The Skinny on the Molloy Family: Beach Vacations/Cousin Bonding

The kids got a special treat this year over summer vacation - with not one but two beach vacations with ample time to hang out with cousins from both sides of the family.

First up was our annual Bethany Beach trip with the Stauffer clan. We had a fun week with good weather, food and company and tons of family bonding time. Lucas was particularly excited to spend lots of quality time with his big cousin Nate, who is entering college this fall. Nate was very patient and sweet about Luke literally hanging and pulling on him constantly.

Stauffer cousins

Elise was particularly excited about hanging out with her big cousin Abby. And Abby was patient (most of the time!) about Elise copying her and wanting to do everything together. We all had a great time at the beach, fountain and pool, and Elise and her dad went on several lengthy morning bike rides on the boardwalk.

As usual, we went over to the peer rides as well, which is always tons of fun for everyone. This year we did the "all day rides" option, meaning that the kids could go on the rides as many times as they wanted, instead of having to pick just a few. They went on a million rides and everyone had a blast. The adults also had a blast watching. We also continued our tradition of family miniature golf. Lucas particularly loved it this year and was actually quite good!

Meredith cousins

We rolled straight from this beach vacation into another one, this time with some members of the Meredith family. We met up with Oma, Opa, Uncle Wolfe and cousin Eamon in Ocean City for yet another week of beach fun.

My cousin Sarah and her family also joined us, so the kids got some time to bond with second cousins Kam (5) and Kala (3), who they usually only get a chance to play with on holidays. Kala immediately fit in with Luke and Eamon who were happy to have another 3 year old buddy to play with, and Elise and Kam also hit it off. Similar to when we were kids and all vacationed together, it was fun to get the cousins together to really get to know each

Elise and Kam hit the beach

other.

We hit the beach, played in the house, walked the boardwalk, went on rides and got treats - just like old times for the Meredith family. We had such a fun time, we're hoping to do it again next year with even more members of the Meredith family.