.... but we couldn't resist! We took this pic on our last stop before heading home from the beach. The better camera was tucked away in the car, so I grabbed the one I keep in my purse and we just couldn't go by one of these without stopping. Not to mention - Ben & Jerrys happens to be my FAVORITE icecream of all time. Especially Cherry Garcia, mmmm yum...
The summer is here, and I've been a slacker all around lately with posting AND with keeping up with friends on the web. Just trying to enjoy the summer, the kids, and life in general...
.....oh, and I've also been busy killing spiders. eek. Maybe I'll post a picture of one of the black widows I killed... or would that be too creepy?? I'm betting my dad will hope I don't do that!!!
Seeds of Happiness makes and mails handmade cards free of charge to any deployed US Service member for their birthday or any day that you want to let them know you're thinking of them.
I present "McSpeedo" Note: I do not know who McSpeedo is, but he was in one of our family beach trip photos.... cropped him out and he instantly became "McSpeedo"
*I also posted a Wordful Wednesday HERE - on a serious note...
Visit The UnMom for lots of random thoughts.... I have poo for brains this week already, we just got home from vacation....
It IS possible to.... need to buy a new laptop cord ($109.95) because yours suddenly quits working, have your airbag light on your almost paid for car (4 payments) come on for the first time EVER, and to spill almost 1/2 a cup of apple juice on your blackberry!!! ALL in the same day!!!! But, it was no biggie - replaced the cord, ignored the light (for the last 15 years I've work in some part of the auto industry, so not worried about it, no emergency), and took the blackberry straight up to my blow dryer.... and it seems to work fine!! This was ALL right before we were leaving for the beach on Thursday. Irony.
We had wonderful weather at the beach this week and couldn't have asked for a better vacation!!
I need to buy a can of air, but I'm putting it off because I just think it's dumb. Buying air. Overall, I do need it to clean my laptop keyboard on both of the laptops... but still, doesn't it just seem weird to buy what should come naturally?? Kindof like having to pay for bottled water, I'm still getting over that one. At the mall recently, I asked for a bottled water, and I was given two choices, a 12oz Fiji for 4.95 or a 20oz g-brand for 1.95....seriously, why even give me the option? 1.95 please.
Today I took the boys to Friendy's, and the waitress was so surprised that my 3yo did NOT want his free icecream after his meal.... ???? So I had the scoop of icecream (strawberry, yum) and he ate the little candy pieces (M&M's) that went on top. He doesn't like any icecream except for Edy's Dibs. I did NOT enjoy the icecream and ONLY ate it out of obligation... because moms do that sort of stuff..... *joking*
My cat is loud.
I just got home from vacation, and I'm already trying to plan our next getaway!! I'm loving that we planned mini-vacations for this summer and a trip to TX this fall!!
I have nothing witty or even remotely interesting today.... I'm living on vacation brain, and a sugar high.
....oh, I do have something to add, the 3yo managed to get boo-boo's on both hands this week, and here's the funny picture we took (bad quality, random shot)..... for anyone unaware that he's showing us his boo boo's, it looks like we're terrible parents, eh?
This morning we woke up early, with the plan to head out to the oceanfront one last time w/ the kids and let them do whatever they wanted!! They had fun at the beachfront, and again at the pools. The night prior there was a HUGE party out at the pools ocean front and evidentally there was alot of disrespectful people who really trashed the place. The maintenance crew told us to hang out while they finished cleaning, we were out there around 845am, and the poor maintenance guys were having to clean the pools, bleach the poolsides, etc., because I suppose graduation weekend was REALLY about to begin!!
Thank GOODNESS it is our last day!!! No way I could enjoy and relax while that chaos was going on every night. Both kids were immune to the noise overnight, but I was awake most of the night and decided to read a ton of blogs.... played a little online scrabble, and then went to bed.
After some playing at the pool, goofing off for a bit, we went BACK TO BROADWAY AT THE BEACH!!! It was such a big hit with the kids, and we REALLY wanted them to enjoy and remember their special time at the beach!! We had one last ride for the boys, they rode their favorites one more time and then they rode the race cars again together. The video quality STINKS but it was such a fun time for them both!! I should have stood somewhere else to get the video. Either way, the boys had a blast!!
We decided our lunch would be at Joe's Crab Shack - and WOW it was SOOOOO GOOD!!! The entertainment was great also!! They danced the 'train', had fun music playing, and even had a outdoor play area for the kiddos while we waited on our food!!
For our 3rd day at the beach we decided to just kick back and go with whatever, whenever, and however! No specific plan, no itinerary, just - enjoying. We spent the morning out by the beach and at the oceanfront pools at the resort, the kids played and played. Little J met a friend at the toddler pool area, and they played together for a while. I enjoyed talking with her parents, and found out that they were just married -literally that day!! The husband had the little girl that little J was playing with from a previous marriage, and she was 5. The couple has a 15 month old little girl together! They were adorable and such a nice family to talk with about general 'stuff'. Big E also met some fellows in the lazy river area and they ended up hanging out and playing water games for most of the morning!!
We ordered in for lunch, super greasy NY style pizza.... and WOW it was greasy. I had to use a paper towel to sponge off the grease. We never get yuck like that, but we decided on a whim - why not try it and see how it is.... eeekk!! Big J and I only ate 1 piece each, I think big J started to eat a 2nd one and we were both like -ugh- we'll pay for that later!! Little J ate 1.5 pieces and can you believe that big E put away FOUR PIECES of that stuff?????
When little J woke from his nap, we decided to go back out to Broadway at the Beach because both boys had such a good time and kept asking to go back. We just figured, why not?!? They loved it, had a blast and we wanted them to enjoy their vacation....
We settled on Tony Roma's for dinner just before a storm came in, the food was yummy!! Big E was the only one who had their famous ribs... he said they were yum. I stayed safe with chicken and big J had some blackened salmon....all in all we've decided that his (at home) grilled salmon can't be beat. I'm not just saying that to boost his ego or self esteem, his blackened salmon really IS the best I've ever had!!
After dinner we decided we'd go back, wait on the rain to pass and maybe go for a walk out on the beach. Little J wasn't a huge fan of the ocean water this year, he liked the sand, but had a bit of anxiety with the ocean itself. Not sure why, I guess that big big ocean is alot to understand for a little fellow! We picked our battles, held him and reassured him that daddy and big E were just fine if they were in the water. He didn't have tantrums, or panic attacks, he was just uneasy. He and I played in the sand alot, collected shells and pulled a little wagon along the sand while big J and E splashed a bit in the water. We saw a beautiful sunset!! What a perfect way to end our last night at the beach!!
I haven't had any handy dandy ideas or deals to post in the past week or so... I am doing a review for Jumpstart, a pc educational tool for kids 3-10 years old, and plan to post about that in the next week or so. They're also allowing me to host a giveaway when I post my review, a random comment on the post will be chosen and that person will receive a 3 month free membership to the program!!
Right now, we're away on a long weekend getaway at the beach with the kids....
I posted my earlier post during little J's nap, I laid beside him while he napped for 2 hours... while I was here, big J and E went for a walk and bought a boogy board. After nap we decided to hit the Ripley's Aquarium and then grab dinner while we were out.
Little J wasn't too excited about all of the creepy sounds they had playing in the dark creepy tunnels in the aquarium, so it took a little while for him to adjust. We ended up going out to the open play area a few times while big J and E were checking out the sharks. After a little time to feel safe, he was good to go... After the aquarium we decided to go get dinner, at Tripps and it was YUM. Even though it's a chain and there's some in NC, we've never been. We had a shrimp appetizer that was awesome. An Asian style shrimp over rice with wasabi seeds, and oh my yummy.... I loved it! The boys also enjoyed their meals!! Little J flirted with the waitress every time she stopped by.
Once we finished up with dinner, we still had a walk to the car so we took some pictures along the way. Big E loves surfboards, so when I saw this one it looked like it matched his shirt... fun picture. The board was gigantic!
Below is the ride that big E chose, most of them were really for little kids, but this one was decent and he had fun! He had some random stranger ride along with him.... While he was riding the airplane ride, little J and big J were on the carousel.
And of COURSE you can't forget the train... if there's a train to ride - we WILL ride it!! Little J had a BLAST !! I rode along only because I had too, but it was fun watching the boys sit together for this one. We headed back to our place, and changed into our suits for one more splash in the pool(s) and the lazy river! Then back up for a snack and off to bed... and that is where I am right now, beside a sleeping toddler who's worn out from a fun filled day!!
Turns out - I had my camera on crappy settings, so this is the best I have and I even made them into hokey collages and postcards because - well, they're not the best I "could" have done.... :-( *tear* I'll play with my camera settings while we're here, and I may even run to get a different filter...
Little J had a little bit of a fear of the water this trip...
So after about 45 min at the beach this morning, we ended up at the lazy river and the various pools and sand play areas at the resort ocean front.... both boys are having A BLAST!!
The summer is here, and I've been a slacker all around lately with posting AND with keeping up with friends on the web. Just trying to enjoy the summer, the kids, and life in general... 
