bethany beach 2011

This will mark our 2nd annual trip to Bethany Beach with family. It's a great time for everyone - Bruce and Linda make it so easy to enjoy and relax. Convenience is key!

There were 10 of us, in 3 condos, all on the same floor. Plus, we have the pool and the beach right out front! The biggest decision of the day is which bathing suit to wear, and which sandwich to pack for lunch.

Speaking of lunch, if you haven't already, you MUST try these! They were hands down, the most popular thing (besides the donuts) on the beach. I bought a pack of 16 of them at Costco for our trip. They were gone by the 3rd day. Your kid won't be able to eat just one.


Ok, so back to the week. Isn't he handsome? I think so. :)


There was a lot of this..


and some of this..


and even more of this..



We cruised the strip...(ok, not really. there wasn't much activity past 9pm, lol!)


Sweet, beautiful Morgan.


A little last-day-of-vacation-photo shoot:


All of the cousins! This one's for you, grandma lee! :)


Thank you Bruce & Linda!

our new friday night ritual

So nice to have a little slice of nature right in our backyard. Going for a sunset canoe ride has become our Friday evening ritual, and I love it. Dad & Em are the fisherpeople, and I try my best to steer. This particular evening, the water was like glass - a mirror image of the marbled blue sky. It's so quiet and still and all you have to think about is which side to paddle on. We can talk (or not) and just be together and make memories.

These two crack me up - cut from the same cloth, I tell ya.


Aaaahhh, now that's a nice way to end a busy week.

emma-isms

It's been 90 miles an hour around here lately, and that provides the perfect incentive for some comic relief. Here are some of Emma's most recent hilarities:


"It's ok mom, your ears don't stick out."

"Mom, by best friend knows ALL my secrets." (???)

"I'm being a shape detective mom, you're going to have to entertain yourself."

"Mom, do you think the Paci Fairy gets lonely?"

"No, I don't want to work on that. I don't have any insurance."

"Mom, can I be *Jay's girlfriend? He needs me to drive him to work."

"Dad returning from his business trip: Hey Emma........I brought you something! Come see!
Emma (very excited): What is it? Is it mustard??!!" (??????)


*Jay is our 38 yr old next door neighbor, with whom she is completely infatuated.

mushrooms

None of these pictures are technically perfect, in fact, few of them are even in focus. But I just couldn't delete them. The blur of her twirling and that big, gappy, buck-toothed grin complete the mental picture I had of her on this walk. It's parenting snapshot I want to remember forever - right down the blue piggy paint toenail polish. And then there's the flip flops 3 sizes too big that we HAD to buy last summer when she fell in love with them, and they were the only size left. And then there's the Dora bandaid she put on her right knee, "just in case I fall down". And the pink flower headband she slept in for 2 nights after our neighbor brought it back from their vacation in a pink bag, just for Emma.

Anyway, today's glee was provided by Opa. She had just come home from a Build-a-Bear and lunch date with him, and she had the! best! time! She named her bear, "Flower Daisy" and customized her from head to toe, including bows on every appendage. She was so proud, so excited, and wanted to show Miss Daisy off to the world.

We had a nice long walk that day. We stopped to look at just about everything. The sunlight was shining down over the lake like cream that afternoon, and it hit me how dark her freckles are getting, how long her ponytail is, how she still has those chubby baby cheeks and all the while, how grown up she is (and how much 3 year olds have a penchant for sticking out their tongues!)


This post has nothing to do with mushrooms, but we spotted some on our walk. Aren't they amazing? Don't you just want to crawl under one during a rain storm? I thought so.

Back to that sassy little girl, this pretty much sums her up:

end of year picnic

Oh good, you're still here! :) The last few weeks have been a flurry of activity with school activities, picnics, parties, and lots of time spent outdoors.

Emma's end of year school picnic was a hit. She wanted to be very prepared, so she dressed and packed herself for the big day:

First order of business was face paint and the playground!


Sliding with her gal pal Madison...

Then the bubble station...

Then KONA ICE!!!

Comparing notes with her homegirl Kaitlyn...

followed by some girl talk...

What a great day!

the many talents of a consummate actress

Contrary to what you might think, I was not planning to take these pictures. It's rare these days that I can pull out the camera, and not have her request that I take her picture. I was actually taking pictures of her dad, but she had just tried on her ballet recital costume (I know, a riot huh???), so how could I not? Here she is channeling her best Good Ship Lollipop. She'll be appearing in theatres locally starting on June 18th. :)

Oh, and the other most requested activity? "Mommy, measure me!" Look how tall this little weed is getting!

maryland zoo at baltimore

Emma's had the good luck to compare zoos in three different states. Yesterday, we went on a class field trip to the Maryland Zoo at Baltimore. After the San Diego zoo, I have to be honest, I didn't have super high expectations. In reality, I was very pleasantly surprised. The zoo is easy to get to, easy to park, easy to navigate, and was not crowded in the least. It had all the 'classic' animals, and for the 2-5 age group, the size is just perfect. You can see the whole zoo in a few hours, and get a decent workout in if you bring a stroller. Since Emma had been fighting a fever, I told her that we wouldn't pass on the scheduled-months-ago-class-field trip, but that she should conserve her energy as much as possible by riding in the stroller. She happily obliged and we both had a great time.

The class met up at the entrance, and we met again for lunch, but in between we were able to wander around on our own. We spent a lot more time there than I had planned, because we were just enjoying it so much. The fresh air, the cool breeze, the exercise and the warm sunshine. I think we've been so desperate for great days like this!

I will spare you the graphic details (some people even took pictures!) but let's just say that spring love was in the air. Almost all the animals were out, and spring has definitely brought out the love hormones. A loooooot of the animals were in heat. I'll spare you a bad joke about the size of a giraffe's neck, but it was quite comical. :)

We had fun on the train ride, the awesome giant tree-trunk slide, feeding the giraffe's, an ice cream sandwich and the carousel. We saw lions, penguins, elephants, chimps, polar bears, snakes, vultures, the Baltimore Raven, gazelles, warthogs, ostriches, zebras, rhinoceroses, cheetahs, and our favorite of the day, the Snowy Owl. Only the camels seemed to be on vacation. It was so great, that I think we'll definitely be back. Our next stop: the National Zoo. Can you believe she's never been?!?!









And here's the African elephant munching on some out of bounds snacks :)

Easterrific!

We had a great weekend. Rounding out our spring break week with dying eggs and enjoying the fresh air and sunshine. Emma had a blast hunting for eggs, and was especially tickled at the Easter Bunny's generosity this year. It's not every year that she'll wake up to find a dollhouse waiting for her, but she has had this on her "list" for ages. Easter Sunday couldn't have been more beautiful and we spent it outside the whole day. Between the sunshine, the chocolate marshmallows, and rolling down the grassy hill for an hour, the little one was tuckered out. She was in bed, asleep by 7:15. I couldn't have asked for a better day!

easy like Sunday morning

Just my favorite little, doing her favorite activity, in her favorite spot.

wordless wednesday