After some minimal begging I got Den to agree to go to the beach for the day on Saturday. We hadn't taken the kids all summer and I just didn't feel right about it. Can it officially be summer without the beach? Not in my world.
It was windy and therefore freezing when we first got there at 9am.
But the kids got over it.
V enjoyed trying to find his way into whatever wind shelter his daddy had created. He also LOVED playing in the waves, of which I have no pictures of, so you'll have to take my word for it.
The kept "warming up" on the sand.
My favorite thing about taking the kids to the beach is how well they play together. There are no distractions of toys or other kids, just each other. This is why I think we should live on the beach.
JOY: My son brought home a cello Monday night. He's so excited about it, and so am I. I'm hoping that he can teach me at home what he learns at school.
SADNESS: I'm pretty sure this is the saddest sock monkey I've ever seen. I made it for Craft Hope. When I first saw the site they were making easy things, like blankets and burp rags so I was excited to be a part of the next project. Not so much when I saw it was sock monkeys! I never liked them, I think the socks I got are too long and skinny, but I promised I would send one so off she went today. And yes, that's a scarf and trust me it helps. Hopefully next time won't be any form of animal, obviously not my forte'. Praying some child still has fun with it or at least has a sense of humor!
Sunday of Labor Day weekend we decided to camp in the woods on Den's parents land. We did this with all his siblings, and a cousin and all their kids (minus 2 babies). Everyone made the same comment when they arrived, "all this stuff for just one night!" But if it was more than one night, the only thing we would have brought more of was food. Overall it was a success and we might just do it again.
Right away the boys were off looking for creatures and building them habitats in buckets. This was a salamander that was trying to escape before his photo shoot.
While Uncle Dave was searching under a rock for a hidden key to his trailer, Aunt Gina spotted this copperhead snake and saved his life. He took care of it and brought it to show the kids.
V stayed with mom mom overnight but hung out for a bit around the fire.
Of course there was campfire singing!
As much as I tried Den would not take his shirt off while chopping wood. He's so uncooperative.
Den and others LOVED when I blinded them with the flash of my camera. They'll thank me later.
The morning after.
That morning we went back to Den's mom's and celebrated her bday at lunch.
Now that school has begun it's going to be just me and the litte guy in the am, until I pick E up just in time for lunch. I'm so glad to be able to have the one on one time. He really does play so well on his own for the most part. I will have to be more intentional about playing with him and not just getting things checked off my to do list.
He loves being sneaky when we are outside and climbing onto the lawn mower. He does really well at making the "vroom" noises.
He's been into wearing our shoes around the house. Why is this so stinkin' cute?
He was staring at his reflection of the cupboard handle and talking to himself.
This was a super long day, and he hung in there with only one 30min. nap in the car, until 9pm when we finally climbed in the car to go home.
Also in other firsts, I finally cut E's hair. First time ever. Don't gasp, this picture is just for records, I did not cut it like this, i just couldn't hold the comb straight and the scissors and take the picture. I got some tips from a hairdresser and just trimmed it a bit. I don't know if anyone would even notice.
My husband gets up early and works so hard for us. He has a Master's degree but he chooses to dig in dirt and do hard labor to provide for his family. So, when he gets up at 5am and checks on his children before he leaves, it should just add to my feelings of gratuity...right? Most of the time it does. But this morning at 5:45am I heard the shouts of a 19mo old and I had to dig deep for those feelings. I know he didn't wake him up. V was sitting up when he peeked in, but V saw him and that was the end of it. He (V) has been in a rare mood ever since. So far he thrown several tantrums, hit, and unrolled the entire roll of toilet paper. Here's a peek of his morning.
Just to be fair, here he is Saturday night having a snack and in the best of moods.
*for some reason I don't see a comment option after I post this! how sad as I love comments....you can always email me :)
School starts Monday and so I decided I'd better do some of that school stuff that I was going to do all summer to prepare the kids today. Oh, we did some here and there, but not as much I as meant to.
While the kids were doing some writing, (J some sentences, E her ABC's)...
V was doing some reading on his own.
E got a chance a couple weeks ago to meet her kindergarten teacher and take a ride on a school bus. She loved every minute of it.
OH my. My girl is going to school.
My girl who loves to look pretty in a dress...
and play in the dirt.
I'm excited for her but I'm going to miss her too.
V was doing some reading on his own.
Even her moody days like this.