Awesome Labor Day Weekend

This weekend our family got away to my home town. It was so fun. Four families got together. I have been friends with these ladies (Katie, Alisha, and Jenny) since I was 13 years old. We went to Church together. In our young adult years we ended up living spread out all over the country, but recently we all ended up back in Virginia . I think we are lucky to have been able to keep in touch and maintain a friendship despite the miles and time between us. Jenny posted about it and some of our old adventures here. She even included some fun old adolescent pictures of us. :) (Really, Jen, is that how I used to dress?)

Katie was our wonderful host. Her awesome parents went out of town for the weekend and they let us use their beautiful and spacious home for out get together. We had tons of delicious food to eat. Katie had planned activities for the kids. My two girls had SO much fun! They loved water play and sidewalk chalk drawing. They were scared of the tractor rides but their Daddy enjoyed taking the tractor for a drive. I was a little apprehensive about how my kids would behave sleeping in a strange place, but they did great. They had so much fun and they still k me if they can go back to Katie's house. Eliza loved Alisha's older boys. That little one always loves the big boys. Katie's four year old, Ada, took great care of Sadie and always showed her around and included her in fun things to do. They loved it. David and I loved the conversation and the great company.

Sadly, I didn't think to take pictures of us when we had some natural light. This picture turned out awful but I am posting it anyway. Here we are: (from left to right) Jenny, Katie, Me, and Alisha. The babies are Jenny's twins, Madeline and Issac. Here we are with our offspring.
Here are pictures of the offspring enjoying water play.

Beach Fun

Last Saturday we went to the beach with our friends! It was sooooo fun! When we first arrived Sadie would not let me put her down. I tried to but she put her feet out so they wouldn't touch the ground as she struggled to attach to me like a monkey. In the process her feet and hands got a little sandy. She whined, "Mommy, I dirty, I dirty." She sat in her beach chair for a little while. Then when the other kids started to play with the sand buckets she got interested. She let me move her to the towel on the ground. From there she worked her way to the sand pails. She had a cautious start with the beach but it wasn't long before she was LOVING it! Eliza loved it!

The weather was perfect. It was around 85 degrees. It was not too hot but it was warm enough for the water to still be comfortable. It was great! Eliza threw a tantrum when we left. Back at the car she screamed because I tried to take her swim suit off and she wanted to go back to the beach. Hey, at least she had a great time. Virginia Beach is near a military base. We enjoyed seeing lots of military planes showing off cool stuff in the sky. A pirate ship showed up. We had great company too!

Afterwards we cleaned up at our friend's parent's home. Then we had dinner at Red Lobster...Endless Shrimp! Yummy!! It was a super day! Thanks, Nikki and Ray for inviting us. Thanks to Melissa for showing Eliza all the "stuff at the beach" and for sharing your beach toys! Yesterday I asked Sadie if she liked the beach, the ocean and the sand. She responded, "I liked the sand buckets." :)

Did I mention we had an AWESOME time?

Friends Are Fun

Our friends, Nikki, Melissa and Kayla came over to play yesterday afternoon. Eliza giggled with glee for about five minutes after they arrived (literally). She never said hello, she simply laughed. She meant it to be a welcoming greeting. She was so happy her friend was home! They had finally come back from their long vacation to the beach!! While they were gone, Eliza would frequently talk about how "Peeza" (aka, Melissa) was at the beach.

I am reminded of a funny story Nikki told me. I am going to retell it now. A few months ago, Melissa was lying in bed at night. She didn't know her mom could hear her and she was chatting away to herself. She said, "I am not Peeza. I am Melissa." It is so sweet. Poor little toddler is up at night thinking about how her friends calls her "Peeza." Sadie calls her "Peeza" too because she always copies Eliza. Sorry, Melissa! We are working on it!