orange blossom special [florida part ii]

In the evenings, James insisted we got to the beach to "catch crabs". Jason grabbed the net and a few flashlights and we trekked out there. The second night, Jason caught 2 or 3 of them, one was missing a claw :( Of course he was the fighter. Jason pretty much spent the whole week pissing off the crab population of Miramar Beach. Between picking them up and catching them in the butterfly net, he accidentally stepped on one. Finally while he was out snorkelling, he got pinched! During the day, James wouldn't have ANYTHING to do with the ocean. But at night, he became invincible! He ran through the freezing cold water, soaking his clothes and splashing.

Riley didn't care for the water, probably because it was so cold. He preferred digging in the sand.

We ran along the beach that evening, chasing the crabs. They'd start running really fast and squeaking and Kelly swore off california rolls.

James and the giant frisbee

Sunburned Grandaddy sitting in the shade.

Jason rented one of the kayaks and he and Drew paddled off. Jason got out in the deeper water with his snorkelling gear. It was short-lived when he saw a bunch of jellyfish out there.

James sprayed random passersby with his water gun! (they were all kids his age, at least!)

Kelly and Drew took off on the kayak next.

Riley wanted to take it for a spinJason and I hopped in for one last go before he had to return it. The whole time I was terrified because I was convinced that the waves were going to flip us over and I would be eaten by a shark. Or the jellyfish.

Jason kept rocking the kayak and fueling the fire. We weren't on it for long.

Though he wouldn't have anything to do with the ocean water during the day, James loved the pool. We had to drag him out kicking and screaming. Of course, the entire session would consist of him gripping onto Jason's or my waist/neck/shoulders while choking/pinching and kicking me to death. He's gotten so much more confident in water. Just 6-7 months ago when we were in Jacksonville, he wouldn't have anything to do with even the pool until the last day we were there. This time there was no screaming or tears, just playing. He was even brave enough to jump off the sides of the pool and let me catch him.

The beach wore Riley out. Between the sunscreen and sand in his eyes and all the playing, he decided he'd rather stay in the room with Granny. They had juice and macaroni & cheese, and watched tv, having a grand ol time
Wednesday night, Kelly, Drew, Jason and I went out to eat at a crappy, overpriced restaurant called The Crab Trap. We went to Target afterward to stock up on the most amazing ice cream ever (Ben & Jerry's Volun-tiramisu) and stole some plastic spoons from the Starbucks to gorge on it in the car. We rolled the windows down, let in some ocean air, ate ice cream and played Florence + The Machine.

When we got back and the kids and grandparents went to bed, we all piled onto the most uncomfortable pull-out couch ever and watched Blue Valentine.

After all our ice cream, we went for a much-needed morning run on the beach.

Every morning, we had a huuuuge breakfast (Granny fixed them all except the first morning, when I did). With all that food I don't know how I didn't gain 20 lbs from the whole trip!

"FISH MAN!"

Granny didn't much care for the beach (no wonder she and Riley were such buddies!). Here is the rare shot of Granny by the ocean. [for the record, she only stayed long enough for a few pictures. that was it!]

The pool and ocean didn't hold a candle to the amount of fun Riley got from the foot showers.

Family portrait

The morning we left the boys woke up a little cranky.

Cranky James fighting with Drew.
Right before the drive home. Being only 4 hours away now makes it awfully tempting to just turn around and go back to the beach, rather than facing real life.

Goodbye Florida!

Fortunately it was a short drive home and the boys were little angels, sleeping and watching Scooby Doo on the dvd player throughout the drive. We arrived home with mixed feelings. James kept telling me he wanted to go back to the beach with Grandma. When we got in our driveway he said he didn't want to go in. The 90 degree heat coaxed him inside toward the air conditioning, but not without more protest. I miss the beach, too. We had such a great time and got to be with family, it's hard saying goodbye. Being home means the comforts of all our things and home-cooked meals and our dogs and the garden, but it also means Jason's leave is almost over and he will be gone soon. I worry about settling us in without him. I love it here in Georgia, but it's still unfamiliar. We haven't really gotten into our routine yet. We haven't made new friends. The clothes and toys and pictures are scattered all over. There are still a couple boxes left unpacked and not everything has found its place. Jason's being gone will be hard on both kids, now that Riley's old enough to realize when he's not around. Adjusting to the move in and of itself hasn't been easy on them, but adding that in scares me a little. I know we can do it and we'll do fine, but the anticipation is a lot to handle right now. We're just taking things a day at a time now, trying to make sure everything's taken care of, and enjoying our last few days together. Which is all we can do.

I walk through water shore to shore

Sunday night was a late one, packing suitcases and cleaning up after the party, but we still managed to get up early (but not too early) Monday morning and load up three cars to caravan to Florida. We stopped for lunch in Alabama. Yes, this is my big, goofy husband coming out of the slide of the playplace. How he fit in there? Who knows.

Mom and Dad in front of us and Kelly and Drew behind us in our highway parade.

We got there late Monday night, around 7:30 or so. It was freezing! Luckily it warmed up through the week, but that first night was ridiculous. Here's the gorgeous view from our condo's balcony.

I spent most of the late evenings out on the balcony, wrapped in a fluffy, floral comforter, listening to and breathing in the ocean. How beautiful is this sunset?

Cranky, tired Riley with his Daddy.

Though we were all excited about the condo's kiddie pool, I don't think the kids played in it more than twice. The bigger pool was heated and with the initial cold weather and the breezes that lasted all week, chilling the nights, I can't blame them for wanting to stick with it instead.

"Uncle Drew" was their buddy! They dragged him all over the beach. Grandma was their other buddy. They are seriously going through grandparent withdrawals now that we're home!

My dad brought all his snorkelling equipment and he and Jason spent their mornings exploring.

Drew was constantly picking on Kelly and me (but mostly Kelly), dropping sand on her, splashing her with water. She reacted like the drama queen that she is :)

She and I did a lot of this. We left brown as biscuits.

The boys dug holes and built sandcastles and splashed in their buckets. Oh the wonders of sand.

James has been anticipating buring Daddy in the sand for as long as we've planned this trip. He even tried to bury his face! ha

graduation + party + picture overload

Four years ago my little sister was graduating from high school. She entered college full of ideas and dreams and expectations. I'm sure she would laugh loudly at many of those plans she had made, now. Four terrible, wonderful years of fear and laughter, learning and growing, loving and tears and many late-nights later, she has bloomed into such an incredible young woman, and I couldn't be prouder of my sister. Granny, Dad, Kelly and Mom.

Thisters!

us + our aunts, Charlotte and Karen and cousin Rachel.

Kelly and her friend, LJ.

Her grad ceremony was in the afternoon on Saturday, so Mom threw her party Sunday. Kelly changed dresses 5+ times that day. Typical.

Mom's fragrant peonies. How lovely is it to have these growing in your yard?

Food! This veggie pizza was a huge hit, as well as the avocado dip, pinwheels, deviled eggs, cupcakes, and all the other yummy noshes. Mom is such a great party-thrower. Kelly definitely has her to thank for all her event planning skills!

Dad made some fantastic cheesecakes (pineapple and white-chocolate raspberry). He really does make the best cheesecake in the world. One bite and prepare yourself to be a cheesecake snob for the rest of your life. In other news, aren't the punch bowls and cake plates fabulous?

The kids had a blast playing with their cousins. There was so much squealing and foot thuds up and down the stairs. I wish the weather had been nicer so they could play outside, but being inside didn't stop anyone from having a good time!

They all gravitated toward the "rocking boat". My dad had made it for James last year before I moved home during Jason's deployment. He made a cradle for Riley and was concerned that James would want something to climb into and rock back and forth. It has little switches and levers and opens/closes in the front and back to store toys. Cool, huh?

Kelly's boyfriend, Drew (who is part of the family--we've adopted him), and her best friends from grade school, Katie and Laken, all looking glamorous.

Us and our cousin, Aspen. I can't believe how grown up she is. I still think of her being 3 and us "babysitting" her at Granny's.

My happy boys after about a million cupcakes.

Shortly afterward, this happened.

No matter how long I've been gone, as soon as I walk into my parents' house, it feels like home. There's something about toasting a turkey and tomato sandwich on the stove, fresh flowers, the squeak of the kitchen drawers, green trees everywhere, coca cola (especially in the glass bottles), homemade yeast rolls, the smell of food cooking, brightly patterened quilts and fabric scraps, thick air, playing in the pond and puddles, and the smell of gain detergent that immediately turns on that "I'm home" sigh.

Hello from the beach

We're in Florida! Sunshine, sand, saltwater, wine in a box. It's fantastic! Maybe someday we'll just sell all our possessions and buy a condo on the beach.

Kelly's Graduation

My little sister graduated from Belmont yesterday! We celebrated with friends and family today. Lots of pictures to follow!

Congrats Kelly [Aunt Gee Gee]! We love you and are super proud of you!

sunshine and highlights

It's a scorcher here--92 degrees! The morning started off less-than-ideal. James went all yesterday without any accidents to wetting the bed first thing. In his defense, I think we just didn't cut off liquids soon enough before bed last night, but it still sucks to start the day off doing loads of clothes and bedsheets. Jason went venturing on post again (he's been going pretty much every single day to find everything for his packing list and meet people and getting insight) so when he got back, I called to make a hair appointment at one of the local salons. Luckily they had an opening right away so I threw on some shorts and mascara and hopped in the car. One of the big downsides of the area is all the construction! Of course, when we moved to Fort Drum 3 years ago there was construction all over the place there, too. It just seems to pop up everywhere we go. Boooooo.
I still made good time and the salon was empty so I got my hair done [for the first time in 6 months. ahhhh, motherhood]!
The girl did a pretty good job, and I was happy with it, but it ended up costing waaaaay more than I'd anticipated. I don't think she spoke much English either because it was hard to understand her and she didn't make any effort to have a conversation. Super awkward. The only sounds were her yanking on my hair (I think I lost more strands than she colored) and she kept pulling my head backwards to put the foils on. I felt my neck pop when she got to my bangs. It was so uncomfortable. At one point at the end, she actually whacked me in the head with the blowdryer! I don't think I'll be going back there again, but at least I got my highlights done and the split ends chopped off in time for Kelly's upcoming graduation and the beach!

While I was getting beaten by my hairdresser, Jason took the boys outside for some much-needed playtime and vitamin D. When I got home they were all pooped and sweaty, looking like little boys.

Here's a few of the new hair. It's the first time I've had it long-ish and colored/highlighted. Usually it's either short, styled and colored or long, root-y, and damaged. Oh the possibilities.

I really miss my friend, Laila! She always did a fantastic job with my hair and didn't try to kill me while she was doing it.

I'm happy to be a blonde again! It's more fun :)

building forts

The kids' room is set up kind of awkward so we spent the morning rearranging the bed, crib, and [giant] changing table, trying to get the feng shui just right. The kids pulled out their toy tools and helped Daddy put together the bookshelves.

Most of the day was spent going through and emptying more boxes and moving furniture and trying to decide where everything's going to go. I still don't know where I want to put everything, but whatever. There's time. Along with unpacking, we've been--ironically--packing. Our beach vacation is coming up soon and I'm dreaming of the sand and sun.

I'm really enjoying this tradition of duck-duck-goose before bed. It makes storytime and the rest of the bedtime routine go much more smoothly.

We built forts with blankets while daddy read "If you give a pig a party".