Nana's Birthday

My Mom celebrated her 72nd birthday this past weekend. The younger kids and I traveled to her house to spend the day with her on Saturday.

We took her out to eat. She chose to go to McDonalds...I wonder who she was trying to please, herself or Abbey and Elijah??? When we got back we celebrated with cake.

I enjoyed being able to talk to Mom and Dad for a while. I do get to see them fairly often, but we usually have something to go and do. It was nice to just chill at their house and be able to chat.

The kids played with their new puppies that Mom had gotten them. Ummm, her birthday and they get presents? That's how my Mom rolls. She is such a giving person, and has been all my life.  She's always been ready and able to help me in any way she can. I've come to depend on her for everything from baking and decorating birthday cakes, babysitting, giving advice, to just lending a listening ear. She's a very important part of, not only my life, but the lives of my husband and children. We might not say it enough, but we love her dearly!

One highlight of Elijah's visit was his first taste of a hotball. My Dad eats them all the time, and the last time he was at our house, Elijah wanted one. Dad didn't have one to give him, so he promised to give Elijah one the next time he saw him. That was one of the first things Elijah asked for when he walked in the house.

At first, it was ok. Then....

It became a bit more than he bargained for!

I don't think he'll ask for another hotball for quite a while!

Anyway, we loved spending the day with Mom and Dad, and sharing in Mom's special day!


Happy, happy day, Mama! We all love you so very much!!

Elijah's special "prenn"

Many times I have heard Elijah say, "Corrie is my prenn", but until the beach weekend I really didn't realize just how good of a "prenn" Corrie is. During our weekend, those two cuties were inseparable, whether playing, eating or posing for pictures.

 A couple of times we had to reprimand them because they wouldn't allow other kids to play with them.

If you look back at the beach photos, Elijah and Corrie are next to each other.  This wasn't just a beach fling....We were at Caleb's birthday party this past Saturday. While eating cake, Shannon, Corrie's mom pointed out that Corrie and Elijah were having their own private party. They were sitting on the floor facing each other as they ate their party treats.

So it appears that the chick-magnet has his first little crush. This is just fine with me. I love Corrie, she is adorable, and her parents are close friends of ours.  But, Corrie, at least for right now, still has some competition. Yesterday, while at the kitchen table, Elijah looked at me and said, "Mommy, you're so cute!" Ahhh, be still my heart!! No wonder he's such a ladies' man!

The wonderful, wild, beach weekend comes to a close.

 We had some excitement Saturday night,

The folks in red are the "sea turtle experts". The nest was behind the pink tape.

 We got to see some sea turtles hatch. Since it was so cold, they wouldn't let them walk to the ocean, they carried the little baby turtles down by hand. We only saw one, but it was still a treat to get to see even one.

The sky and ocean were beautiful at sunset!

Every good vacation inevitably comes to an end too soon, and our small group beach weekend was no exception.

Sunday morning brought us more of the same weather, but just like the day before, that didn't stop the die-hard ocean lovers.

The higher waves beckoned John and Ian with promises of great rides.

See the two black dots in the wave? That's Ian and John

While John did enjoy some great rides, he also endured a majorly sore neck and shoulder for the next week!

Darcy tries to warm up.

Elijah knew his place--in the sand and didn't even try to brave the water.

Others joined him. Notice the Moms in long pants and jackets?

Time for the group picture...

Raji, Lottie, Abbey,Kylie, Sena, Elijah, Corrie, Daniel, Caleb and Darcy

Beautiful, aren't they?

Of course, they had a "jumpin" great time being together!!

One more family picture (of the members of our family that were there)....

Then back in the car for the ride home. Each of us basking in memories of great food, meaningful  conversation and great fellowship!

A wonderful, wild weekend--the friends come!

We had two wonderful days with just our family, but were excited to have beach time with our friends. They started coming in on Friday night. Abbey and Elijah only got to see Raji and Sena before they went down for the night.

The next morning they woke to a house full of friends. Jeremy and Deb made us all breakfast with a help from a couple of Jr. Chefs.

Abbey-"Now, Mommy, this is real cooking!"

Just as soon a breakfast was done, the kids were clamoring to hit the beach.

We had tremendous storms Friday night that ushered in a cold front. 

The beautiful sunset before the storm.

Do you think that stopped our beach babies?

No sirree! They all ran into the ocean!

They played for a little while.

Abbey and Darcy enjoy the waves

Soon, they all started to trickle out. The water was plenty warm, but the air?? The air was a balmy 55 degrees!

Teeth shattering, Elijah makes his exit

opting for a dry towel

Kylie joins him

Kristi cuddles her little popsicle, Daniel

Abbey continued on riding the little waves.

Eventually, most of the kids opted for dry sand playing

Except for..guess who... yup, my water baby! Abbey was the lone child in the ocean for quite a while. Finally, even she decided to abandon the icy-aired ocean for dryer activities.

After naptime, we stayed on the beach for most of the day. The adults (guys) played football and were joined by the girls for a rousing game of corn hole.

Shannon fixed a wonderful dinner and we all enjoyed a cold, but fun day!

A wonderful, wild weekend! (day one)

Our family loves the beach, and we were given a special blessing this past weekend. Our small group, which is centered around adoption and orphan care, planned a weekend at the beach. The owner of the house we were to stay at told us we could go anytime earlier. We jumped at that offer! With finances on the low side this year, we haven't been able to have a vacation. (The downside was that due to work and school, only the youngest two kids were able to join us for the whole time.)

Surveying the ocean

They both rush in,

but one retreats to less turbulent water

What fun!

John, Jr. came to visit for the day. He joined in the beach fun.

We did the usual "beachy things"....

 

 

Play football

Try to hook that allusive big one.

Play in the sand.

This is "D***** castle" and it remained standing for 2 days!

Mummy Elijah

The weather was gorgeous! We had a refreshingly great family time! On Friday our small group buddies began to trickle in. Ten kids ages 5 and under, two preteens, four sets of parents plus another couple of adults all together. It was quite a bunch and quite a wonderful time!

More about the rest of the weekend next post.