016

The morning started out a little dreary from the rain the night before, so we all relaxed for a while. Sam and Maddox started an insane game of Jenga. I NEVER saw a Jenga tower get so high. They were so good! It actually got much higher than this, but after a while, we were all afraid to go anywhere near them or the game!

We did make it to the beach for what turned out to be a beautiful day. Sam and Maddox wanted to be buried in the sand, so I was happy to oblige. Okay, see ya kids! We’re going back for lunch!

Sam, when did you become a teenager? She thought this was hysterical, of course. Mark’s idea, not mine! Yeah, just wait until she is actually a teenager, see how amusing he thinks it is!

My little beach bunny. 🙂

Sam and Maddox played well together, but they usually always do. Maddox got this game of horse shoes for his birthday from my mom and it was perfect for the beach.

For whatever reason, Sam really liked being buried. It can get dull, so Mark made it, shall we say, a bit more interesting!

That night, we all took a stroll down the Promenade so the kids could play games at the arcade. It is the perfect place for photos. We take some every year and I love them. It’s when we get the best pictures of my beautiful girl and my family that I love so much. I look back on these beach photos often, year after year, and am reminded again and again how lucky I am that I can spend this time with my family, and how lucky Sam is to have these memories.

We did eventually make it to the arcade and Sam played all her favorite games. Look at her feet off the ground!

Every year it’s the same games. She likes to stomp the spiders! I think it’s fun to see her do this year after year. It never gets dull for her.

We had to pose in our usual spots. This year, Sam wanted to be captain of the pirate ship. Grandmom and Mommy had to row!

Oh, turtle. How many years has Sam climbed on your back? Now that would be a montage, wouldn’t it? So many years of turtle pictures.

A great night, and a beautiful sky to walk home to. We love you beach!

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