Life's A Beach

Seriously. Who came up with that? Anyway...

We had a great vacation on Cape Cod! The weather was beautiful, the boys were enthralled with the beaches, and we were all able to get some much-needed time to relax together as a family. We're so fortunate to have Kyler's grandparents to host us each summer; their hospitality is truly unparalleled, and without it we certainly wouldn't be able to enjoy such a gorgeous or lengthy family vacation destination.

A true testament to what a superb vacation we had is how difficult it has been (for me in particular, I think) to readjust to "normal" life. Turns out all of that extra rest wasn't really extra, it was needed. I am glad to be home, but am already missing the everyday time with Kyler, and honestly am dreading Sunday, when he and the teens from church leave for Student Life camp in Florida. And perhaps it's the sudden realization that we are only six weeks away from adding another baby to our family....

In the meantime, I'll focus on resting, keeping a quiet heart, and thanking God for His goodness and provision of an excellent family vacation.

Some bayside pics:

And some oceanside pics:

And a sunset pic off of Great Pond:

⁷ Be at rest once more, O my soul,
for the LORD has been good to you.
Psalm 116:7

MORE Creatures Great and Small

There were so many more new things for the boys to discover when we arrived on Cape Cod! They had a blast on the beach and in the sun, adding a whole host of critters to their travel logs.

And of course, we have pictures to share of our new little "friends":

Boring ones first. Cam was fascinated by seagulls.



And...a fly.
It's a green-head. These little dudes bite. And it HURTS.
Bad news bears.



Hermit crabs...





And a big horseshoe crab. Kayden didn't even hesitate when Dad picked it up for him to "pet."



For some reason, everyone seems to hate these little guys.
I don't get it.
Maybe it's because I don't have a garden
for them to get into and dig up.



And...a flying squirrel!
Grampa took the boys on a tour of birdhouses,
knocking on them to "see if anyone was home,"
and this little guy was living in one of them!
The boys insisted on visiting him every day
for the rest of our vacation.

And, just in case you missed it, you can read the Texas "Creatures" post here.

Traveling...

Today, I'm doing the very-pregnant-woman-traveling-alone-with-two-toddlers-two-car-seats-two-carry-ons-and-a-whole-bunch-of-other-junk thing again. We're flying from Texas to Providence, RI, where Kyler will pick us up after driving from home. Then, we'll all continue on to Cape Cod for our family vacation. Kyler's grandparents live on the Cape, and we were engaged there, so it's a place we all love and look forward to going every summer.

Kyler's bringing his laptop, but there's no telling whether I'll have an opportunity to hijack Wi-Fi and blog. But...considering how much I missed not being able to blog regularly in Texas, we'll see.

The boys and I have to survive the flights first. 3 hours to Orlando, 3 hours to Providence, no deboarding. Prayers needed!

Let's Get Together...

Let's get together, hey, hey, hey!
Think of all that we could do-ooo...

It's a song from The Parent Trap. I loved that movie growing up. Definitely the 1961 version with Hayley Mills, not the Lindsay Lohan version. Anyway...

Several of my college friends and our families gathered the other night for a little fun and catching up, as we usually try to do when I come to Texas. Of course, they get together when I'm not around too, but I'm sure it's more fun when I'm there. :)

One of my dear friends just had a baby, the first girl of all of our growing broods, and she is absolutely precious. See for yourself:






Told you: precious. So glad I was able to meet her!

I think we'd probably all agree that by far the most entertaining time of the night was when we let our kiddos run rampant all over my parents' backyard.






And the sprinkler system came on. Boy, howdy. They went nuts. The youngest started it...





Followed by my youngest, not surprisingly...






Followed by my oldest...






And this little guy was the most hesitant of the bunch. His mom and dad finally stripped him of his clothing (he didn't come with extras) and he cautiously approached the bunch of dripping houligans that surrounded the sprinkler. And just as he turned, laughing, to express his joy to his parents, it happened.




My son, the oldest, discovered that the sprinkler head could be turned manually. Poor kid. He didn't even see it coming. And that water was COLD.




What a riot.

Not a bad pic, considering we had no tripod, set up two cameras on time-delay, and had six kids we had to try and get to look at the camera (Marc counts...) :)

I love gatherings. Can't wait to do it again next time!

All Creatures Great and Small

Our boys love finding critters and creatures. Miniscule or monstrous, they never tire of pointing out and identifying all the wondrous living things around them. We search for and hear about deer, dogs, birds, and bugs all day long. Our time in Texas and Cape Cod has only intensified this fascination, as there have been a whole host of (as yet unknown to them) creatures to examine from near and far. Some of our more interesting finds have included:

A rather large (and probably very hungry) caterpillar

Many different “Lizzies” in varying sizes and colors

Butterflies and very large moths

A baby martin, just hatched and learning to fly...

And of course, the occasional plastic snake and dinosaur.

I mean, who doesn’t keep your garden variety T-Rex around to discourage “varmints” from moving into the neighborhood?