Beach Life

 Devlin • Short • Beach Trip 2021 • Let's GOO

Our beach trip was finally here and we were all so excited! The boys just ended school, so this was the perfect getaway. We booked a private house with a private pool and a private path to the beach down in South Padre. Private everything? Too good to be true? Nope. I triple checked. It was all ours.

It was very spacious - way bigger than I originally anticipated. It had 2 bedrooms and bathrooms on each wing of the house, so each family had their own space. A perfect layout. The pool was MASSIVE and had a swim up bar, waterfalls, gazebos. Very resort-like and made us wonder if this house used to be something else. There was an upstairs that was closed off to us so maybe a condo? We knew from the photos the house was a little dated, but when we booked it, that was the least of our concerns. A little wear and tear won't bother us. 

WELL.... we were wrong. This house had some major maintenance issues. This could be super long winded, so I'll give you the highlights:

- The AC on one wing of the house wasn't working when we got there. Thankfully, a tech came out at 9pm that night and got it working. 

- The next day, we find that the fridge wasn't working and ALL of our food spoiled. We had to throw away everything. Mike and Stephen were dealing with the owner and the rental company pretty much the whole day trying to figure out the fridge issue.

- That same day, the pool guy came and said he needed to shock the pool. Why it wasn't done before? No idea. Bad planning if you ask me. SO, we had to take the kids out of the pool for this guy to clean it. Inconvenience.

- The hot water was in and out. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. The boys and I had to take some "refreshing" showers after the beach (because, you know, the pool wasn't ready for us)

- A broken dishwasher and washing machine sums up the list

Needless to say, it was annoying for the guys to have to deal with this on what was supposed to be our vacation. We're dealing with the rental company for refunds and hope to have all of that sorted out soon.

With a little updating, this house would be absolutely amazing. So, I hope (for the owner's sake), our stay opened his eyes a bit to what needs to be done.

Rant over. Back to the vaca...

Loaded up and ready to go!

Stephen found out his Dad was moving to Mexico for his retirement, so before they left we wanted to plan a time to get him together with the boys. On our way down to the beach, we stopped in to say hello. It was a nice visit. A good chance to re-connect! They had cats, so the boys were totally entertained lol.

The Devlins beat us to the house so the minute we got there, we unloaded and got the kids ready for the pool. Miles jumped right in and didn't leave anything back. Carson had only been in the pool once this season, so he was more hesitant. But, it didn't take long for him to start cruising.

The kids played played played in the pool until it was almost time for dinner. As we waited for the guys to get back with the groceries (which would soon spoil), we went down to the beach to check things out.

The boys had never been to the beach. Carson stayed with the group very interested in the sand. Miles? Well... Miles B-lined it for the water. No surprise there.

The next day, it was breakfast, cartoons and then out to the pool for more.

Introducing....Squageelie Man. The pool monster

Loving this!

Natalie was snapping pics of the kids and got HUGE smiles when she let them dump buckets of water on her and spray her with the blasters. Hm - I wonder why... haha

Miles Could.Not.Take.It

I just have to point out Lizzie in the back, with her head stuck in a float. hahaa! (Don't worry, we got her free)

Annnd... Stephen. For the win. Nice sunscreen form dude

After the kids went down for nap, us adults hung out by the pool and got things ready for afternoon beach time. The trail down to the beach was pretty overgrown so our plan for a full beach day with canopy, cooler, chairs, the whole deal - that was out the window. Take what you can carry people - including children.

Natalie in her full get-up. This should be the cover of a travel magazine IMO :P

Miles after getting clobbered in the face with a wave lol

Carson liked the water and had fun in the waves. But, the sand was where it was at. This was his jam.

It was SUPER windy the first day. Just look at Carson's hair!

Miles caught a fish!! A teeny tiny fish is in his bucket of water

We headed back, got showered up and ready for dinner/bed. Us adults had a nice relaxing night playing games and chatting. The next day? Rinse and repeat!

Carson wanting to go outside so bad. "Mama - poooo!"

It started raining on our last full day which was a total bummer. Thankfully, it was during nap, so the kids didn't miss out on much. But us adults were bummed we didn't get our pool time in. 

After nap, we planned to get ready and go to the beach for family photos. We all know no one LIKES this part. But everyone loves the photos after the fact. So, we powered through the whining and headed out in hopes of getting a few keepers.

A total win! We realized after our amazing switch to swimsuit strategy that we forgot to get a formal pic of all the kids together. But, we got that amazing pool shot with the dads the day before - not sure we could beat that one anyway. 

Such an awesome trip! The kids had a BLAST and all of them keep asking when we can go back. Despite the house issues, I would book this place again. It's got so much going for it. But maybe we wait for a little updating yea?

Cheers beach!