Monday, July 27, 2009
Summer Vacation 2009!!!
we just got home from our big summer trip (sounds like an annual event doesn't it... i'll have to make it so...) and i've got tons of pictures to post, though most of them seem to be from the beach. it was definatley the highlight. some other highlights, playing games with cousins, eating tons of great food, and of course, more playing at the beach! i'll try to post a bit with all the pictures soon, though my girls just woke up from their naps, so not right now :)
Summer Vacation 2009!!! part 1
we left last thursday (17th) afternoon to drive to Florida. we go there for brunch on friday, and spent that day recovering (me and paul at least) from the trip while the girls had a blast with (great) grandma and grandpa. saturday was our first trip to the beach, but certainly not our last!
the girls did great in the car on the way there, mostly sleeping and playing arond happily by themselves.
afton was really excited to see the ocean!
rayna was a little less enamoured of it, but she looked super cute!
and she LOVED the sand!
run from the waves! afton loved playing in the breakers, and going out deep with daddy or mama to bounce over the swells, and digging in the sand.
we loved seeing all the cousins there too!
the girls did great in the car on the way there, mostly sleeping and playing arond happily by themselves.
afton was really excited to see the ocean!
rayna was a little less enamoured of it, but she looked super cute!
and she LOVED the sand!
run from the waves! afton loved playing in the breakers, and going out deep with daddy or mama to bounce over the swells, and digging in the sand.we loved seeing all the cousins there too!
saturday night we had a big family get-together at uncle gaylen's house, though it was too rainy to play in the pool, we saw everyone in jacksonville that night, and again at church the following day, they're all in the same ward--cool! afton was very excited to stay at aunt carmen's house too, TONS of fun playing games, dolls, and visiting with everyone, thanks guys!
Summer Vacation 2009!!! part 2
monday we spent more time at the beach, with jacob, who it turns out did have a broken wrist, we're still glad you could make it :) later that afternoon we headed down to see uncle mark and aunt kristi's island (sounds exclusive when i phrase it that way doesn't it?--indiatlantic if anyone's interested).
rayna's really a sand-eater, i tried unsuccessfully to convince her that the shovel was not a spoon, but she had a blast just the same :)
daddy built a fort, with a little help from his girls, though by the time we actually managed to finish it, the tide was headed out and it didn't really protect the girls from anything. it was fun to build it though, cause it really was a race against time to get that front wall up before the waves could knock it down again.
did i mention that uncle mark's got a really cool yard, i had a hard time convincing the girls to come inside. ever. this, naturally, is a picture of the rabbit house, and the ball run. (the rabbit lives under the right side, though it probably has numerous homes throughout the yard.) and the girls LOVED running after the ball again, and again, and again, and again...
did i mention that aunt kristi had some cool toys inside too? especially the mr potato heads, lots of them :)
rayna's really a sand-eater, i tried unsuccessfully to convince her that the shovel was not a spoon, but she had a blast just the same :)
daddy built a fort, with a little help from his girls, though by the time we actually managed to finish it, the tide was headed out and it didn't really protect the girls from anything. it was fun to build it though, cause it really was a race against time to get that front wall up before the waves could knock it down again.
did i mention that uncle mark's got a really cool yard, i had a hard time convincing the girls to come inside. ever. this, naturally, is a picture of the rabbit house, and the ball run. (the rabbit lives under the right side, though it probably has numerous homes throughout the yard.) and the girls LOVED running after the ball again, and again, and again, and again...
did i mention that aunt kristi had some cool toys inside too? especially the mr potato heads, lots of them :)and paul's favorite salmon dinner, it was fabulous!
Summer Vacation 2009!!! part 3
tuesday morning, you guessed it, the beach again, though this time it was the indiatlantic one, and it was steeper and rana was more tired (she fell asleep at the beach, so it was a good thing we could walk to the beach and we had a stroller with us for her to rest in).
afton buried in the sand, inside the edge of paul's sand castle, i can't get that pic to upload, so you'll just have to imagine the castle itself. the waves were a litte rougher than the girls liked, and the undertow was pretty strong too, so it was more of a sand day than a water day.
paul, meanwhile, found a real manly persuit and built this track for the train, despite the girls' "help" impressive!
afton buried in the sand, inside the edge of paul's sand castle, i can't get that pic to upload, so you'll just have to imagine the castle itself. the waves were a litte rougher than the girls liked, and the undertow was pretty strong too, so it was more of a sand day than a water day.
that afternoon we drove out to orlando to aunt dana's house. we passed a roadside honey stand though, so we naturally HAD to stop and buy a jar of honey, but afton and paul had a blast tasting all the varieties (they're the connoisseurs) before deciding on the most expensive one, so it must be the best, right? ;) again, we loved staying with dana and brent in orlando and playing fun games with the cousins--just remember "inquire"--fabulous ;)
paul celebrated his birthday over two days (sara suggested that if we made the cake a day earlier, we could enjoy it both nights we were in orlando, she's brilliant!)
paul celebrated his birthday over two days (sara suggested that if we made the cake a day earlier, we could enjoy it both nights we were in orlando, she's brilliant!) by the way, that's 29+1 since there wasn't a 3 or a 0
for wednesday we spent the morning at the temple while the girls played with aunt dana and joe, by the time we left, i think they weren't even afraid of joe anymore :) 
by the way, the dog is joe, and the girls were that hysterical petrified thing kids do when they saw him, laughing in terror, for about 24 hours every time he came into sight, fortunately, he's really friendly, and eventually even rayna was ready to pet him.
for wednesday we spent the morning at the temple while the girls played with aunt dana and joe, by the time we left, i think they weren't even afraid of joe anymore :) 
by the way, the dog is joe, and the girls were that hysterical petrified thing kids do when they saw him, laughing in terror, for about 24 hours every time he came into sight, fortunately, he's really friendly, and eventually even rayna was ready to pet him.
paul, meanwhile, found a real manly persuit and built this track for the train, despite the girls' "help" impressive!wednesday afternoon we headed back to jacksonville for one more "normal" (on vacation what truly is normal to two kids with no more schedule?) night at grandma's before heading back to texas friday afternoon.
it is good to be home, that's true, but it sure was nice to get away to a beach-paradise! so many thanks to everyone that put us up (put up with us), fed us, got us to the ocean, and visited and played with us, we really appreciate it! thanks especially to carmen and grandma that had us the longest, and still seemed to like us :)
just one more...
i can't get my header to upload my new picture, so i'm sticking it here for now, maybe i'll get it up some other day :)
ps, i guess i got it uploaded after all...
Monday, July 6, 2009
Sunday, July 5, 2009
4th of July (the real one)
we had a fabulous fourth with friends, food and fireworks! here's a few of my favorite fotos :)
afton and her friends had some sparklers that didn't sparkle too much, but enough that the kids had a blast.
i had fun playing with my camera, it has a fireworks setting (i got the idea from amy last year :)
the whole group (except me, i took the pic, and rayna was on my back) after the fireworks
afton and her friends had some sparklers that didn't sparkle too much, but enough that the kids had a blast.
rayna had a great time just being outside
i had fun playing with my camera, it has a fireworks setting (i got the idea from amy last year :)ps, my one regret, i didn't get a picture of the food! it was amazing!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
for maggie
here's rayna's reaction to her latest birthday present. thanks maggie, she really loved it :)
when i took the picture, she was cooking and pointing and so excited, i thought i'd better try to get a video instead, so as soon as i started the video, she posed perfectly with a smile for the camera, so they're a little backwards, but both adorable (if i do say so myself :)
when i took the picture, she was cooking and pointing and so excited, i thought i'd better try to get a video instead, so as soon as i started the video, she posed perfectly with a smile for the camera, so they're a little backwards, but both adorable (if i do say so myself :)
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