Last Beach Post

Here are a few photos I forgot to add!

Meredith loved the little pool Paw Paw and Kacki brought.  Russell loved it at her age too.  Her favorite activity was throwing all the toys out of the pool, then tossing them back in, and doing it again and again.

A kind man let Russell and Meredith “help him fish.” He was really sweet and patient with them.  It was perfect, because for some reason, Russell has been asking to go fishing for a while.  He got to hold the fishing rod and Russell and Meredith each got to hold a fish.

Lastly, on Saturday, I dragged everyone out to the beach for some photos.  I tend to get a little crazy in these types of situations, but Jason said he was proud of me this time for not being crazy

I gave Jon a 5-minute lesson on my camera:

Love this one of the kids and Jason’s parents!

My 2 favorites of the kids:

And my 2 favorites of Uncle Jon and Meghan:

And that was our beach trip!  Bring on fall!

Beach Trip: House, Out and About

We always stay at the same beach.  It’s the one both Jason and I grew up going to.  My grandmother used to have a condo there, Jason and I got engaged there – lots of family history.  We all agreed that the house we stayed in this year was tied for the best that we’ve rented.  It was waterfront (the only way to be), newly remodeled, and had a great deck that was partially shaded. 

Uncle Jon and his girlfriend Meghan joined us for the weekend and stayed in the house with us.  So nice to get some time with them!  We moved Russell into our room when they came (Meredith still had her own room; in my opinion, she’s not at the point where she can share a room and everyone still sleep), and we all had plenty of room.

The kids had some fun in the house in addition to out on the beach.

Mer tried out Russell’s crocs – cute!

Is there any better place on Earth to do your Bible study than the beach?

Fun on the deck (and Art and M.E. joined us for an afternoon!)

Breakfast at Mike’s – something Jason’s family introduced me to.  So good.  Meredith’s “child’s pancake” was seriously bigger than my head.  I wish I had thought to get a picture before she had eaten so much of it.

Last “out and about” – the aquarium!  Russell enjoyed it, Meredith didn’t really care.  I thought she’d like it because she generally loves animals (fish included), but she kind of just tolerated it.  Russell said his favorite part was “seeing the fish and sharks.”

This family picture was hard work – but I love it!

(If you think this was a lot of pictures, just think, it was cut down from 300+ originally!  One more post coming later )

Beach Trip: Sandy Toes

We were at the beach with Paw Paw and Kacki for almost a week – Tuesday through today (Sunday).  We had such a fun and even relaxing time!  We have gone in September for several years now, and love it because there are less crowds but the weather is still so nice. 

We skipped this annual trip last year, and I’m still glad we did.  Meredith was at prime “sleep-training” time and both kids were bad car riders.  What a difference that year has made!  Both kids slept well on this trip (although Meredith did have a harder time napping), and the ride, while still stressful, is definitely getting better.

I’m definitely splitting this trip into several posts.  This first one is mostly about beach time!

We arrived on Tuesday at about nap time, but still took the kids straight to the beach.  They were so excited.  Meredith loved all of it right away.

Mer’s first feel of sand and ocean!

Russell had what I would call a healthy fear of the ocean.  When we first got out there, he ran back and forth nervously at the edge of the water, and said “Mommy, what’s going to happen?”  He thought the waves were going to “mush” him (his words).  But he eventually warmed up a bit.  We showed him that the ocean was fun, although we also made sure he knew he was right, it can be a bit scary.  Healthy fear is not a bad thing!

Pics from another beach day – this was the first trip that we’ve brought any sand toys to the beach.  (After all, the last time we came, Russell was still crawling!)  The kids took advantage!

Russell really liked piling sand on Kacki’s legs.  She was a good sport about it!

Meredith enjoyed when someone would fill a bucket with salt water for her to play in.

Sunset walk with my love!

We had a lot of time on the beach, but we also had some fun in the house and out and about!  Pics of that coming in the next posts.

3 years of friendship

This is what 3 years of friendship looks like.

(Also, Lily’s dad may want to cover his eyes )

This Week in Instagram

Russell wore his linen pants to church for the end of summer (Labor Day weekend):

Spent Labor Day morning at a bounce house!

Our favorite playground – Meredith did very well walking up and down the stairs by herself!

Lollipop from the bank – it’s the simple pleasures

Watching Russell and Dad mow and saying, “Hi Da!  Ruhruh!”

There you have it – the iPhone highlights!