More Beach Times

We made another trip to the beach last week with our little family and my brother, Logan.  Although Logan is not so much of a beach bum (a direct quote might have been, "I hate the beach."), but he's a lot of fun to have around and was a great sport.

Part of what makes Logan fun, is that he'll tackle projects that us parentals are too tire to attempt.  Like this giant hole in the sand.

Here is the hole in its early stages.  Even at this point its fun for the kids.   

 Elise loves being in the waves.  The waves weren't too strong when we first got there and we had fun playing in them.

You can see, the hole is getting bigger.  And its still fun. :)

And that face.  I love it. :)

 And even deeper.  He dug down until he hit water. :)

 Love this boy. :)

Why is snacking at the beach so much fun? :)

 More fun with Logan's hard work.  It was quite impressive.

And then the tide came in and washed away much of Logan's work.  But it still left a fun little swimming pool for the kids to play in.  Which was just as fun.

 Later in the day the waves got stronger and stronger.  After a while, they were just too powerful to be fun.  So we spent the rest of the afternoon on the shore and in the shallow water.

 Super Kids.

 You gotta watch out for Logan. :)

 Ian skipped sea shells in one of the pools the tide left behind.

 My Love. <3

 A bird and the waves.  It is just so beautiful!

 Cuteness. :)

 Oh My. :)

 Ian scooted his head around in this little tide pool like vacuum cleaner.  What an imagination. :)

My favorite little brother named Logan. :)  

I think the hot weather is getting to us all, but after another perfect day at the beach, I'm definitely not ready to say good-bye to summer just yet.

Beach Bums

One of our favorite summer activities has been trips to the beach.  We've gone at least once a month since April.  Yes, we got an early start this year. :)

We made two trips with my favorite beach buddy, Amanda, and her kids.  I don't know of anyone else who likes to stay at the beach as long as I do, so its perfect. :)  Not to mention our kids are in heaven.

 The first day was gorgeous perfection.  Breezy, sunny, warm.  Glorious.  We came just after high tide, which had left these nice little pool in the sand for the little kids to play in.  That made it fun for them and much easier for us to keep an eye on them.  The bigger kids, of course, wore themselves out in the waves.  We stayed until we couldn't stay any longer, showered everyone off in the cool beach showers and drove home while the kids slept.  It was so much fun.

Our next trip couldn't have provided any different weather.  It was cool, overcast and even sprinkled a few times.  But the beach was practically deserted, we were wet anyway from the water, and no one seemed at all bothered by the cooler day.  In fact, it was just as perfect in its own way.

  Paige was trying to drag this bucket full of sand.  That tough stuff for a little bitty girl. :)

 Cute kids. :)

 Ian wasn't actually slinging the sand on Paige.  Just a funny camera angle. :)

 Merry Grace was intent on building a sand castle.

 Ta-da!!!

 What's gonna work? Team Work!!!!

(Paige may or may not, but definitely is, addicted to this show. :))

 Ian also spent time building a sand castle.

 Best Friends.  Love it. :)

 Could little Parkey be any cuter?  I don't see how. :)

What's nice is that there is a friend for everyone. :)

Paige even tried the waves.  What a brave girl. :)

 Paige got sand all in her bathing suit and had to wash it out.  

Of course.

Toward the end of the day, the kids built these trenches to protect their castles.  Which, as we all know, didn't work.  But mostly its just the working together that is so much fun.

I think we set a record by not leaving the beach until 7:45pm.  And really, if the gates to the parking lot hadn't been closing, I'm not sure we'd have even left then.  Another perfect day at the beach. :)

More Cheap Entertainment

It doesn't take much to keep Ian entertained.  But it does often involve a mess of some sort.  I let Ian do this activity once before, but it does take *quite* a while to clean up and it never *quite* gets completely done.

Oh boy, what fun he had!!!  And so did the other kids.  Although, Merry Grace did get a few too many giggles out of saying "Booby Trap."  Repeatedly.  Oh well.  Another $2.00 well spent. ;)

That's Usin' Your Noggin'!

Paige came across Ian's airsoft gun the other day.  Since it was out of both batteries and "bullets", Paige decided to improvise.

She got out my pink pearl cake sprinkles and attempted to load the gun.  I have no idea how many she actually got in the gun, but I have a pretty good idea of how many ended up on my floor. :)

What could possibly be tougher than a little girl in My Little Pony panties, wielding an airsoft gun loaded with cake sprinkles? :)  (But don't you just LOVE that face?!)

Food Phrases

I made a mushroom saute the other night and forced encouraged the kids to eat some.  They did, although not too happily.  I think Merry Grace's comment summed it for everyone, besides me. She said, "I don't know how anyone eats mushrooms because they are sooooooo disgusting."

On another night I made homemade salsa.  Ian, apparently, was quite nervous about trying it.  But in the end, he became a fan.  As he dipped out another scoop, he said, "This salsa you made is much better than I thought it was going to be, because I thought it was going to be horrible."  His expectations were low, but I managed to exceed them.  It's always nice when that happens.


On the other hand, I made macaroni and cheese from a box the other day.  Not even the fancy kind.  Just the powdered cheese stuff.  Ian said, "Mommy, this is the best macaroni and cheese that anyone has ever made in the whole, entire world!"  Which always makes me question why I ever make anything else. :)