Packing for the shore

Let's get this vacation starteddddddddddddddd!!!! As of 5pm today, I am officially on vacation for 9 days, and I ain't going back until Monday morning on August 24. Woo hoo! We're all headed down to Cape May (about 2 hours from here) with Yin Yin, Yea Yea, Bat Bat, Auntie Shannon, and Cousins Connor and Zoe for an extended family trip down the shore. We've got a nice house rented near the beach (with a pool) and just gonna kick back and relax. Now all we gotta do is pack.

We technically started packing on Thursday, which is when we made the official packing list. We've been on trips with Kaylani before, and they were much further away than 2 hour drive to Cape May, but for some reason this trip has brought out the worst in us. We're going a little bit crazy with the packing, and while I haven't even loaded the car yet, I get the feeling that our car is gonna be awfully packed tomorrow. Here's a snapshot of her list:

Pack and play
Box of diapers
Box of wipes
Carton of toys (for eating, for playing, for bath time, and for the beach)
Sunscreen
Floaty for swimming
Mattress
Sheets
First aid kit - thermometer, alcohol swabs, tylenol, motrin, cotton balls, etc
Baby monitor
Beach blanket
Portable 10'x10' shade
10 outfits
3 pajamas
Sun hat
Stroller
Outdoor buggy

That's not even close to everything, but then there's the food. Kaylani's eating 4 oz, or 2 jars, of food for lunch and dinner, as well as 1/2 cup of oatmeal for breakfast, and 2 oz of food for lunch. Since we'll be gone for 8 days, that means we needed to pack at least 32 big jars of food, 8 small jars of food, and a box of oatmeal (and spoons, bibs, bowls, etc).

We thought that this local trip would be easier on all of us considering there were 7 adults, and 3 kids under 3 years of age, but I'm starting to think we're out of control. Apparently the fact that we have our own car means we can bring whatever we can fit. If we were flying somewhere, we would have limited what we brought to 2 suitcases. Now we've got 2 suitcases, plus 10 random containers/bags of stuff for Kaylani.

Well we're almost done packing and Kaylani is down for the night, so I think it's time to turn in. Tomorrow morning officially officially starts vacation, and I can't wait! I'm looking forward to getting to Cape May. I just hope all of our stuff fits in the car and makes it there with us! And don't worry, I'll be blogging from down there so stay tuned because I plan on doing another "live" post from Cape May. Until later...from the beach!