Another One Begins

So much happens at the end of every school year, especially with 3 kids.  And a part-time job.  

And life.

Sometimes we miss things that we shouldn't.  D received an Academic Achievement Award at a really cool ceremony his school does each year.  They were called to the stage and presented with both a medal and a certificate from the principal.  Good stuff.

We hit the road for the first 2 weeks after school was out-literally the day after.

GoGo had her birthday party the night before we flew out, because there is nothing like trying to cram everything possible into a 3 hour window.  

She got her ears pierced and went shopping with 10 other girls at Justice.  She had a ball.

We hit the beach with family.  

These guys are getting so big.  I think we are approaching the point where they start to ask to bring friends with us to the beach.  Not sure how I feel about that...

We had another sweet baby deer visit us.

Best $20 spent all week - these two had "rafting wars" every day.

And these two dug holes, found shells and played with their mermaid barbie dolls.

At the West end of the island, these huge pools form during low tide.  

Great for floating, shell collecting and general merriment.

Every year I write their names in the sand and snap a pic.  This year, all 3 wrote their own names.  

Times, they are a changin'.

This guy spent a fair amount of time fishing each morning.  He is very patient.  

He has a fall fishing trip planned back here and he is super psyched.

Singing in the Sand.

We celebrated Squeezalicious' birthday at the beach and both girls received belated gifts from family.  Lots of cake and ice cream all week.

The kids are having to adjust to being on summer break-both woke up early Monday and thought they had school.  Home for a while to dig in to some pool time, playdates and general lounging.
Two more trips before we head back to school to see family.  Road trip!!  My fave.

And a few observations…
Squeezalicous has been S.A.S.S.Y. lately.  The other day in the car, GoGo says to her, "What happened to you?  You used to be such a sweet girl."  Response?  "Yep. Now I'm evil."
Seriously??

The kids and I were in a Hallmark store the other day.  They now sell Dammit Dolls, these little rag dolls with a funny poem on the chest.  You are to smack them against the wall and yell "Dammit!" when frustrated.  Both D and GoGo thought it was hilarious.  I, of course, do not need one because I curse under my breath and wave my hands instead.  Good Parenting 101.

So yesterday I'm trying to set up this new building game on the Xbox for D.  Nothing about XboxLive is user friendly.  I was about to blow a head gasket and D was getting upset too.  GoGo walks by and says to us both, "You should have bought those dolls yesterday.  You could each use one."  Touche.

D had money to burn from his Pop-Pop so I took the kids to a "real" toy store.  The kids were all about the "old-fashioned" toys.  In reality?  We're talking cap guns and pot holder looms from when I was a kid.  D got himself one of those cap guns and some metal handcuffs as well.
He tells me, "Mom, when we get home I'm going to chase the girls with the gun and then cuff them to one another."  Absolute glee in this boy's voice.  I really wish he had a brother sometimes.

Now let the lounging commence.