Beach Trip...help?

heres the thing ive learned about beach trips. Dont take too many things!! you will definitely lose something you needed or end up so pissed that you have all this junk to lug that it will make the trip overly stressful!
i actually live right next to newport beach, i love it (its not hawaii, but i take what i can get! lol)
a five month old does need toys at the beach or anything (you can bring some for the hotel or whatever, just dont bring them to the beach)
my five month old was so intrigued by the sand that he didnt care about toys.

here are some basic things you will want to remember:
* Sunblock
* Hats
* towel
* swimsuit
* food or snacks
* sandals
* shorts
* tank tops
* diapers
* extra outfit for baby
* sweaters (ONLY if you are staying after 4pm)
* CAMERA
* cash (but not too much)
* put everything in a back pack to carry it to the beach.

Have fun!

Put everything in ziplock bags. And bring extra sand gets in everything. Lots of sunscreen. Hopefully a big beach umbrella. Your children are very young and will sunburn extremely fast. Hats with wide brims for everyone. Don't let the breeze fool you, it is then that people get sunburned the worse. Be careful with the babies .... A sunburn this young can turn tragic. Try to go early in morning or after 7 pm( out of peak heat and UV rays. Don't forget chapsick with sunscreen for their lips. Sunglasses for everyone. Finally whenever we have a question this important in my family, someone always exclaims Google It! Enjoy your family and trip. Also write everyones name in sand with stick and take a picture of it. Children photograph best in soft evening and morning light. And for fantastic pictures of children photograph on very cloudy days. This filters harsh sunlight and you go nuts for the pictures. Also with kids a zoom lens is best so that your children forget you are taking their picture. Blake and white pictures flatter everyone including children. Some of my kid favorites: 1. Splashing barefoot in puddles
2. Eating ice cream cones or colorful cotton candy
3. Telling secret to sibling or parents
4. Sticking tongue out at camera
5. Building sandcastles with Mom
6. Bury Dad in sand
7. Kids lying on colorful beachtowels with sunglasses on
6. Burying Dad in sand

We just got back from a similar trip. My advice:
- put the baby in overnight diapers while travelling
- buy diapers and anything else you can there (make a list now and give it to your husband to go shopping once you get there)
- search now for a dollar store - get some toys like buckets and stuff there
- borrow new library movies and games for the kids to watch/play during the trip (you be the keeper of them tho)
- research stuff to do now so you know your options, prices, get coupons online, and which days things happen. Then decide as you go.
- pack 2 shirts for every pair of shorts and only 1 pair of shoes per person
- tell the kids now that your eating out and sharing other food. That way they'll understand if the "snack" is Goldfish crackers, that's it.

We didn't bring beach towels. We just used bath towels.

You don't "need" half the stuff you think you do.

Try not to stress. They do have stores in Newport beach.

You don't mention if you're flying or driving?

I used to be one of those moms who packed up the entire house and kitchen whenever I would go to the beach. Now I take as little as possible. The beach provides enough entertainment for kids young and old.

Dress everyone in their swim clothes and spray them down w/sunscreen before you get in the car allowing enough time sunscreen to dry.

I take 1) a bag of towels, sunscreen, bandaids and tube of ointment 2)another bag of a stack of disposable drinking cups, a bunch of popsicle sticks, maybe 2 beach cars/trucks and stackable buckets, and 3) a cooler on wheels (I freeze a bunch of water and juices and pack those; it takes about 20 mins for a frozen bottle of water to defrost enough to start drinking).

My beach has chair rentals w/umbrellas already planted. I pay the rental bucks for the convenience of not having to dig my own hole for my umbrella and lugging a bunch of beach chairs around.

I also keep a bag of dry clothes in the car to change into after leaving the beach (just wrap a big towel around you while changing if there isn't a bathhouse nearby), shoes and bottle of water to wash off feet and hands in the parking lot.

Have fun in Newport! Tell all the Vanderbilts (or is it the Rockerfellers?) I said hi!

Do you have some of those reusable shopping bags? I designate one for each category. One for all toiletries, one for snacks, one for diapers/wipes, large one for beach toys/sun screen/towels/floaties clipped on/swim diapers/ hats /sunglasses, one for all our shoes, ect...
Then I pack one bag for my husband and I and one for my boys. I lay out all the clothes and accessories before packing. I count the days and nights and lay out outfits and pjs accordingly.

Lots of the things, you can just buy there, when you get there.
You are only going to Newport Beach. Not a foreign country.

Just take basics. Like you would pack for anywhere else.
You can buy the other stuff there.

Take clothing, underwear, bathing suits, sand shoes, flip-flops, shorts, t-shirts, hygiene items, shaving razors etc, sunscreen etc. Baby gear, sunglasses, hats.

Can't your Husband pack himself?

Baby powder will save your LIFE! Well, not literally, of course...But, it is a must-have in any beach trip I take.
Sprinkle it on hands, feet, legs, etc....anywhere that gets stuck-on sand.
Sand falls right off after a nice dose & rub of baby powder :-)
I'm sure that between your Mama instinct & the answers on here - you have everything else covered.
Have FUN!

Must haves...
suntan lotion
some type of shade for the baby
buckets and shovels
for the boys - at least 2 bathing suits, extra t-shirts
a backup "what if it rains plan", their favorite toy/game

Have a great vacation!

sunscreen, lots of sunscreen, swim suits, shorts and t's. if you are at hotel you do not need towels. Sand toys. I think beach vacations are the easiest, because you need so little. Sweats for evenings. And for the baby you need lots of diapers, and some sort of sun shade, an umbrella or one of those pop ups.