Beach 2011

We had the most amazing beach trip! We shared a fantastic house,  called McBeach, with the Coles. It was a really relaxed house with the perfect setup for families. And with four boys, we were busy! All the boys were so, so good and had fun playing, running and giggling (oh, my!). The grownups had a blast, too - we even had a double date night at Red Bar - what a treat!

The boys are finally old enough to really enjoy the sand and the ocean, so that meant lots and lots of time for us on the beach!! We jumped the waves, built sand castles and racetracks and hunted for seashells. We enjoyed amazing home cooked dinners and ventured to the old Miracle Stip amusement park (now recreated in a tiny version) to ride some rides and enjoy ice cream.

We had a couple rainy mornings, so we found a bouncy play place (with a pirate ship!) and went to visit the Sugar Shak at Rosemary Beach. We even ventured out to dinner on our last night. 

It was a wonderful, relaxing, fun beach trip with lots of great memories. The perfect end to a perfect summer.

Grandparent's week

Alex and Reed enjoyed some quality time with Moz and Gramps and Grandma and Pops this week. The played golf, went swimming, got wet at My Big Backyard and spent the night out twice. Whew! A fun week for all!

Summer week

I love the summer - the sun, the relaxation... So, to combat my "I really need summers off from work" feeling, I decided to just take a week off and spend it at home with the boys. Sort of like being a stay-at-home mom, but in a much smaller dose : )

Well, we had a FANTASTIC week. We played and laughed and just had a great time. The boys are so big now and love to just GO and GO - which suits me just fine. And for the first time, it felt more like a vacation and less like "babysitting". They are so busy, but I love it. We had a blast.

This week we did it all:

1. We went to a movie - it was their first movie (Alex's first to stay for the whole thing and Reed's first time at all). We even ran into Alex's friend Andrew and sat with them. I'm not sure if they enjoyed the movie, but I know they liked the candy!

2. We went to the splash park. They are both big enough to enjoy all the spraying and they wanted to stay all day. I managed to drag them away with promises of the playground and sand.

3. We went to Gibson's in our pjs for donuts. Always a favorite, they each had two donuts and a good time.

4. We had lunch with Brian. They were so excited to get dressed up in "work" clothes and tour daddy's office. Then we finally went to the Half Shell - they have been begging to go since Brian and I went there a few weeks ago, so it was a special treat.

5. We went to the driving range. They both amazed me with how well they hit the ball. Little golfers!

6. We ate McDonald's sausage biscuts in the car - no reason, just because.

7. We spent all day at the pool. They really are little fishes and we spent all day swimming and playing at the pool. An added bonus is that they both can be in the pool by themselves (with Reed in a life jacket), so I got to soak up a little sun, too!

I also got a couple videos - if you have an extra few minutes : )

Ribs

Brian loves to use the grill and smoker but had never made ribs...until today. They were delicious! Alex tried his first rib ever and loved it. Of course, Reed had a hot dog : )

Kicking off the Fourth

To start off the long weekend, we had a fun day in the sun. We hit up the farmer's market for a parade and donuts, then headed home for a dunk in the new kiddie pool.

Plus, I got a new lens for my camera, so I had to share some fun pics. I love it!