A new 'do

Somehow I managed to get Chloe's wisps of hair into 2 little piggytails today.

Does it get any cuter than that?? I could just eat her up with those little sprouts coming out of the side of her head!!

Although it makes her look like a different kid ... a more grown-up one. She is changing like lightning this month. Seriously - she started walking and has turned into a full-blown toddler. It's like walking has opened up a whole new world of independence for her.

I enjoy her growing up ... I just hope that things don't change TOO fast. :)

New friends

While we were in Ocean City, the kids made some new friends.

Their names are Shelly and Sebastian. The kids liked them so much they wanted to adopt them into our family! So ... well, how can you say 'no' to 2 cute and cuddly ... hermit crabs?

Audrey's hermit crab, Shelly, was named thus because - well, because she lives in a shell.

And Sebastian, Carter's hermit crab, was named after the crab in Little Mermaid. (Can you tell he had some help from his sister in coming up with that name??)

Audrey & Carter are doing a great job of taking care of them so far. As I said to Chad - If you're going to have a pet, it doesn't get much easier than a hermit crab!

Thankfully, Audrey's moment-by-moment commentary on what the crabs are up to has ceased after a few days of non-stop running into the kitchen exclaiming "The crabs are climbing their cage!" or "Carter's crab is eating all the food and not leaving any for Shelly!" or "The crabs are sleeping!" or "They knocked over the food dish!" etc, etc, ad nauseum. :)

The kids and their cage of crabs ... those are 2 happy little faces. The kids, that is - not the crabs!
The hermit crabs are probably dreaming of the sea ... but at least they have pretty purple and red painted shells to live in with 2 kids who love them a lot!

Summer Vaca @ Ocean City, NJ

This year we spent 5 days in Ocean City, NJ. I know it is so cliche to go "down the shore" for vacation when you live here on the east coast ... but I just love it. It is the perfect vacation to take with kids. There's the beach - with water fun and the biggest sandbox any kid could want to play in. There's the boardwalk - filled with rides, mini golf, arcade games, and lots of yummy food. And the whole attitude in being there is just chill. No hurrying, no big agendas ... just lots of simple fun.

We took Chad's parents along with us this year and we all had a fun time together. Chad and I even got a night out by ourselves! Our place that we rented was a bit farther from the beach than we would have liked, but it was clean, nice, and affordable. No worries.

I uploaded a lot of pictures here because I just want to remember lots of the highlights. Sorry if it is overkill for anyone reading ...

I want to try to take a picture like this with the kids every year that we go to the shore. I think it will be fun to see how everyone changes! However, this is the best picture I could get this year ... one posing child, one scowling child, one crying child. Ah, memories.

Playing ...

Perfecting the fine art of the drippy castle.

Carter was happy to fetch water for Audrey over and over and over again.

Chloe loved the beach!

Writing in the sand.

Doing fancy jumps into our own man-made "pool"

Riding the rides at Jillian's

The hot air balloon ride seemed to be a fave.

The picture quality here is awful, but just look at the kids' faces! Joy!

The family and one uncooperative boy.

Carter's getting his first mini golf lesson from Mommy. I have to say - I stink at most "sports" but I am half decent at mini golf. ;)

Maybe he needs more lessons. I don't think that is how I taught him to hold the putter ... but he was having too much fun to care about his golf form.

Miss Audrey golfing.
Chloe was taking a walk on the boards with Grandma and Grandpa.

Chloe's walking really took off while we were away. She had great fun walking around this counter and playing peek a boo with Grandma.

Chad and I on our date having some much needed time alone.

The kids with Grandma & Grandpa before they left.
Really, Chloe does love Grandma, despite the fuss she is making in this picture.

Boo hoo that vacation is over for the year. :(
But we are already making some plans for next summer - potentially a week at the shore with my parents and a trip to the Poconos with Chad's family! Hope it all works out! :)

"It's a sunny day ... "

"... and I thank God for the weather." Anyone remember that old song? It totally describes today. Warm, sunny ... and not hot and humid for the first time in I don't know how long. If more summer days were like today, I would like summer a whole lot more!

We just finished up a busy week of sandy, dirty vacation laundry, trips to the pool, playing with friends, and VBS. Fortunately, we didn't really have anything scheduled today so we ended up having a low-key but fun day.

This morning we headed to the park and played with the kids there for an hour or so, came home for lunch, and Carter & Chloe took naps (Carter slept three hours. Perhaps this is why he was running around like a banshee at 9 pm this evening?) Then we went to Chick-fil-a for dinner and some fun in the play area. Now that Chloe is walking, even she got in on the fun there. After that we headed to Milky Way Farm and checked out the farm animals and had some of their delicious homemade ice cream. It was a beautiful night to be outside and it makes my heart happy to make a few more fun memories with the kids.

Amazing. Everyone is looking AND smiling. :)

Walking around the farm.

We even saw a few hot air balloons in the sky.

Stinky pigs.

Stinky chickens.

And a stinker boy.
But a cute stinker boy.

Enjoying some ice cream.

Do you think she liked the ice cream? ;)

Chloe walking

Over the past week, Chloe's walking skills have really taken off. She is now walking all over the place!

(Please excuse the disorderliness all over my house ... Audrey & Carter made a "wipeout" obstacle course through the whole upstairs.)

Chloe's 1st birthday party ... a few pics

Just a few memories of her 1st birthday party ....

I have a thing about making the cake. I enjoy it, so I always make the birthday cake myself!

And on your first birthday, you get your own personal cake!

It hit triple digits on party day, so what else could we do but get out every pool we owned? :)

(Even the grown-ups all stuck their feet in the pool!!)

I tried to get a picture of the cousins together and looking at the camera but this is as close as it got.

Here is cousin Brooke playing in the water.

And Chloe.

Chloe was having so much fun and got so excited she bit her brother on the cheek and left teeth marks ... fortunately she didn't break any skin. Little vampire!

Opening some presents, sort of.

Chloe and "Mama"

And eating some cake ... again!

We were so glad to have Chad's parents here from Minnesota, Chad's sister & bro-in-law, Molly & Josh (and their daughter Brooke) from Long Island, and of course my parents, brother, and uncle from good old Pennsylvania. Thank you all for coming and making it a fun and special day! We love you!

oy.

Well, well, well.

We are back from Ocean City! Vacationing with children is always ... hmm, interesting and of course tiring, but we had a really great time, and were really glad to spend the time with Chad's parents too.

And now my hard drive is breathing its last breaths ... I will be posting more when Chad actually gets it functioning well again. I am SO GLAD that Chad knows how to deal with computer issues because I am an idiot when it comes to that kind of stuff. He is trying to save all my stuff before it dies, and then he will replace the hard drive. So blogging is a challenge right now.

But don't you worry, I'll be back with more pictures than you will ever want to see ... :)