Vacation Highlights

Oh how I wish I were on vacation!

I was looking through pictures of our incredible vacation and thought I would share some memorable moments:


Celebrating Isaac's birthday at a Mexican Restaurant somewhere in Virginia.


Stopping along the road every 45 minutes for Eli to pee. And then Eli peeing wherever he wanted to, when he wanted to. He was up to three National Monuments...and almost four, but we stopped him at Arlington Cemetery. He did manage to pee off the stairs of Appomatox Courthouse, the Kitty Hawk Museum parking lot and the National Mall in DC (at a stoplight nonetheless....)


Eli and Ben cracking their heads open in the swimming pool the morning we were trying to check out of our Virginia Hotel resulting in Eli getting four stitches.


The first time the kids saw the ocean. It was a moment I will remember forever. The laughing.....


Waking up every morning and having the ocean out our back door....literally.


Walking to the ocean.


Swimming in the pool at the house....watching all the cousins play and play.


Waking up early one morning to watch the sunrise.

And getting a bonus....watching about twenty dolphins jumping in and out of the water.


Playing and flying kites at the sand dunes.

It felt like we were in the desert. I so expected to see pyramids over the next hill. It was crazy!



Being at the ocean, together.


Watching the kids and uncles play together. It was a time to get to be aunts and uncles and actually play instead of just being "mom" and "dad". We had so much fun getting to know our nephews and neice so much better.



One night we took the kids to the beach in the dark to catch sand crabs. I will NEVER forget how excited they were and all of the laughing and giggling. It was so fun!


Watching Isaac eat "real" seafood. He ate his weight in mussels. It disgusts me to think about, but he sure had the time of his life!



Our trip to DC. I think Ben and I got more out of it than the kids. It was hot and a lot of walking, but we loved the experience. The kids got a little bored at the monuments, but loved the museums.

 Having the chance to go to the Pittsburgh Pirates Stadium to take a picture for my dad. He has been a Pirate fan all his life and his hero is Roberto Clemente. What a perfect Father's Day gift...four boys in front of the statue.

And ending our trip with a visit to the Keiths. My best friend and her family.....It was so fun to watch the kids play. If only we had more time. There is never enough time, but it was so wonderful to see them. 

Carson and Eli 

And the Birthday Buddies, Camryn and Isaac. Born on the same day, four hours apart!  

And, I never thought to have Ben take a picture of Kyra and I...

It was an exhausting trip, but there are so many memories that will last a lifetime. 

Excitement

The stress and EXCITEMENT is building around here. We leave tomorrow bright and early for Virginia and North Carolina. Ben's brother is getting married on Saturday in Virginia. After the wedding we are heading to the Outer Banks of North Carolina for a week on the ocean. We will be staying here....We are so excited! But, it is also VERY stressful trying to get a family of 6 packed up and able to fit in a mini van. I think added to the stress might be the fact that we had Evan and Isaac's birthday party yesterday and we have to work today (darn snow make-up days!) I think I will be much more excited when we start loading the van and knowing this is really going to happen!

Last of Vacation...

I think the City Museum was the highlight of the trip. It is hard to put into words what the city museum is...basically it was a giant jungle gym including a 10 story slide. We got the pass for the roof and got to do the activities up there. Eli loved the school bus that hung over the edge! There was a lot of climbing throught the wire tunnels shown. Everything was so big to get good pictures of.

If you look at the bus pictures you can see the wing of the airplane down below...this is what Ben and Eli are climbing from. I was scared just watching them from below!

Our only family picture of the trip....taken in the mirrors lining one of the walls in the building.

On the way home, we stopped at the Mark Twain caves in Hannibal, MO. The kids loved the tour and the activities afterwards.

They got a bag of "dirt" looking stuff. They were able to put the dirt mixure into a mesh box and run it throught the water to find the jewels.

They also got to do a candle dipping activity. They picked a candle shape and then dipped it in the hot wax to make it the colors they wanted to.

Family Vacation

We are on our first family vacation as a family of six....

Last night after T-ball, we drove to St. Louis. The trip went as smooth as to be expected. We chose to travel at night so the kids would sleep. Judging the first three hours when the kids were awake, I think that was a good choice. Eli talked for 3 hours straight. I am not kidding. He talked and talked and talked...and he only has one volume. It is loud. He talks all the time anyway. He narrarates his life as it happens. Whatever pops into his head, he says. And apparently, when given the opportunity, he can talk for three hours straight.

I am sure we will have lots of funny stories, so I want to get the documented before I forget.

Yesterday afternoon, Eli and I were talking about the zoo and what animals we would see. Later in the day, he asked if he could have a gun. WHAT? He was very persistent. He said he needed a gun. When I finally asked why, he told me it was so "he could shoot the bears at the zoo." I told him he was going to have to talk to dad....

This morning when he woke up, he said he didn't want to be here. He wanted to go to his house. Ben and I were talking to him about the fun we would have at the zoo today. He rolled over and said to Ben " I probably shouldn't shoot the monkeys at the zoo"

This could be interesting! I will assure you he does not have a gun, nor does he have access to getting a gun. The animals at the zoo will be safe!