Brotherly and Sisterly Love

The "Pirate" Restaurant

Cailey, Braden, and Kinsey got along really well at the beach and I was really proud of them! Cailey helped Braden at the waterpark, holding his hand and leading him to the slides. The three of them had a blast in the sand and the pool together. One day they spent over an hour entertaining themselves on the beach and playing in the shallow part together. If only the love continued when we got home!

Drips and a green wall

Braden continues to try and sleep in the hall almost every night! We have started a reward system where he gets a star for staying in his bed. The other night he had a really cute talk with Brian. He said that he didn't want to sleep in his room because there was a noise "up there." (In the ceiling)- We figure maybe it's the ac in the attic. So then he continued to tell Brian that maybe if his walls were green or yellow he'd want to stay in his bed (his walls are red). Now remember, a few posts back he said if he had a new bed he'd stay in it. We still don't know what to do, but it's cute how he's trying to come up with all these excuses...and NO, we are NOT going to paint his room again.
A couple nights later (and yes, he is STILL getting out and sleeping in the hall on the floor) he was crying. Brian went to check on him and he said he didn't like the drips in his eyes. He asked how to get the drips away and Brian said, "if you stop crying there won't be anymore 'drips' aka tears."

Maybe we'll try this again when Kinsey's 10

Okay-so we were really looking forward to taking the kids to Putt Putt at a cool place with a crashed airplane and helicopter. They too were excited...until we got out of the car. It was SO hot and there was NO breeze, so we were literally drenched in sweat by the third hole. About that time another family came up behind us and so I felt completely rushed. (For those of you who know me well know that I can't stand being hot or being pressured to hurry up). So to make a REALLY long story short, it was miserable and we were glad to see the 18th hole. Braden did however love it and wants to go back asap! He seemed to not notice the heat somehow. Afterwards we headed across the street to Chick Fil A for dinner and ice cream-real unusual for us huh?

Let's go fly a kite

Cailey has been asking us to get her a kite for a couple of years and we just always forgot. I figured that the beach would be the best place for us to get one...and fly it. We bought a kite the first night and tried to fly it. Little did we know that it was a trick kite-with two strings. Now, Brian and I are not good at things like that, so it had to go back. The next day we bought a cheap plastic one and it worked great! The kids loved flying it and Kinsey was happy to point at it and say, "Wheeee". At one point I was passing it to Cailey and we both let go (wish I got pics of Brian chasing it down the beach). He was our hero and was able to catch and fix it. We had a blast with the kite and enjoyed being together every evening!

Mommy, I bet the seagulls are still crying

Cailey loved building sand castles and covering
Daddy with sand

"Maybe I'll try a float again when I'm 7"

I was SO proud of Cailey for diving
under the water...she's come a long way this
summer!

First thing she said when she woke up on her birthday was,
"I'm five today....I can't wait to see how much I grew!"
We went to a waterpark for her birthday and
ended with ice cream and a walk on the beach

Writer's Workshop, coloring, and games
while waiting for Kinsey and Braden
to wake up from naps

Early on Cailey made a great friend at the
beach and pool. My first taste of her choosing friends
over time with Mommy and Daddy! They are now pen
pals...greetings Hannah!

Cailey was VERY social and friendly to everyone she met

"I just want one that moves"

She was so excited when I put a ponytail
in my hair

tan and blonde- a beautiful combination

Cailey was a bit more skittish with the ocean this year than in the past. She didn't want to go out the the "deep" parts, but played on sand bars and the shallow part. She loved going on walks for seashells and collected a ton! Everyday she would get to play in the pool with Hannah and Daddy while Braden and Kinsey took a nap. Her favorite part of the trip was definitely the waterpark! She had a blast and even loved the adult slides (that were too scary for me). Of course getting ice cream 3 times was also a highlight. Like Braden, Cailey also enjoyed chasing seagulls and said to me today, "Mommy, I bet the seagulls are still crying." M-"Why Cailey?" C-"Because they are sad that I'm not there to chase them. I bet they'll cry until I go back to the beach again" M-"Cailey, we aren't going back until next year sweetie." C-"Then I guess they will have to cry a long time".

Chasing the 'Eagles'

my favorite Braden pic this week:)

My brave boy

enjoying the sand....but the ice cream more

waterpark fun-although it's a front...he
wasn't crazy about the slides

I got a 'horsey' one

water wings were very freeing for Braden-
he was content for HOURS in them

this was precious to me

The first day we got there Braden was very skeptical about the water (both the beach and the pool). He whined about getting wet and I started to question if this trip was going to be worth losing my job over! Well after talking to him about how you get wet when your'e at the beach we tried again the next day. He was a new person! He went in the deep part with Brian and loved it. He had fun burying Daddy in the sand, building castles, eating ice cream, but most of all chasing the eagles. Figure it out yet?? Seagulls...all week he called them eagles and got so excited when they came around so he could chase them:)
Another cute Braden story:
We were playing Old Maid together while Kinsey napped. Braden and Cailey are still learning how to hold all the cards in their little hands and we have to remind them that people will peek at their cards if they hold them out. I asked Braden to hold his cards up and he put them above his head. We had a great laugh over that:)

The Beach with Kinsey

Kinsey loved playing in the sand and laying in
the water on her belly!

Fun with Daddy

Peeking at Swans, turtles, fish and alligators

Kinsey didn't like smiling for pics, but we were
able to get her to laugh a couple times

Water wings were SO helpful at the pool!
We aren't allowed to use them at the Y....boy
are we missing out!

Running the wet sand through her hands was a favorite

Kinsey was fascinated with the beach umbrella-she
kept wanting to hug it

She fell in the sand so many times and was covered
everytime we put her in a cute outfit

Now admit it....she looks cute huh?

Kinsey had a fabulous time at the beach. There were ups and downs of course...downs were related to falling in the sand, getting pictures taken, and being overly tired. She was so good with the ocean and beach though! We ate lunch on the beach everyday and she somehow covered her food in sand EVERY time. She still ate it, but I can't imagine that it tasted good. She loved the pool and wanted to jump to us over and over.

Writing on the Sand

The first evening at the beach we took a walk as a family. It was fun...and something that Cailey and I continued throughout the week. The kids started writing and making shapes in the sand...I asked Cailey if she could write her name. She told me she would write something different. I expected to see a bunch of nonsense letters...boy was I wrong! Look at what she wrote BY HERSELF! Hopefully you will be as blessed as I was to see my almost five year old write Jesus in the sand. Kinda reminds me of the 'footprints' poem.