Hijacked - A Day At The Beach

Saturday
May 23, 2009


Today’s blog entry is brought to you by Nicole Young, daughter of Rollie and Gina.


The four of us in the truck woke up around 6 am because we were hot. Dad’s new AC keeps the Volvo at meat cooler temperatures, but without it, the heat of S. Texas takes over quickly. Shane went to the Fifth Wheel to wake dad up and have him fix it because we thought it was broke, but he had left for work. After returning to the truck and relaying Dad’s absence to us, Parker and Ashley (who slept on top next to the unit) realized it was just off and not broken. So we turned it back on and went back to sleep after ribbing Parker and Ashley a little for causing our discomfort. The four of us finally got up around ten and went into the Fifth Wheel where mom was making homemade biscuits and gravy and Uncle Jim’s homemade sausage. We ate around eleven. Dad was still at work and we were all conversing about what to do for the day. One thing I have noticed when hanging out with my parents in RV parks is that the most pressing issue of each day is 1. What’s for dinner? And 2. What to do that day? So in the spirit of RV’ing we sat around discussing what to do and what to eat for dinner. The two are intimately connected with each determining the other. We decided to go to the beach and then boil shrimp for dinner. So we went about taking turns in the shower and getting ready to go to the beach. I was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable and spacious dad’s bathroom is. Thomas and Haley opted to shower at the bath house. It is definitely a logistical operation coordinating eight people - male and female, married and single - changing clothes and getting ready in approximately 400 square feet of space. Despite Dad’s fears of being able to accommodate his children and spouses/girlfriend, his setup is remarkable. He has enough chairs for us to sit outside and enjoy the weather, he has plenty of seating inside for us to eat or enjoy a movie. And with the Volvo, we all can sleep comfortably.

So, we were finally ready – beach towels, tanning oil, sunscreen – and left for the beach. It began to rain on us as we approached the line for the ferry. The ferry was going to be an hour wait so we opted to drive around. Ashley, Parker, Shane and I followed Mom, Dad, Thomas, and Haley as we took the 45 minute drive around. The rain cleared up allaying everyone’s fears, only to start again as we arrived at the beach. Ashley and Parker live on the beach and commented how maybe we were trying to make something out of nothing. Well they were not going to let a few sprinkles stop them so Parker and Ashley and Shane left for the water. I hung out in the car waiting for Thomas and Mom and Haley to return with the boogie board so I could leave the keys of the car with Mom. Well, my husband had other ideas and carried me, in spite of my protest, into the water. After a mouthful of water I survived and began to have fun. Thankfully, the rain cleared up within minutes and the sun began to shine. We all played catch with a football and caught a few waves on the boogie board when Thomas and Haley returned. Eventually, I'd had enough and with the sun out went to lay out with mom. She was the only one of us to not enter the water. For those of you who don’t know my mom, laying out is not a simple endeavor. She is a professional tanner and with her French heritage is able to obtain a gorgeous tan easily. She’s got numerous tanning oil formulas depending on the depth of her tan, the type of weather, etc. and once she is “set-up” you do not ask her to apply sunscreen or oil because that will mess up the perfect layers of “formula” she has applied. Well my husband was still swimming and as you will see in the pictures I am white. So after much cajoling, and a little guilt trip, she applied sunscreen to Dad’s back and to counteract the sunscreen she had applied I convinced her to apply some tanning oil to my back so I wouldn’t burn. I haven’t been to the beach in a few years and it was so nice to lay-out and relax and listen to the waves and feel the sun and wind. The rain was a great blessing as it kept the temperatures down and the day was quite perfect as far as weather is concerned. Eventually the men left the water and came in search of food which we had none of. So we packed up and left the beach around 5pm. We took the ferry back which didn’t have a wait. Dad and Thomas and Haley dropped Mom off at HEB so she could shop and the rest of us returned to the RV park. The water heater had been off since this morning so we packed up our things and we all got to experience the bath house. They were surprisingly nice and clean as well.

Shane and Nicole


Shane and Nicole


Dad and Ashley


Shane and Nicole


Thomas catching a wave


Dad catching a football, while Nicole tries to intercept, with no help from Ashley


Nicole's makes an amazing catch, with some help from Shane


Haley going long


It's a catch - by Dad


Shane going over and under to make a catch


Ashley catching a wave - is Thomas helping?


Thomas and Haley


Parker, Dad, Thomas and Shane - OUR MEN!


Mom searching for shells - her number two priority at the beach


Parker trying to coral mom and get her so we can go


Wait, she found another one


Thomas and Haley - waiting for mom to give up the search


Look at my sexy husband - former bodybuilder - he works very hard to maintain his awsome physique


Parker and Ashley


Parker and Nicole and Ashley


Shane - After Marines & Thomas - Before Marines

(stay tuned for Thomas' after appx. Sept. 2009)


"Look at what I found" says mom


Mom and Shane


Dad, Mom, Shane and Thomas

Dinner was group effort. We had homemade chicken nachos and French fries and fried shrimp for dinner. This is a slight change from what was previously planned because Shane and I do not like boiled sprimp. Upon mom's returned from the store, we went about unpacking the groceries and preparing for dinner. Mom had bought more than just stuff for dinner and as I was putting things away I noticed how “messy” the pantry and cabinets were. So, I emptied all the places she keeps food and reorganized and cleaned things up while everyone else cooked outside. (Obviously you could tell mom hadn't been here for a few weeks) The cabinets were not that bad, but Dad had recently moved (without Mom) and things had shifted and a shelf had fallen so things were disheveled. And being the neat freak that I am, I just couldn’t help myself. I come by my perfectionist tendencies honestly (Mom). Ashley and Haley and I cleaned the kitchen and washed dishes so Mom could relax. The guys cleaned up outside and we all sat down to watch a movie – "Taken". This is a really good movie (it was mine and Shane's third time to see it) that plays on every instinctive emotion a father or parent has concerning their child. Definitely rent this movie! Dad fell asleep in the recliner – nothing new there. So we sent him to bed to Mom who had turned in earlier. Shane and I only lasted another hour before we started nodding off, so we retired to the Volvo around 11. Ashley and Parker and Thomas and Haley finished the movie and Ashley and Parker came to bed, but I never heard them tired as I was. Earlier this morning we had made promises to plan Sunday’s activities before going to bed, but that didn’t happen. So, we will see what happens. I know we want to go crabbing, but I don’t know that we'll catch enough for dinner because Thomas has had traps out since he arrived on Thursday night and only caught three crabs. We might end up grilling. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s activities – you never know who might hi-jack tomorrow’s blog entry : )

Dad, Haley, Thomas, Shane, Ashley, Parker and Mom - we are finishing up dinner and getting ready to watch a movie. Look how much room and how pretty their home is! Mom and Dad have a really nice setup - We are so proud of them. They have worked very hard and gone without for our sakes for a number of years and are finally getting to relax and enjoy life and partake of some lifelong dreams. We couldn't be happier or prouder to call them MOM & DAD!

Until tomorrow, God willing, blessings and peace in the name of our Savior.

The Thurston's, Young's, and Jenkin's