Beach Week: How to Gain 5 Pounds in a Week!

So we spent last week on a family vacation at the beach. It's always great to get away and spend quality family time together. As I was packing I wore my pedometer: How many steps does it take to pack up a family of four? Well, with daddy's help, I ran around the house like a mad woman packing up both kids, myself, and cleaning the house. By 1:00 in the afternoon we climbed into the car. I checked the pedometer: 4 MILES! Oh it was worth it.



The weather was a bit cool, but warm enough to still enjoy playing in the sand. Yes, baby boy tried eating it.



Swam in a heated pool. Now that makes the beach in April just perfect.

Ate the most amazing food. I am completely spoiled in that my Italian mom and Greek mother-in-law are the most amazing cooks. So you can imagine the two of them cooking together, a mediterranean food heaven! Can we say YUM! So yes, if you're wondering how you can put on five pounds in one week, vacation with the most amazing chefs! It's easy. Woops!



What's a trip to the beach without frequent trips out for ice cream after dinner? Yes, this will also help with the five pounds.



Had a lot of family fun outings, like mini golf with the kids. And while driving I got pulled over!

Got a lot of rest. Though I DON'T recommend having a toddler sleep in your bed. Will be posting on that soon. But, gotta love the way babies sleep.



Saw a double rainbow in the sky! Now that made some rain well worth it! Why does that feel like a metaphor for life--taking rain (trials) to get to the rainbows (promises).



The last day of the trip turned stressful. Baby boy had an ear infection and both kids fevers and coughs. I will be posting more on the disaster at the urgent care. Both kids are doing better now, but in caring for two sick kids and returning home, I've been slow to keep up with blogging. I'll be back with more soon : )

Yet, even in spite of some sicknesses, it was still an amazing trip with lots of fun memories. In fact, when I took this picture of Daddy and little girl playing basketball, I couldn't help but think about the way I often view my life. I see so many goals to be made and many obstacles to overcome; I often feel the net is too high to reach and I'm either unprepared or lacking on my own to score; yet, I know I have God as my heavenly daddy lifting me up to reach the goals, overcome every obstacle, and enjoy the game. Vacations are helpful at putting life and what is really meaningful and important back into perspective.




Oh, and back to the five pounds I put on all week: where my normal daily pedometer count is around 14,000 steps, at the beach I barely made 6,000 steps a day! I guess life's a lot more restful for a full-time mommy when daddy is around all day long and her family is also there to help : ) Well, in the two days home where I'm back to the routine of walking my daily 5-6 miles and 14,000 steps (just in caring for the two toddlers, no not exercising on my own), I lost 2 pounds and have now 3 pounds to lose to get to pre-vacation weight. Thank goodness. Here's to healthy babies and walking!

Has anyone else ended up in urgent care while on vacation? Do share! And How do you loose weight after vacation?

Thanks for your continued voting to the top right of this post.

Posted by Laura