Sparklers

Our favorite place

pooltime

Claire and Tyler hanging out on the beach. I dug a hole in the sand and made a bumbo chair for her.

Hurricane Irene didn't totally destroy our vacation. We had a beach house from Friday to Friday in the outer banks. Hurricane hit the outer banks Friday and Saturday so we weren't able to go there until Monday. We were there as soon as they lifted the evacuation order. Since we only had our beach house till Friday we found another friend to stay with Friday night and went home Saturday. We stayed with Jan and her family. They have a beach house right on the beach and it was beautiful and they had tons of fun toys to play with. It was really nice to extend our stay. The weather seemed to get better and better as the week went on.

A big raft that the kids would ride the waves on. Siena wouldn't try a boogie board but she loved this.

Ben however was terrified of it.

Claire and I were at the beach. She lived in the sling and is the only way she would sleep while we were on the beach. I got a funky tan line on my neck from it.

BFF. Calvin and Ben. These little boys were trouble. They would dig in the sand for hours and throw sand at each other all day.

Dave trying to convince Siena a boogie board is fun.

Ben playing in the debris that washed up on the shore during the hurricane.

cute Ben and Calvin playing in their sand pit.

building the pool.

having quiet time watching movies. Calvin. Ben. Seth. Siena. Miriam. Darby.

exhausted at the beach.

Ben kept asking to bury himself in sand.

testing the water.

We had so much fun. The kids love the beach so much and it makes me so happy. We spent the majority of the mornings on the beach and then back to the pool in the afternoon. The kids loved playing alligator alligator in the pool and jumping in. When we were at our friends' beach house Siena got the courage to go crab hunting. She said she didn't want to do it again because a crab ran over her foot last year. I was fine with that but when we went to our friends beach house they have head lamps that they go hunting with and that made all the difference for her. They had so much fun. I sat on the balcony and nursed Claire while I watched flashlights dance around on the beach and listened to little kids scream. It was so funny.

2 thoughts

First, I have decided that when Dave retires we are going to get a beach house on the outer banks and live there. Hopefully by then we will have our millions and able to afford a beach house. It was the most perfect weather and peaceful and fun at the beach. I think I would enjoy that year round.

Second, we need a seasonal dog. This past week while we were gone and Karin was here with the house we have had a mouse roaming the house. It is disgusting. I am terrified that I am going to find it at some random moment. Or worse the kids will find it. Last year at this time we had one roaming the house but it was caught quickly. This mouse seems to be smarter than last years. So I have decided I just need a dog from August till October to keep us mouse free. We were discussing some dog names with the kids just for fun and the best they came up with was Iron Man, rainbow or strawberry shortcake. Can you tell what toys we play with at this house? Real fierce names for a dog. This mouse has got to go!

Claire 5 months

Claire was sleeping better and then 2 teeth decided to pop through and now she is back to feeding every 3 hours during the night. I go back and forth of feeling bad for her and feeding her just so she will sleep and then getting frustrated that I am feeding her so much. It's got to be tough teething but it is also tough for me getting only 3 hours of sleep at a time. She has decided recently that she doesn't like the binky. I think it has something to do with teething. The stress of nursing a baby. She loves being around Ben and Siena. Just this week we got giggles out of her when the kids are playing with her. She is a very alert baby and is always looking for Ben and Siena.

I don't know why this is so dark. She couldn't figure out if she wanted the binky or not.







Siena entertaining her. Claire thought Siena was so funny.

Daves birthday!

Ben and Siena had a fun time making cards and finding things they could give daddy for his birthday.

Siena found a birthday crown for him.

The cake was on fire. 34 pink candles for our daddy.

Dave turned 34 on Tuesday. We had to go about our normal days activities but Dave and I did get to go out that night. The kids were so excited to decorate for his birthday and make him a cake. We made brownies and had ice cream and rasberries. It was delicious. We are lucky enough to have Dave's sister Karin living with us while she looks for a job around here. I told her she could be my nanny but she wasn't too excited about that. Things have been a little boring around here this week. So Dave and I got to go out while cool Aunt Karin watched the kids. We went to a fun Brazilian steak house Texas de Brazil.

Siena rides

She did it! Siena is so good at riding her 2 wheel bike now. She can start and stop all by herself. It's amazing!

Claire in her little Bumbo seat.

I realized if you tell Siena here is an Easter dress or a Christmas dress she will just wear it for that holiday. I found her Easter dress the other day and explained that she could wear it more than just one Sunday.

I don't know how we seem to stay busy but we do. I can't really remember what we have been doing but somehow the days keep passing by and we find something to fill them up with. If you ask Dave what we have been doing he will say spending money. I don't know where or how or on what but I am sure that is what he thinks I do all day. The weather has become more pleasant around here, not so humid. We have been out to the water parks frequently and now I realize we should have bought a season pass there because I have spent the same amount of money going as I would if I just bought the pass at the beginning of the summer. Next year I know. Claire is really good at the pool and likes being in the water for a short period of time. The kids are so good at swimming. I am nervous that they will lose it all by next summer. Siena will swim underwater a couple feet and Ben will go under occasionally. Only 2 more weeks till our big vacation to the beach. Before then I am trying to gear myself up for Siena going to Kindergarten. She is so excited. The other day we tried walking there and it was like pulling teeth. The kids were so miserable. They complained the whole way and wanted me to carry them. It was awful and Claire got sunburned being in the stroller. I knew we weren't going to be able to walk to school in the mornings because we just aren't morning people and would never make it there on time but it seems like the afternoon may be a struggle too. It is 1/2 a mile so for Ben to walk there and back is a mile. We did it Sunday for our family walk and it was really nice and the kids enjoyed it so it may be possible some days. Siena can't stop talking about school and I hope she really likes it as much as she thinks she will. I think she will. I hope I will be okay with her being gone all day. It just seems so sad to me. I can't believe I have a Kindergartner. I keep telling myself that I still have 2 weeks. She has started the reading program where if they read a book and fill out this paper about it and turn it in by the second day of school they get to go to an ice cream party. She is so excited about this I have had to limit one book per day rule. Somehow she thinks she can read. Mostly she has just memorized the books. We go to the library and she picks out all the books that are level 1 reader and she thinks she can read them. Then when I correct her on one of the words she gets all frustrated. It is frustrating for both of us and I can say I am glad that she is going to school and learning from a teacher and not me or we both would be frustrated a lot. She knows how to write a couple words and I think that is why she thinks she knows how to read. She is doing a good job with the books and she thinks it is fun to read them to Claire so it helps me out. Claire doesn't care what she reads or what she says so it's good for all of us. Ben is as crazy as ever. He is still obsessed with super heros. It is sad but I think he is about done with naps. He still takes one occassionally but it is usually at 4 or 5 in the afternoon when he has just fallen over from complete exhaustion. I don't know how I am going to entertain him all day when Siena is gone at school. Claire is as cute as ever. She still is not laughing which I worry about but we think Dave got a laugh out of her the other day. She popped a tooth on the bottom which is crazy early for my kids. The other two didn't get any till 10 months. She isn't even 5 months. I guess she just isn't in a laughing mood with teeth coming in. So now she is sucking on everything. I am trying to hold off feeding her solids until after our beach trip. She is mostly a happy baby though. I came out of my room today to Ben dragging Claire by one arm across the hall. I don't think I have ever yelled so loud. I was so mad. Poor Claire it looked like her arm was going to come out and Ben had no idea. I still have to protect Claire from Ben. Eventually I think Claire will torture him just give her a couple years.