We're going on vacation tomorrow!

My title about sums up what's going on in my mind. Tomorrow we leave for a week at the beach and I am soooo excited! Since we lived in Michigan until last summer, we vacationed in Northern Michigan. So, we have not been to the ocean beach in four years! I am so looking forward to watching the kids play in the waves and enjoy the ocean. We have a house on the beach and I can't wait to play in the sand and, of course, try to get some decent pictures! I will have my computer with me on vacation, but don't know if I'll have time to post. So, things may be quiet around here.

We had a busy week around here. Dylan had camp every day from 9-12 and Ben had camp from 1-4, so the house seemed pretty quiet and I had a lot of quality time with everyone. I am still staying in Lily's room until she falls asleep, but at least the last 2 nights she has not woken up in the middle of the night. Thursday she did wake up at 6 am for the day. That's a bit early, but I'll take 6 am over 1, 2, 3 am any day!

We took everyone to the county fair yesterday. All the kids had a blast climbing on tractors, seeing the bunnies, goats, and chickens, and, of course, riding the rides. Who am I kidding, they tolerated the other stuff while they were waiting for the rides to open. Lily loved the rides she was able to go on. We made a strategic mistake by not getting her a wristband - we quickly ran out of tickets and she wanted to go on more rides (but didn't get to). The boys loved ALL the rides, big and small. For the first time, they rode on the some thrill rides including the thing where you stand up and it spins around and tilts. Jeff rode the spinning ride with them. The kids loved it, Jeff felt sick all night! Unfortunately, I did not bring my camera to the fair, so I have NO pictures.

We had two play dates this week - one with Maggie and one with Kate. Poor Maggie wasn't feeling great while at our house, so she wasn't her usual smiling, happy self. Denise later found out that Maggie has a cyst in her chin on which she will probably need surgery to have it removed. Luckily, the type of cyst she has is benign and harmless, but surgery is surgery. Keep Maggie and her family in your thoughts for an easy recovery!

Lily and Kate had a great time playing together on Thursday. Despite some bouts of hitting and throwing, both girls had a blast. Among other things, we sang songs, made pretend meals, and had a real snack/lunch. I am so sad that this was probably our last play date with Kate and Kim. They are moving in a few short weeks. I have really enjoyed developing a friendship with Kim and I think Lily and Kate would be great friends if they were to live near each other. Kim - I will miss you!

Here are a few pictures from our play date with Kate. They aren't great as it was a dark day, so there wasn't much natural light coming in my windows!

The girls playing nicely with blocks


Kate cooking up a burger


Come on - will you stop taking pictures already?


My favorite picture - not a great photo, but the looks on both Lily and Kate's faces is priceless!


Kim feeding Lily a yogurt. Lily really opened up to Kim on this visit. She let her hold her and really enjoyed playing with her. Obviously, she even wanted Kim to feed her this yogurt!