2015 – Bethany Beach, DE

• With everyone scarred by the long drives, Frank finds a gorgeous 12-bedroom house right on the beach closer to home
• Watching 4th of July fireworks from either the beach or the house balcony – we saw Bethany and Rehoboth’s displays as well as MANY neighbors who had their own supply to detonate.  It lasted over an hour

• We had campfires on the beach most nights.   Highlights included chasing crabs, Mom’s presence, and Christina’s New Jersey / Cake Boss impersonation

• Water fun! Boogie boarding and body surfing was fun, but often bruising, boating meant either wave runners, a pontoon boat or paddle boarding

• Everyone was a soccer fan for a couple of hours as the entire family cheered the American women on to victory in the World Cup

• Group bike ride to Fenwick Island for lunch is a delightful jaunt for some and years’ worth of exercise for others

• Frank brought Telestrations which became the game du jour

• Sarah and Will left early – to get their marriage license

2001 – Bethany Beach, DE

• Karen makes arrangements for three condominiums in a resort near the beach

• Rudy and Marie each attend their first family vacation

• Vanessa and Kai join us.  Rudy smiles whenever Kai is around

• A romantic first evening provided by area wide power outage … no scented candles though

• The condo complex has tennis courts and the family makes good use of them

• Shuttle bus to beach

• The swimming pools (indoor and outdoor) are used on a daily basis

1996 – Bethany Beach, DE

• Frank finds a couple of condominiums near the beach in this small seaside community

• The family comfortably fits into two 2-bedroom and a loft unit

• The beach is a couple blocks away

• Maria attends her first family vacation

• Mary is pregnant with Alex

• The family throws a baby shower for Mary

• Maria eats her weight in blueberries while her grandmother and aunts watch in amusement. (she has blue poop for the remainder of the week)

• The first beach vacation for the family in a while – kids enjoy boogie boarding in the rough surf

• Mark takes Wes and Austin to an “all you can eat” seafood restaurant.  They almost put the restaurant out of business (no report on their poop)