Back to the Beach

Thursday evening, the kids and I met Jason when he got off work and headed to the beach. This time I got some pics of Anakin (with his new haircut!). He even decided that he would try to get on the board this time. He's still not comfortable going out as far as Mia, but for a kid that hates any water splashed in his face, he really did great.

I didn't really get any shots of Mia on the board. The waves were crashing really close to shore and she was having more fun hopping over them with her Daddy.

She's crazy.

While I was watching my kids go crazy, I noticed something out in the water. Of course, I didn't have my tripod and my zoom was all the way out but I got an OK pic.

Until next time...

The Beach

Saturday when we left Yesterday's Fun we headed to Fenwick Island to hang on the beach for awhile. When we got there, it was later in the day so the crowds had thinned out and it was breezy and warm without being overly hot.

Anakin and Mia absolutely love the beach. It is their favorite place to go and they'd live in a tent on the beach if they could. They love to dig in the sand, building sand castles and making trenches and pools to splash in.

Anakins still not much for the water. He prefers to play a sort of tag with the waves coming in.

And yes, I do realize my child was badly in need of a haircut. LOL He actually got one on Monday, I just haven't taken pics of it yet. Just imagine Anakin Skywalker in the beginning of Episode I--more of a classic bowl shape. He chose. :)

Mia is pretty much the exact opposite when it comes to the water. She has been a little fish since she was a year old and didn't want me to hold on to her in the pool. We finally bought her a flotation suit and water wings to help keep her afloat and I'd just hover around her while she paddled about. She's the same way at the beach.

Only there, she wants to ride on Daddy's boogie board. The first time Mia "rode" a wave she was two years old and Jason held onto the tether the whole time. This year Mia was bigger and could go a little farther out. This year, Jason put the tether on Mia and let her ride a wave in on her own. (Insert mini-Mommy attack here)

Jason actually has to keep Mia from going to far out. She'd keep going if he let her. She's a crazy little thing. Once they get out a little ways, Jason helps her get set up and reminds her of how to lay on the board and hold on and then he lets her ride the wave in.

He stays close just in case she wipes out. Which she does. Often. She eats sand and then hops back up calling for more, "Again! Again!" We've created a monster. LOL

She eventually tires out (probably from the ten pounds of sand that has wedged itself in her hair, ears, and bathing suit when she wiped out) and she rests in the hole her brother dug. You know. In case there isn't enough sand stuck to her already.

Yesterday's Fun

This past Saturday, my husband and I decided to take the kids to the beach and on the way we planned to stop at the best little toy store in the world. Yesterday's Fun is a store full of memories. Walking in is like walking back into my childhood so it's fun for the whole family.

The best part? It is totally acceptable to touch! Kid heaven!

Anakin didn't make it far. Once he found legos and Star Wars, he was happy.

And of course Mia loves the dollhouses.

Throughout the store there are bins and shelves and racks of toys-from newer ones still in the package to older, used toys. I'm partial to the used toys myself. I mean, who can resist the Little People section?

We told the kids that they each had so much money to spend and sent them off to choose how to spend their money. This of course was worse than torture because how can we expect them to choose? They want it all! LOL

Mia finally chose a My Little Pony and a Playmobil fairy person. Anakin finally chose a Star Wars figure, a bucket of legos for $3, and he created his own mini figure from a bin of pieces.

What they don't know is that Mommy did a little shopping herself while Dad buckled them into the van. Anakin's big Christmas gift (a Castle Greyskull and some He-Man figures) is safely hidden away with the princess castle we'd already gotten for Mia. ;)

Can't wait for next time!

Enviable

My youngest, my baby girl, has the most beautiful hair I've ever seen. It's the kind of hair that grown women spend hundreds to have and then never get close. It's long and shiny, strawberry blonde with gorgeous waves and curls.

We can't go anywhere without having at least one person comment on it. It's gotten so bad that when strangers talk to her, she asks them if they like her hair. LOL

Even better she lets me play with it. :) Braids and pigtails and bows.... I was lucky if Claudia let me put her hair in a pony tail. And since I know that Mia will eventually get sick of it and will probably even ask to have it cut more than just a trim, I'm enjoying it while it lasts. And keeping my fingers crossed that she never wants to cut it short. ;)

Taken Yesterday

Yesterday I babysat my nieces and nephew. Luckily, we were all at my MIL's house so all five kids went swimming (and so did I. It was hot out yesterday!).

I got out my camera with the intention of taking some pics of the kids but became distracted by this butterfly. I love bugs and especially butterflies. They are so beautiful and so much fun to photograph.

The bee was just a lucky bonus. :)

Just a quick post

and a silly picture. I grabbed this snapshot the other day when Anakin (finally!) lost his first tooth.

It started coming loose a good month or two before school ended. It had been becoming looser and looser but it just wouldn't budge. For the past couple of weeks he'd been complaining that it hurt sometimes and I explained that the new tooth was probably putting pressure on it. On further inspection, I noticed that the tooth next to it was starting to wiggle, too.

Well, during dinner the other night, he started complaining about it bothering him again and I told him that he just needed to keep wiggling it and it would eventually come out. He wouldn't let Jason try to pull it and frankly, I'm squeamish when it comes to the whole teeth falling out thing.

Within minutes, it was out and Anakin was dancing around the room. I sent him to the bathroom to rinse out his mouth. While was in the other room, Jason and I were discussing the visit from the tooth fairy that was coming. I also mentioned how she was going to be overworked soon, as we already knew there was another tooth coming.

Of course, the moment I said that, we heard another whoop from the bathroom. The other tooth had fallen out.

Now, he was beyond thrilled and we were scrambling to get cash for the tooth fairy's visit. At this rate, the tooth fairy is going to go broke. And did I mention he has an extra tooth? Our tooth fairy is so screwed. LOL

Share!

This weeks' theme at Trendy Treehouse is "Share". I quickly realized that my favorite picture featuring sharing is one I took way back of my kids wrapped in the quilt my grandmother made.

She made one for each of her kids (11 living) using scraps from clothing she wore or made for her kids over the years. My dad's wasn't finished before she passed away so my aunt finished it. When I was 18, my dad gave it to me and I've loved and cherished it ever since. I've even had to repair it a time or two making that three generations to sew on it. :) Truly a labor of love and one that has been shared with multiple generations of my family.

Fireworks!

Otherwise known as the conclusion to Independence Day!! LOL

As I said earlier, for the first time I not only remembered my tripod but I had time to go get every thing set up. Let me tell you, it was so much fun to be able to get these pictures. Maybe next year I'll get a remote release or even a wider angle lens and they'll be even better. I don't know what it is but photographing fireworks is so much fun. I took a couple hundred shots and have edited about 30 of them so far.

Here are a few of my favorites. :)

You can see the rest of the set here.

Independence Day Part 3

So, I might get it all posted some time this century. I keep trying and the kids keep interrupting. LOL

So, after our air conditioned break, we headed out to the carnival.

As you can see, Mia is still rockin' her silly with the addition of her sparkly headband. ;) I swear, I don't know where she gets it.

We bought tickets and then proceeded to follow the kids around as they went on ride after ride.

The Castle:

Please excuse blurry pics. I wasn't prepared. LOL

From the Castle we headed straight for the bounce house.

Can I just say I love the bounce house? I only wish that I could get in it. But really, it only takes one ticket per kid and they just bounce and bounce and bounce until they can barely breathe from laughing so hard and then they slide out all jelly legged and flushed. Awesome.

Once they finally had their wits about them we headed to Mia's favorite, the Carousel.

The kids had been wanting to play a game, so that's what they did next. Only I forgot to take pictures because I was too busy laughing at them trying to catch the "fish".

Once they'd each picked their prize--a stuffed and tie-dyed dolphin for Mia and a sea turtle for Anakin--it was time to hit one last ride as it was starting to get dark. Anakin really wanted to go on the dragon coaster and even though Mia got scared last year and got off, she insisted she wanted to ride it. So off they went.

I was so nervous letting her go, but she rode it. The first couple of go arounds she had her head down and was clutching the bar pretty hard. I was certain she was going to freak any moment. But then her head popped up and she was laughing. It was harder on me than it was her, much like most things. I finally snapped that shot at the end of the ride. You can barely see Mia's curls past Anakin's head.

As Mia came off the ride, she informed us that she was "Brave and tough!" Indeed. LOL

By this point it was time to head back to the van to get comfortable for the fireworks and for me to get my tripod set up (I remembered it this year!)

Independence Day Part 2

After our snack we headed back to the play area to let the Littles see the clown and play for a bit. Plus it was free!!! I love free fun! LOL

Anakin always asks for a sword...always.

Mia got a pretty purple flower.

Both kids played for awhile at all the stations but every year their favorite is the stacking cups. They don't really know how to play the game, they just like to make "castles". Even if some of them are a little small. ;)

After they played, we walked around looking at all the sales booths. Lucky me, there was a Scentsy booth and I came home with a couple goodies. ;) Oh, and entered to win a full-size warmer and some bars. *crosses fingers*

At this point we decided to head home for a bit. Our hands were full of goodies and freebies that we'd gotten and we all needed a break from the heat. We'd come back later for the carnival and fireworks.

Independence Day!!

Yesterday was the fourth and we went to Laurel for their Independence Day celebration. We always have so much fun every year when we go and this year was no different. When we first arrived we headed towards the car show.

We walked around a bit and looked at all the cars. I would have taken more pictures but I was busy trying to ensure that my kids wouldn't get fingerprints on all those nice, shiny, clean cars. LOL

At one point we passed the face painting booth and Mia decided she wanted a pink butterfly.

Then they fell in love. When the saw it they immediately called it "Mater".

And lucky for them the lady that owned it said that they could even sit in it. :)

According to the thermometer on my van it was about 100 degrees out yesterday and sweltering so we took a break and had some italian ice. As you can tell, it did the trick. :)

And then we headed off for more fun!