Sam-I-Am

G's favorite book right now is an old favorite of mine as well.  Grandma H had a copy that I would read when I went to visit as a kid.  Reading it to my kids brings back fun memories :)

Momma, can you read "Sam-I-Am?"

 After we've finished reading "Sam-I-Am" she will, without fail, run to find this...

Though I must say, I'm not as big a fan of The Cat in the Hat...mainly because every time I read that book I have to suppress the urge to jump into a "you'd better not EVER let stranger into this house without my permission...ESPECIALLY if they say 'Your mother will not mind at all if I do.' "  lecture :)

Another Case of Lost in Translation

The second night of our beach trip we decided to go out to eat.

This conversation took place in the Silver Bullet on the way there:

J: We are going to go to the Dockside to eat.

G: Is Darth Vader going to be there?

Should I be concerned that my girl wasn't the least bit troubled over the prospect of breaking bread with arguably THE quintessential bad guy in all cinematic history? :)

PS:  The picture doesn't really have anything to do with the story...I just thought it was cute :)

Beach Vacation - Part 3

Do not be fooled by J's easy-going attitude.  That man is STUBBORN! (and I say that with all the love in the world :)  Despite not feeling well, he would NOT be convinced that we should pack up and go home early.  Even if he wasn't able to, he wanted the rest of us to have to opportunity to enjoy our time at the beach.  Honestly, at times I was pretty frustrated with him for this decision.  But now, in hindsight, I'm humbled.  He put our enjoyment over his own comfort....I'm not too sure I would have done the same thing if I were in his shoes.    

Thankfully, we figured out late Wednesday afternoon that if he stuck to a no-solid-food diet (think soup, jello, yogurt, popsicles, etc), his comfort level increased significantly.  That was a tremendous blessing.  But still a HUGE bummer for a man whose vacation highlights always include all the yummy food he was able to eat :)  

As for the rest of us, we spent the rest of our mornings out on the beach.  Afternoons included naps and the occasional game of Monopoly (one of which C won!).  J's mom and sister were able to join us for the day on Thursday.  Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures after Tuesday evening...I suppose I was a little preoccupied :)  I think that Mrs. Brenda, Staci (J's sister), and Kristin took some though...so hopefully I can get some from them.

We ended our time on Friday evening on the beach.  It was beautiful, but the waves were very rough.  Even though the kids were playing on the very edge, G did end up getting knocked down and pulled out into deeper water very quickly.  Praise God, J retrieved her without delay or incident.  It was, however, a sobering reminder of the risks of playing in the ocean.  

I will say that this incident with G turned my attitude about this vacation on its head!  I wasn't angry or bitter...just kinda tired and bummed that J wasn't able to fully enjoy his much needed beach vacation week.  After this incident, I was (and still am) DEEPLY grateful for the IMPORTANT things:

#1 I have a sweet family to vacation with

#2 we were able to spend that vacation together at a beautiful  beach

#3 and we all returned safely

Thank you, Lord!

Vacation Interrupted

Starting Saturday night, J began having abdominal pain.  At first the pain (though pretty severe) would come and go after he ate, but on Tuesday morning the pain came and persisted.  Finally, it got to the point where we decided that he needed to go to the ER.  After being admitted, the doctor decided J needed to have a CT Scan with Contrast.  So instead of coffee on the deck looking at the beach, J enjoyed two big 'ol cups of contrast (think crystal light mixed with dish washing detergent).  BOO!

We were released from the hospital mid-afternoon and headed back to the beach house so J could get some much needed rest.   

We have always enjoyed vacationing with  my family, but on this particular day I was SOOOO grateful that we were not alone!  While J and I were living it up at the hospital,  Mom watched Kaitlyn while Kristin and Tim took Hayden, C and G to the Aquarium.  I was able to focus on J and the kids had a blast!

  

Late that afternoon we all went out on the beach.  The kids were running and jumping off the sand ledge into the surf.  Kristin and I thought it looked like fun so we joined in.  I'm sure we looked like complete maniacs running around yelling, jumping...we even even pulled out a few cartwheels and handsprings :)   I'm not gonna lie...it felt GOOD!

We did manage to capture this sweet picture before the madness ensued :)

Beach Vacation - Part 2

Most mornings I woke up poured a cup of coffee and enjoyed the view from our deck.  This was our first time renting an ocean front house...AHHHHHH!

After everyone got up, my brother-in-law prepared breakfast (usually pancakes and bacon or grits and sausage) YUM!

Then it was time to began the process of putting on bathing suits, applying sunscreen, and gathering beach toys.  We were usually on the beach before 10:00!

C and G's enthusiasm for the beach is contagious!  Seeing the light in my kids' eyes and hearing the excitement in their voices as they run around and play, just makes my heart sing.  Of course, it doesn't hurt that between the background noise of the waves crashing and the wide expanses of open beach, I don't have to do nearly as much fuss'n about being too wild or too loud. :)

C's "surfing"

  

 G and Hayden's attempt at "surfing" like C

Mom and G

G really enjoyed finding "treasures"

Check out ALL the treasures she found on this long walk to the East end...J ended up carrying them most of the way! :)

Tim found a starfish!

This is how a VERY tired boy who loves the beach and does not want to go in and rest plays in the sand :)

But don't think that beach-time ended at sunset.  Oh NO!  Several nights after supper, we'd go right back out for a bit of Ghost/Sand Crab Hunting.

And, of course, G was the most fearless hunter of them all :) 

I could tell we were making good use of our time at the beach when C prayed for a  "super long night's sleep" one night and then a "double layer of long sleep" the next...never thought I'd ever hear anything like that come out of my little one with a seemingly endless supply of energy :)  SCORE for Mommy and Daddy!

Beach Vacation - Part 1

This past week we went on our highly anticipated, long awaited family beach trip!  Based on our travel experience last year, we decided to arrive early to get ahead of the traffic.  Since our rental contract made it clear that harassing the crew cleaning the house by waiting outside in our car would result in a delayed check-in, we decided to park at the nearest public access and walk back down to the beach-side of the house to casually check things out.  It was a win-win...the kids were able to play on the beach and I was able to satisfy the the "I wonder if the cleaning crew is done yet?" urge minus the stalker-like appearance :)  It must have worked, because it wasn't long before the realty company called saying we could go ahead and come get the key.

I love it when a plan comes together! :)

After we got settled in, we took all of the kids back out to play on the beach.  We were forced to cut our beach playing short and head back in for supper when it started raining.  Then on to bed for the kiddos as they were all getting pretty sleepy/crabby since they'd missed their afternoon naps.

Speaking of beds...C has been talking about sleeping in the top bunk of this bed ever since he saw a picture of it (several MONTHS ago)...I love how my kiddos get excited about the small things!

I may have experienced just the smallest amount of sadness when I tucked him in that first night...how is it that my baby is such a big boy?!?

Here you go, Mommy

I don't enjoy working out.  Mainly because I'm a wimp and a little bit lazy :)  But I LOVE hanging out around a pool in the summer.  Fortunately, our local YMCA will allow slackers like me to join for just the summer without an initiation fee giving us the opportunity to take advantage of the water-park without the guilt of paying for a gym I don't use the other 9 months of the year.  We did this last summer and it worked out great, so we decided to re-join for this summer.   

The kids and I signed up this morning and then spent several hours splashing around.  We had lots of fun!  

Around 1:50 the life guards whistled for all the kids to get out of the pool for adult swim.  I decided that was a good time to dry off and head home.  When the kids made their way over to our lounge chair, I handed G her towel and then turned around (my back was to her) to help C remove his wet swim shirt - not an easy task for a large-headed child :)  As soon as I pulled C's shirt over his head, he took one look at G and started laughing.  [Uh-oh - that's not good!]  I turn back around to see a totally undressed G standing there - crumpled up bathing suit in her outstretched hand.

"Here you go, Mommy."

That's my little helper! :)  

Never mind the fact that when nature called a mere 30 minutes earlier this same child was unable to remove this same wet bathing suit in the privacy of a bathroom stall...but put her in the presence of 40 (at least) adults and children and she's got it off in 5 seconds flat.  Figures! :)