Fun in the Sun

We are finally home and settled in enough for me to get a chance to post a few pictures from the boys' first beach trip. For this past Memorial Day weekend, we took the boys to Destin, Florida with the Laytons and the Belvilles (check out their pages to see more beach pictures). It was such a great trip for many reasons, but by far the biggest reason was because of the friends we went with. There were 6 "grown-ups", 5 toddlers under the age of two, and 2 of the best, most patient babysitters you could ever ask for. All of us stayed in a 4 bedroom house across the street from the beach, and it couldn't have been more fun! If you keep up with us via this blog at all, you probably know that Michael and I were a little nervous about how Ben and Drew would do since they didn't seem to like swimming lessons very much. But I have to say that they did GREAT!!! They loved the feel of the sand, and were happy to sit and dig or throw it until it was time to go in for lunch and a nap. Here are a couple of pictures of them as they see and hear the ocean waves for the first time.....but this was about as close as they wanted to get to it.


In the mornings after all the kiddos had been fed breakfast and the grown-ups had been given coffee, we headed down to our beach tent with sippy cups and sand toys in hand. We usually stayed there until the boys were ready for lunch, which was more than enough time to make them want to take looong naps.


As you can see, they pretty much stuck to playing in the sand. But by our last day, they got a little more used to to the waves, and ventured down to the water. Ben really liked the cold water splashing on his legs. But little Drew was perfectly content to play at a safe distance.



Usually we would feed the kids dinner while they played in the backyard, outside of the pool while we all just hung out and visited. Then we would put them down for bed, and then go out to dinner without having to ask the hostess for 5 high chairs. That alone was a treat. But one of the nights we loaded everyone up and had dinner in Sandestin. Here is a picture of all of us together.

If the kids weren't playing at the beach or in their pajamas, this was the usual scene outside of our house: naked babies in diapers, running and laughing their little hearts out. Being the photo-snapping mommies that we are, we had to sit them down for a quick picture.

And lastly, here are our two wonderful babysitters, Melissa and Winn. I know that the trip would not have been nearly as enjoyable for Michael and I if we hadn't had them. They were patient amid all the chaos that 5 toddlers bring, and did way more than we ever asked or expected them to do!

It was so much fun to get away with good friends. And I am just so thankful for the people that God has brought into our lives. Enjoy the pictures, and I'll try to post a few more of my favorites later on.

How Long Does it Take to Eat A Whole Bag of Goldfish?...

...about 2.5 seconds, if you have three mouths, four hands and four paws all working together at the same time. it was one of those priceless moments when i was gasping at the mess, but so glad to see that they are actually learning the things i try to teach them (like how to share). let me just say, THIS is why we have to leave the door to the pantry closed at all times!

"What's new?" you ask....

Lots! That's what's new!!! The boys are changing -- not so much growing that i can tell -- but certainly changing by the leaps and bounds. They are talking and repeating (or at least trying to repeat) everything we say these days, and it's really cute. Last weekend we were working in the yard on the flower beds (they were working with their shovels in our black mulch) and Ben spotted a butterfly, which he immediately had to chase. Running around, covered in potting soil and mulch he was calling as loud as he could "buh-fa-whyeeee? buh-fa-whyeeee?" So sweet. And another favorite word around our house is "Nooooo". As in, "Boys, let's go inside and take a bath." Boys: "Nooooo!!! sou-siiide, Mah-meeeee" while running the opposite direction as fast as they can and shaking their heads in protest. I have to say, this is my favorite stage so far with them.....most of the time. I could do without the temper tantrums, which we have already begun in full force. I'm hoping they have just entered the Terrible Two's early. There are some tantrums (complete with biting and pushing, might I add) when I don't see how they can get any more terrible. My mom warns me that it can and will get worse. I'm praying daily that she's wrong. But she never is.

We have started swim lessons to get ready for our beach trip, and I'm sorry to say that they HATE it. Neither Michael nor myself can quite figure out why they are so scared of the pool since they love the bathtub so much. We had thought that it might be because I am taking them one at a time to swim lessons, and they aren't used to doing anything without brother, who is a big part of their security. So this past weekend we took them to the pool, with high hopes of helping to acclimate them to the water. All we got were TWO crying babies. So, who knows? Any suggestions on what to do to help them? Any other mommies out there have babies who were a little cautious in the pool? I sure hope we can figure something out before we head to the beach. Otherwise, Florida isn't going to be very much fun.

We had a great mother's day weekend together, and as usual my sweet husband made sure that I felt special and spoiled me rotten. I even got to take a nap! Okay, so I know good and well that the reason anyone ever even checks this site is for the pictures. But somehow at my sister's graduation (with her Master's degree!!!) our camera went home with Mimi and Pop. So, I've been camera-less for a while. But here are a few that I've had on the computer. Enjoy!!!