I am taking the boys (15 months) away for our first vacation to the Jersey shore and I'm completely worried about what to bring, pack, how they will sleep, etc. We barely get out since it's hard enough to pack for a day! It will be their first experience in the water and sand and away from home....so I need to know what the must haves are and I need input! (We are off formula and they are both walking.) Do people bring whole milk on the beach??? Ugh, I guess that means we'd need a cooler too. Please let me know if there are any beachy/travel items that you highly recommend!

Does anyone recommend those lease back packs for the boardwalk, or should I just use our red wagon?

What beach must haves do I need? Bucket & Shovel? Swimmies? Tent? Is there a such thing as organic safe sunblock? Hooded towels or regular towels? How many bathing suits do I need for them? (The house has a washer/dryer.)

The house is bi-level and on the beach and oceanfront. I'm concerned about them falling down the stairs or getting out of the house and making their way to the ocean. They only sleep in the cribs, so I guess we are going to have to grab a mattress from one of extra bedrooms and put it on the floor in our master. What age do kids start sleeping in real beds? We have never co-slept because of SIDs. What sleeping suggestions do you have? I plan on bringing our white noise machine just in case!

The shore house has a kitchen BBQ grill, etc. so we plan on eating in. I really don't feel like taking two high chairs so what other alterantives are there? Travel booster seats?

Are there any checklists or travel tips that other parents can share so I don't forget anything and so we can try to pack lightly?

Also, I've surfed the the web for vacation ideas, but haven't really found anything, so if you have any decent links that might help, please share.

pack lots of water , when my girls where younger i kept water around at the lake (i dont go to the beach) and packed 2 travel countainers of milk with a frozen thing in a lunch box to help keep them cold....go to target get one of those netting things that is full of sand toys and your set on toys..i heard aveeno is the best sunblock for kids (sensitve)...def regular towels and pack plenty of them for just in case purposes.. i only packed one suit for each kid but if you have room pack more cant hurt anything..if your worried about the stairs if you have a gate pack it... if your children are used to sleeping in a crib i would highly recomend takin a pack n play or two for them to sleep in ...i went on vaca and thought my boy would be okay in a bed just while we were on vacay and i was up all night until i went to the front and asked the front desk if they had a pack n play and thankfully they did...sometimes they need that "crib" like comfort for a while...usually they stay in the cribs until they start climbing out my 18month old just got in his toddler bed bc he kept climbing out and fell out the last time . if there not used to sleeping together i wouldnt try it on vacay i would recomend taking two seperate pack n plays and make them up like there cribs, with blankets or pillows or whatever you use, you def wanna try to keep sleepin arrangements as normal as possible or you could run the risk of being up all night with two babys that arnt happy :( with the high chairs i had two of the type of chairs that strap to seats for when we traveled. they worked great. i tried packing lightly once bc my hubby kept makin fun of me for packing everything and i left alot of important things at home..so packing lightly realy isnt much of an option when you have a big family :) my checklist when im packing i start with waking up and pack whatever me and the kids need in the mornings and i go through the day (in my head) and pack as i go... our first family vacay was the great wolf lodge the girls were 2 and my boy was 14 months they all loved it! i hope any or all of this helps at all with your packing and good luck! :)