Beach Trip (Part 2 with Mike & the Haenni's)

We had lots of beach time over the week (lots = daily, 2 to 2.5 hour increments).

Miles loved boggie boarding. Will be very cool if one of our boys loves to surf, like Mike.



Noah loved to shovel up sand and throw up (the beach had other people on it, but there was plenty of room to run around and play). I assure you that the sand in the second picture did not come anywhere close to hitting that man.




I spent a lot of time gathering buckets of water for the boys to play with.



Lots of fun to play with toys in the tide pool. As you can see, Noah was still in his sandy-warm-up-period. :)


Griffin spent a lot of time jumping in the tide pools and pretending he was swimming. Miles loved making "sand angels" in this same spot.


I spent a lot of time holding Griffin on the first few days, but by the last day, he was dragging us into the ocean to jump the big waves. Perfect example of why next summer it should be two consecutive weeks at the beach. :)



This could have been quite a dousing of water. But, Miles completely missed him. Not even sure that Griffin noticed.



Griffin figured out how to soak himself pretty quickly.


LOTS of fun with the Haenni's at the beach.





Beth's parents were in town for part of the week. Her dad, Hoyt, had much fun playing with the kids in the surf.


I'm so short compared to Beth, that I decided to stand on top of a bucket for this picture. I just don't look right as a tall person. :)


One afternoon Beth and I watched a little girl bury a man in the sand. I told Beth that it looked so unappealing to me and I had no interest in it at all. The NEXT day I found myself getting buried by the boys. Did I have sand in my clothes? Check. Did I get salt water in my eyes and mouth? Check. Lots of fun? Check. T.o.t.a.l.l.y w.o.r.t.h. i.t.

4th of July

We spent the morning of the 4th playing mini-golf. It was hot, but Miles and Noah enjoyed getting tips from Mike. Noah scored 2 holes in one! If you congratulate him, be sure that Miles isn't in earshot. Competitiveness starts at birth, folks.





Griff was a wild man. He shot the ball around for about 10 holes, after which he was whipped. We spent the rest of the time waiting for the big kids in the air conditioned car.



That night we cooked out (thanks, Scott!) and feasted at the pool. We had the entire place to ourselves and the kids loved running from the "hot pool" to the big pool to the baby pool. Pure delight!





Mike and Scott jumped into the hot tub with all the kids. They were all very silly together.






(not even sure how Austin can breath, at this point)


When it got dark, Mike set off some little fireworks for the kids. Then everyone (except me & Griff) ventured to the beach to watch the display. All-in-all, a perfect 4th!

Maddox Fam Fun

As an extra treat, we got to spend some time with Cara (dinner club) and her family (Mitch, Conner, Grace). They also planned a last minute get-away to Windy Hill. Cara is due with her 3rd child in a couple of weeks and it was fun to hang out with them during such an exciting time! Mitch is also doing the triathlon in August (Cara did it last year), so Mike and Mitch got to talk-shop about training, the race, etc..

The Rides!

We spent one afternoon at Broadway at the Beach, where a bunch of the old pavilion rides now reside. The kids - and adults - had so much fun.

These crazy mirrors crack me up. I'm guessing that this is an accurate depiction of the Scott's massive brain cells?


Noah had Austin are total buddies. If we were next door neighbors, they'd quickly appear to be Siamese twins. They had so much on this beach trip and road every ride together.




Kathryn and Miles had a great time, too. Looking at this picture of them makes my brain flash through all of the pictures I've taken of the two of them over the years. Miles' 1st little friend....and six years later, still one of his favorites.



Kathryn (& Scott) invited Miles (& Mike) to ride the pirate ship with her. Miles LOVED it, until the point when it feels like the boat is going to completely flip over and the toothpick-sized bar will definitely not protect you from a fall. (And, notice where they are sitting....the scariest seat possible). I could hear his screams from where I was standing. I felt so sad for him....and could understand exactly how he was feeling. As soon as the ride was over, he bounced back....but did mention later that it was scary (in a confused way....like, why would anyone want to be on a ride that's scary?).



We all did one final spin in the teacups before we left. The first time I rode with Griffin. We had a nice, breezy ride. The second time I road with Mile and Noah. I was teasing with my "throw up face", but they were seriously spinning us so fast that I was dizzy for the next hour. I wanted to lay on the floor at our dinner spot. Just looking at these pictures a few days ago made me feel dizzy again. Age 37 is officially too old for the teacups. Next time, its all dad.

The Beach House Patio

The beach house had a cute little fenced-in patio on the side. It was the perfect spot for Bodie to sniff around. Lindsey and I played games out there one night, too.

During the day, it was the perfect spot to blow bubbles.


It was also perfect for splashing around in the baby pool and having water fights.



Looks rough, being the littlest, huh? I assure you, he didn't cry. And, unbeknownst to them, Miles and Noah are molding Griffin into a force to be reckoned with.



At first I thought Noah was thirsty.


But then I saw this.

Gross? Yes. Did I say, "No, sir"? Yes. Will their hard-wired DNA make them think this is funny and fun for years to come? I'm sure. They're boys, afterall.