Vacation - Tuesday and Wednesday

Yesterday and today were beach days. It is so fun to watch the girls play in the sand, and gather shells. Hailey likes to play and run from the waves. Until today Kaelin could have cared less about the water, she was interested only in the giant sand box :). However, this morning she too was having fun running from waves and splashing.

Yesterday morning we took a walk down past the fishing pier. It is fun to watch the little sandpiper run from the waves. We came upon a porpoise that had washed up the night before. Kaelin was intrigued, but didn't really seem bothered by it.

This morning we woke up to a thunderstorm, so the girls spent the morning playing with playdough, but the sun came out again - so out we went! Justin and I got to go out to lunch while the girls napped and enjoy some time together. Then this evening Kaelin got her hair cut (like Abby's, she says). She was tired of it being in her face (and so was I)!

Kaelin's new hairstyle:

The weather is supposed to be 82 and sunny for the remainder of our stay! We are hoping to spend more time on the beach, possibly take another trip into Wilmington for a Brew Threw trip (T-shirts), and go out to dinner tomorrow. We have to be out of our house at 10am Saturday and we are still unsure when we will be home. We are trying to decide if we should take a scenic route down to OBX for a day, or go to Luray Caverns in VA, or just drive halfway and stay the night. Either way we should arrive home sometime Sunday afternoon (mine and Jecca's birthday for those of you that need a reminder :) ) We are having a blast and I am so glad we took this vacation as a family!

Vacation - Children's Museum

Yesterday afternoon and evening we spent some more time on the beach. Justin caught a crab and I missed it, but Jecca caught it on camera!

Hailey and Daddy - I LOVE THIS PICTURE!

Cheesy Kaelin

Jecca took this shot from our beach access - I think it is pretty.

Last night, Kathy, Jecca and I took a late night walk on the beach. We found a ton of ghost crabs running around, eating and digging holes. We even saw a pair doing some very inappropriate actions for the public beach :). We also saw several Large jellyfish - one was at least 15" in diameter.

Today was rainy. We drove into Wilmington this afternoon to the Children's Museum. The kids had a ton of fun. Kaelin loved mixing dyes to make different colors. Hailey liked crawling in a camping kayak and pretending to paddle :). Both girls really liked shopping in the mini market and playing in the kids' diner. Then while our munchkins napped in the car, Jecca, Justin and I drove around looking at houses and restaurants. Hopefully the rest of the week will be nice - weather wise - if not our next rainy day activity will be an aquarium.

Hailey playing with the trains.

Kaelin and Hailey in the pirate ship.

Hailey in the dentist chair.

Hailey gathering her pile of play bread in the diner - of course - bread for Hailey!

Hailey lining up her ice cream.

Kaelin playing chef.

Kaelin playing waitress.

Dress Up of course.

Kaelin practicing her balance.

Justin and Hailey in the pirate ship.

Vacation - Day 1 - Topsail Beach

We left home at midnight Friday night/Saturday morning. Justin drove after drinking a 19.2 oz. Red Bull (Thanks Brad!). Hailey slept most of the way until the breakfast stop (around 6:30). Kaelin on the other hand was SO excited, she only got about 2 hours of sleep. We ate at Cracker Barrel where the hostess thought Jecca was my daughter!!! Apparently I had her when I was 7 :)!

We let the girls play in a grassy area and got them dressed. We ended up getting to our destination a little before 1 - but we couldn't get into the house until 4. So we had some BBQ for lunch, bought a boogie board, and gave the girls their first hour at the beach.

Hailey hated the sand, water and anything to do with the beach for the first 5 minutes. It didn't take long though and she warmed up! Kaelin liked it right away - however a bit of salt water got into a scrape and she decided it was time to come in. I told her that Jesus put salt in the water to help our booboo's heal. Then I told her to taste the water on her fingers (trying to prepare her for the taste if she got some in her mouth). She thought it was funny and recovered quickly. It was an afternoon of play and fun and we are looking forward to the rest of the week.

Here are some pictures (Jecca has already taken about a 100!)

Both girls did better than expected the first night! Hailey slept in a pack n play in a room with Jecca and Kaelin in bunk beds. Kaelin did wake up twice - once crying and once just fussing, but I was able to calm her down once and Jecca checked on her the second time. I think she was just over tired! She LOVES that she gets to sleep on a top bunk.

Here is the view from our bedroom balcony:

We spent some more time on the beach this morning after breakfast. It got a bit chilly after being wet. Kaelin said that Daddy could bury her to keep her warm! She honestly could do without the water most of the time, she loves the sand. Digging, building castles, finding shells and twigs - she is having so much fun!

Hailey likes to find rocks and shells and toss them. She also likes to dig and bury my toes, and then find them again! She likes the waves - for short amounts of time.

We also played with mini mussels and sand fleas. There a several holes along the beach, which we learned house 'ghost' or white crabs. The girls actually already got to see one!

Nap time is ending, time for more fun! I will post more soon!

Backyard Play

Tonight after dinner we (Ray, Jecca and I, later joined by Brad) took the kids- Kaelin, Hailey and Dominic outside to play. Here are some pictures and some stories:

Hailey loves the playset. She wants to use all the swings and LOVES to slide. She thinks she will someday make it up the rock wall.

Kaelin spent a good amount of time collecting the whirly seeds aka helicopters from our yard and porch. Then she would throw them up in the air so they would fall into the pond.

Showing her handfuls of seeds:

Dominic was hard at work mowing the lawn.

He was striking the most adorable poses.

Dominic as he came down the slide.

More cuteness with a cheesy smile.

And yet another adorable pose.

The story of Kaelin playing with the helicopter seeds continues. I told her at least four times to step back from the pond. Unfortunately her flip flop slipped and in she went. Jecca happened to be holding the camera, so I whispered for her to get a picture while I helped Kaelin. Kaelin proceeded to freak out for the next 20-30 minutes. She didn't like the dirty water that stank! And she says she now needs new Tinkerbell flip flops (they are fine, I just had to rinse them). Anyway here are the pictures - it wasn't funny for her, but I will admit I wanted to giggle a little.

FYI - we are removing the pond. Most of the large pieces of rock are removed. We have to drain it and fill in the hole. Hopefully it will get done in the next month.

After we got her cleaned up and in her pj's she was in a better mood. She said her poncho made her cozy and started striking poses.

Last but not least - we made popcorn for a snack. Hailey was not patient while it popped! She was throwing a fit - the girl LOVES her popcorn. Jecca caught this picture of Uncle Ray teasing her :).

The Farm 5/2

On Sunday we spent the day in Grove City. We spent part of the day with Papa Tom and Grandma Barb out to lunch and then on the farm.

Then in the evening we spent time with Papa Keith and Grandma Cindy eating sloppy joes and relaxing. BTW - Jecca, you totally cheated at Uno Attack. However, I don't care, cause I KILLED you and Ray in Yahtzee :) The girls also had fun swimming, I mean taking a tubby, in Grandma's GIANT tub :).

I didn't get many pics, but here are a few of the girls on the farm. One funny thing is that Hailey has been around these cows since she was 4 days old. However, if you get within 5 feet of one, she still screams! What a goof!

All in all it was a fun day!

Hailey tried to drive the golf card, while Kaelin was trying to put it in reverse. You can barely see her bending down to do so.

Kaelin LOVES to give the cows treats. SLIMY!

Hailey - here she is, unimpressed that we tried to take her into the barn to see the new orphaned calf, Dora. (BTW Dora was adorable, until she slimed my sweatshirt while trying to eat it. Oh wait...haha it was Jason's sweatshirt I had borrowed :) )

Pittsburgh Zoo 4/29

Thursday Ray and I took the girls to Pittsburgh zoo. It was fun, and CHEAP! Ray and I got in for free, because it was Vision month. If you donated a pair of old eye glasses you got in for free! The girls loved the animals. I was laughing a little, because they actually loved the goldfish in some of the larger animals' ponds, more than they cared about the elephants and giraffes.

Here are some pics:

Kaelin striking her pose:

Hailey LOVED the monkeys, or ooh ahh ahh's as she kept calling them. She did come home with a little stuffed monkey that she has slept with every night since.

At the end of the zoo, there is a great playground with large slides. Hailey was a big girl and went up the big stairs all by herself.

Hailey's favorite way to come down the slide.

Kaelin cracked me up with this one.