Cape vacation, days 3-4

Day 3

Kate woke up too early, but better - she was talking to her stuffed dog, which she has named Carl.

Jack woke up too early, thanks in part to Kate, but was still giddy about his lost tooth, and the $5 he found under his pillow. He wanted to find his wallet to make sure he put it there.

We spent most of the day at the beach. Threw a soft, fabric ball in the ocean with Jack for hours, it seemed. Might have been that long. Over and over, with brief breaks for snacks, swimming, and rest. Got lunch at the beachside stand -- best chicken tenders ever -- followed by ice cream.

Kate and I made sand castles, jack and I made sand patterns (sharks, dinosaurs), we all made pits to bury each other. Kate walked circles around the sand castles, singing all the way. She made a "sand castle cake" which she was very pleased with.

Played frisbee with Jack. Pushed Kate on a swing. At home, later, played pixie sticks with Jack and read Backyardigans stories to Kate. That was the day.

Day 4

Rented bikes. It was tough for Kate, more riding than she is used to, and there were some mild expressions of discomfort on her part. After about half an hour we made our way back to the rental place (Emily and Jack were miles ahead) and I rented a carrier to tow Kate behind my bike.

She liked this development quite a bit.

Jack was awesome on his bike, he and Emily made about a 4 mile trip, then did it again with Kate and me. Went to a nice little pond. Both kids waded right in and would have gone swimming if we had our suits on.

Later, pool. Kate swam a lot. Jack and I jumped in together in the 9 feet deep area. I should note we had to talk Jack into going because we had bought him the new How to Train Your Dragon book and he almost literally couldn't put it down. Jack, don't read while you're walking up stairs. He finished it in a day.

If the mark of a good vacation is the kids not making a peep after lights out and being really tired writing a blog, well, mission accomplished.