To The Beach

This post is long.  I have lots of good photos to share.  We went on a trip to the beach last week.  Oh, it was SO wonderful.  I'd head back today if I could.  Vacations and new babies go by all too quickly.

Before heading out, we stopped our packing to hit up a local parade (lots and lots of candy, folks).

 Okay, NOW on to vacation.  We left on Sunday and drove to a hotel in Vegas.  We stopped in St. George to give the kids a chance to run around a bit.

 Before hitting the pavement on Monday morning, we spent a good couple hours at the hotel pool.  As long as my girls have their lifejackets, they are happy little fish. 

 Splash!

 Ellie loved having Dad throw her in the water, but she refused to take off her lifejacket (that girl can swim, I tell you, she's just afraid to!).  I bribed her with a 'prize' and she was all over that.

 Behold, the beach!!  We met up with Nick's brother's family who joined us for the week. 

 I liked the silhouette in that one.  Check out my crazy hair.  It LOVES the ocean breeze.

 Tuesday morning we took an early morning walk in the sand:

 And then we went to Sea World.  Here we are at the Shamu show:

 Don't worry, I wasn't actually nursing under there (ha!  Made you say 'underwear'!  Sorry, that's big at our house right now...), Lainey was taking a little snooze in the shade.  And the friendly guy behind us was pretty pleased to be in our photo.

 All the kids got to ride the 'Elmo ride' with Daddy.  Best part of their day.

 Wednesday, Beach Day!

 Miss Lainey loved playing in the sand.  The grit in her mouth didn't bother her one bit.

 After cleaning up, we headed to the harbor to enjoy some fish 'n chips.  While we waited for the food, we practiced our funny faces with the help of Dad's phone:

 Oh Mom, that one's kind of scary.  Maren is the queen of the funny face.

 Thursday morning we stocked up on fresh fruit and veg at the local Farmer's Market (Nick also got some lobster and fish for fish tacos we enjoyed that evening - so yummy!).  Nick took the girls to the beach that afternoon and I took a much needed nap with the babies.

 Friday's "to-do": more beach!

 Nick catching a wave on the boogie board.

 We sure loved having cousins around!

 A little more sand for Lainey.

 Dad torturing Everett.  He was frightened of the waves, and pretty much the water in general.  Look at his face, though.  It must not have been too bad.

 The first day we were there, Ellie loved taking the boogie board out far enough that she could sit on the board and the waves would lift her up and carry her to shore.  She must have had a pretty rough go sometime because after that she refused to do it again.  She loved running away from the waves though.

 I kept finding sand in this girl's ears for days afterwards.  No surprise there.

 I tried a little boogie boarding myself, and quite enjoyed myself.

Saturday morning before packing up and heading for home.  We all went to bed exhausted (notice Everett didn't even make it into jams?) every night from playing so hard and slept like rocks. 

Oh, we had a good time.  And ocean, we'll be back.  We can't stay away for long.

Jai, This One's For You

Have you ever met someone that you had an instant connection to?  A real "kindred spirit"?  When I met Jai, I really felt like we were being reunited, although I'd never physically met her before, and she just happened to live on the other side of the world.

 We've had some great, silly times together (I totally won the 'texta' battle, as you can plainly see from the above photo.  Jai, would you be so kind as to share this with Chris?  Thanks :).

She took such good care of me as a missionary.  She fed me, entertained me, kept in contact with my family, fellowshipped our investigators, and just plain spoiled me. 

As good friends do, we closed the gap of distance and have made this world a little smaller.  It helped that she lived in Connecticut for awhile, and the internet is truly a blessing. 

 Jai, teaching my 1st grade students about Australia.

 We've shared holidays together (Thanksgiving 2002?).

 We've done roadtrips together (Portland, OR).

 Jai has shown me incredible places.

 And snuggled and smooched on my kids (that's Ellie, just in case you were confused).

 She's been a constant in my life through the years.  I cherish our friendship, girl. 

Jai came to visit us last week.  When we were working out details, she told me that it was her goal to make an appearance on my blog.  I can do that. ;)

 Have you ever had a friend that you haven't seen for years, and when you get back together again, it was like they'd never left?  It was totally like that.

 Jai's husband is just the right kind of corny.  The funny thing is that I didn't even know he had snuck back there. 

Jai, thanks for the wonderful visit, the yummy chocolate (among other things), and especially for your friendship all these years. 
I love you, girl.

8 Months

This little peanut hit the 8 month mark.

 She is super fun right now.  She sleeps.  She plays happily on her own.  She scoots and rolls.  She loves food and eats about anything I can dish her.  She gives huge "I'm so happy to see you" smiles.  She makes awesome noises using her hands.  She jabbers constantly.

 Wait a minute!  How did that one sneak in?  She's cute too.

Making awesome noises using her hand.

Miss Lainey Lou, we love you!

What's For Dinner

So, I just skipped last week altogether.  With the end of school and other things going on, we didn't really have any 'normal' meals at home together.  But, we are at it once again.

Sunday - tortellini with alfredo and tomato, homemade French bread (that was Nick, not me, by the way), steamed broccoli, salad
Monday - Chicken Satay Stir-Fry (Yummy.  The kids didn't care for the spicyness, but Nick and I really enjoyed it.)
Tuesday - french toast, bacon, hash browns, fruit salad
Wednesday - Hot dogs, tater tots, green salad
Thursday - Chicken burritos with pinto beans and lime rice, guacamole, refried beans, corn chips, green salad
Friday - OUT!  :)
Saturday - Neighbor dinner

Tips:
*Did you know you can freeze refried beans?  I didn't know this, and we're gonna try it.  We like to make our own refried beans (although we don't always) and usually end up with a LOT of beans. 
*Costco rotisserie chicken is our friend.  Especially for things like burritos or something.  And, you can boil up the bones/skin/etc with some carrot, onion, and celery and make your own chicken stock.  I tried to do this, got it all boiled up, and then forgot about it, so ultimately it ended up in the trash.  It was a good idea though. 
*Want to try something different for your broccoli?  Cook it in chicken broth, and when finished, sprinkle some garlic powder and pepper on it.  Try topping it with some parmesan cheese.  Yummy.

A Little Bit of This

I took a photography class last week, so I've been trying to apply what I've learned so I don't completely forget it.  My favorite subject?  Why, my Lainey Mae.  She doesn't move.  And, she gives huge, open-mouth smiles with little encouragement.

 We went to the gardens for a little family activity over the weekend.  The kids ran and mom and dad relaxed.  It was really nice.

Summer has been great so far (what, we're like, a half-week in?  :).  We've initiated some chore charts with the girls, and it has been great.  They are learning (hopefully) some work ethic, AND my house is a little cleaner.  They are motivated to do it because when they're done, they get to pick an activity out of the 'summer fun' pickle jar.  It's really hard to get kids to bed at their regular bedtime, because it is just so nice to play out in the backyard as the sun goes down.  Oh, the lazy, hazy days of summer.