Beach Trip 2012

We just got back from a fantastic beach trip!! It was full of sun, fun, sand, and good food. Oh and sand... did I mention sand? I am a girl who loves the beach. I would sit out there from sunrise to sunset and then a little beyond if I could. But my 37 year old skin begs me to do otherwise.

The kids really enjoyed the beach this time. They both loved the water and played in the waves. Phil bought a boat/float and took the kids out into the ocean in that. I was glad we brought their floats because a wave knocked them both out of the boat at one point. The waves were pretty rough on the first day. So rough that the plug came out of the end of the float. Phil walked back across the street and explained that the float didn't even survive the day. They (somewhat begrudgingly) gave him another one. We needed one for day 2!

About to head out for a boat trip with their Daddy

Did I go out for these little excursions in the boat float? I tried. Twice. The seaweed was at high level while were there. Like the big, weedy, scruffy kind... It made it difficult for me to enjoy myself in the water. It might have been seaweed brushing against my leg, but it could also have been a shark. So that was that.

We built some sandcastles and played, but the most fun we had in the sand was one cloudy afternoon after everyone deserted the beach. Some teenagers next to us spent most of the day digging a HUGE hole on the beach. It also had a "door" that you could crawl through to enter the hole. Rush thought it was the coolest thing! He spent quite a bit of time playing in it while Phil and Frannie searched for shells.

We also got to eat lots of good seafood, and I got to spend my birthday at the beach. I got to eat one of my top all time favorite dishes on that night. Grits a Ya Ya at Great Southern in Seaside!! It is hard to top!

This was the first time a beach trip was "easy" (so to speak). It is still a lot of work to have two little people at the beach, but the kids are easier because they don't need special beds, cups, swim diapers, etc. Now, keeping the condo sand free? That was a futile effort. I feel like we were all sandy pretty much the whole time were there. It took some getting used to, but I finally decided to let it go and just embrace the "beachiness".

Enjoy the picture overload...

Art Class

The kids spent the last week taking an art class every morning. I think they enjoyed it. Although you wouldn't be able to tell that from the pictures that I took. I forgot my camera that morning (grrrr... had it all charged and ready). So, the alternative was to use the camera on my phone..not great. It didn't matter, though, the kids would barely look at me and no one cracked a smile. On the last day of the class, parents were invited to attend the "art show" to see what they had done during the week. Their art teacher is also known locally for painting kids' faces in a very creative way. I was pretty sure that Frannie would refuse to have hers painted, but Rush came out with a bare face as well. You can imagine my surprise when my two walked out with the group, and they were the only kids without their faces painted. Oh well! Fran finally unloaded the truth later in the day. She said she knew I would have to wash her face like I do when she has sunscreen on it, and to quote her, "I hate that!" Ok then. That's some deep thinking about face paint, kid. I think she kinda convinced Rush he shouldn't get his painted either because he could never give me a reason he didn't want it painted. When I told Phil they were the only two without their faces painted, he died laughing. He then said they probably get that trait from him. He wouldn't have wanted his painted either. :-)

Despite their smileless and paintless art show, I honestly do think they enjoyed the week. They both talked about it every day and made some new friends. I got a few pictures when we got home of some of their art work. In addition to the handprints and butterflies, they also made clay snakes, tissue paper and water color flowers, and bugs made out of their names. Enjoy the fake smiles.

We are heading to the beach soon, so hopefully that will generate some smiles that are a bit more genuine. :-)

McWane Science Center

Mama, the kids, and I drove up to see Ivy, Tony, and Kate for a few days this week. I had been wanting to take my two to the McWane Science Center for a while, and we decided to do that on this trip. The kids seemed to really enjoy it, although I think it would be perfect for a nine or ten year old. There were things that were very appropriate for young children, but in my opinion, to really take in everything, they need to be able to read pretty well. It was also difficult for Ivy and me to move past the fact that this place is basically like one giant doctor's office full of PUBLIC TOYS. If you are a long time reader, you know that I don't enjoy public places that are intended for children to share toys. I know... I chose to go to a children's museum. Obviously, there would be other children there. I think I just expected it to be a little cleaner. It was kinda dirty. And when we went to eat lunch? We basically had to scrub down a dirty table with baby wipes just to be able to avoid someone else's stickiness. We all thought they should have used some of their volunteers to help keep the place spruced up a little. I just kept feeling like I wanted to wipe the kids hands off with an antibacterial wipe. Thankfully, they had hand sanitizer dispensers here and there, so we were able to do a little disinfecting along the way. Yes, I am a little nutty.

There was one little section that was just for little ones. It had a "Burger King play area" type place. The kids loved that. There was also a large water table. Rush liked Water World the best. There were all kinds of fish, turtles, and even a shark. He had an opportunity to touch the shark, but I couldn't ever convince him to try it. He thought about it several times, but finally decided against it. Maybe next time. There was also a big Dora and Diego exhibit. I never really understood what it had to do with science, but there were some fun things there for the kids to do. They did GREAT!!

Get ready... I took lots of pictures!

This picture is the perfect one to show how Rush felt about having his picture taken on this excursion. There was WAY too much to look at in every direction. He wasn't interested in looking at the camera at all. So, he is basically indulging me in every picture before he runs off to the next thing.

Rush driving a rocket

In a tunnel

Fran in the driver's seat

Kate's turn to drive

Kate LOVED the water table. What is it about water, buckets, and kids that just seems to be such a great fit?

I tried to make a giant bubble around our little group, but it was low on bubbles and a little hard to get it going.

Standing by one of the many aquariums in Water World

Ivy and I have laughed at this picture. We were trying to get different combinations of kids in each picture. Ivy had zoomed in to get my two kids with me in a picture, but Kate didn't realize that. She was sitting off to the side with her cute little self.. just smiling and saying "CHEESE"!! We had to get one of her in there, too. She is such a cutie!

Playing on the giant piano

Remember Lite Brite? This was a giant one.

Fourth of July

We had a low key Fourth of July yesterday, and it was really nice! Phil and I took the kids to the neighborhood pool in the afternoon. Then, we had a great dinner at home with Uncle Chris. After that, we headed to our town's fireworks show. It was a fun day!

Fun at the Pond

Last week, we went with my friend Amy and her sweet daughter, Rachel, to the pond that is at the industrial park across from our house. Sounds like a weird place for a pond, I know, but it is actually a really nice pond with a sidewalk trail all the way around the edge. There is a dock you can walk out on and use to see lots of pond life. It is FULL of turtles, ducks, and fish!! We saw a GIANT catfish! GIANT! Kind of scary looking, in fact. He made all of the ducks swim away. We had a great time with only a coule of minor mishaps. I had been saving old bread to take with us to feed the ducks and fish. Let me just say that the ducks that live at this pond rely heavily on the crumbs that come from visitors. As soon as we arrived, they started walking/swimming our way. Word spread around the pond quickly. If you haven't ever fed a tame duck, you should know that they expect you to get those crumbs out there ASAP. If you don't, they will take it right out of your hand. Rush and Frannie learned this really quickly. There was a freak out when the ducks' bills were touching their hands, but we recovered... for the most part. Rachel was very comfortable with the ducks because she had been there before. She was a good example for the twins. Both kids got pecked at by the ducks.

After feeding all of the animals, we went over to the sidewalk trail and found a shady spot to ride bikes, tricycles, etc. Amy brought along another little riding toy that you have to move with your feet and legs. It swerves back and forth as you move it. It is a little hard to explain. It reminded me of these turtle things we used to use at the skate center when we were little. While both of my kiddos tried it out, they weren't strong enough or don't yet have the motor skills necessary to make it work. Frannie was the last to try it out. I thought she was done with it and was just sitting there. I turned my back to help Rush on the tricycle. All of a sudden, I hear Amy yell from down the sidewalk a little... "WATERRRRRR!!!!!" We both took off running as we watched Frantastic sail down a hill toward the pond. I think she was so stunned, she couldn't even think to put down her feet to stop herself. She just whizzed right on down. We got there just as she slipped into the edge. Her whole bottom half was wet, but we saved her before she went all the way in. What a mess! We laughed... Frannie not so much. She kept saying, "But I didn't want to go in that water! Why did I go in? I didn't want to!" You should have heard the dramatic retelling for her Daddy at dinner that night. Oh, she is quite the actress.

There are no pictures as evidence because it was 140 degrees outside, and all of the kids were saying they were itching. It was time to go home. I forgot I had my camera in my pocket. I am a little sad about that now.

All in all, it was fun, and I think the kids must have enjoyed it, too, because they have been asking to go back again. Maybe when it cools down to 98 degrees, we can go back. :-)

Biscuits Baseball Game

We had been talking about taking the kids to a baseball game for a while, so I decided to buy some tickets for Phil for Father's Day. Last night was the night of our game, and it was possibly the hottest night... ever. :-) Temps were in the 100's when we got there, and it had cooled down to a balmy 96 by game time. The kids LOVED it!! We almost forgot how hot it was! Almost! They loved seeing the players and all of the other fun things that were going on. They also loved the FOOD! Frannie had chocoloate Dippin' Dots. Rush had a box of popcorn. They each got to have their own bottle of water. They thought that was a pretty big deal! :-) It ended up being a great night to take the twins to their first game. It wasn't crowded at all, so we were able to move up to some seats that allowed the kids to be able to see really well. They could wiggle around on our row without annoying anyone. Worked out great!

When the players are coming in off the field, they will often toss the last ball caught up into the stands to those who are seated nearby. Although we didn't get a ball that way, a sweet young man that did get a ball from the players just walked up and handed it to Frannie. Just a random act of kindness!! Very sweet of him! The kids were excited and took turns holding the ball while they watched the game.

The game started at 7:05, and the normal bedtime for our kiddos is around 8:00. We wondered how they would do with being up a lot later than normal, but they did GREAT! Rush went to sleep immediately when we got home. Fran kind of fell apart a little as we were trying to get her in the bed... just overtired. She was asleep within five minutes. So, I am sure you are thinking that they slept in this morning to make up for the sleep they lost from going to bed at nearly 11:00 pm. Of course, they didn't. I don't understand that. It never works, though... put them to bed later, and they always get up at the same time as if they had slept all night. Maybe a good nap is coming later today?

On the way to see the Biscuits play!!

Fun times at the game!

Fun, fun, fun!!


Next post... I am going to backtrack a little and post some pics from last week's trip to the pond across the street from our neighborhood. It was an interesting little adventure.