I still have a few vacation stories to share, but I thought I would pause to share this
It can be a little humid in the south so our camera wasn't always up for the job of taking pictures. Here's one of me walking down to the water with my girls.
Ainsley loved to collect shells at the beach. She would walk the shore intently trading her current shell for a new one. It was near impossible to pry the "best" shell out of her hand. She seemed to like the oval abalone shells the best. Aubrey wasn't interested in the shells as much. If you would pick one up to show it to her, she would heave it into the ocean. 
Just a glimpse of the east coast. It is much different than SoCal beaches. The sand area isn't as wide as I am used to so no matter where you sit, you can see the shore line. It was really pretty amazing. 
The kids loved the water, mostly. Aubrey wanted to be in the water the entire time we were at the beach. She also wanted to be in deep and hold our hands. Ainsley was more confused. One day she loved it, the next day she didn't. I think she was frustrated that we would hold her in the water and even more frustrated that the waves would knock her over at the shore. She got to the point that she would just turn around and head for the boardwalk when we put our towels down. She was happiest when she was given free rain to just walk down the beach with someone following. 
The sand didn't hold the interest that I thought it would. Bummer! It was more of a five minute deterrent from what they really wanted to do (water for Aubrey, and walk for Ainsley). If we are fortunate enough to take a vacation like this in the future, I know it will be a blast. They were still a little young to give mommy and daddy a break so we could just sit at the beach while they took a break too. I know Ainsley will always follow Aubrey's lead, so if we can learn how to engage Aubrey in stationary activities we will have it made! 
We left for the airport at 3:30 am with a 6am departure from Denver. Now that is early. Luckily the kids swallowed down their milk and some yogurt in the car so I wasn't too worried about malnourishment. It was a had day and really long. We arrived in Raleigh at 3:30pm local time and headed to our friends house to give the kids a chance to run around a little bit before we got back in the car for another 3 hours for our drive to the coast. The kids were in fairly good moods and everything was going smoothly. Then the unthinkable happened. Ainsley fell about four feet while playing with Mike and I and landed on her head. It was horribly frightening. It was a crazy cry that I had never heard and she just kept trying to go to sleep on me. The issue of course was that she was totally sleep deprived so how do you know if she is trying to go to sleep because she is tired or suffering from a concussion. After what seemed like an eternity she snapped out of her dazed state and was laughing and playing again. Everyone was great about it and totally willing to go to the ER with us, but she seemed recovered. And unfortunately I have had a lot of experience with Aubrey falling from great distances so I knew what to look for. What's with my accident prone kids. That was the big event for travel day number one.
Our return trip was much less stressful. Aubrey spent two hours in the car asking for "something" that was fun, but it was endurable. We spent the night with the Sant'Agatas and then headed for home Monday morning. The kids were good enough, but American Airlines were horrible to us. I was personally reprimanded 2 times, publicly over the loud speaker once, and Mike was hissed at without ever being made eye contact with. Needless to say we will not be flying American anytime soon. I would rather spend more, than have to deal with that crap!
Offense number 1: It was a really turbulent flight. They left the seat belt light on for all but ten minutes of a 2.5 hour flight. I have a three year old who had to pee. I asked if I could take her and was given permission. Well, another attendant snapped at me and informed me the seat belt light was still on. I politely informed her that my three year old would be peeing somewhere soon and I could return to my seat and let it happen there or enter the vacant bathroom I was standing in front of. She informed me that I should hold her in there. Thanks lady, I've actually done this before, I'm good!
We rented Corn Hole for a few days while we were there. It is a fun game where you throw bean bags on to a slightly raised platform with a hole cut out of it. If you make it on the board you get a point, if you make it in the hole you get 3 points. It was just a fun game for us all to play together after the little ones were tucked in for the night. 
Jenna had some mad skill. She always seemed to match the skill of her opponent and one up them a little bit. It wasn't so fun standing next to her. :)
Mike got an action shot of me throwing my bean bag. Sadly, my arms were sore the next day. I guess I need to start exercising again. Throwing a bean bag intermittently for two days should not leave me sore. I'm pathetic!
We blocked the hole. That was a bummer. It was a zero point round since the blue and green points canceled each other out. Mike plans on building our own corn hole game. Hopefully we will have it up and running for the next block party. It was a blast! Of course everything is more fun when you are in good company!
We got back last night from our week of fun in the sun. We had a blast!!! It was so nice spending our vacation with dear friends in such a beautiful place. North Carolina is simply breathtaking. It seriously felt like the forest ended at the shore line. It definitely played tricks with my mind to have the sun set somewhere besides the horizon point in the ocean. The water was extremely clear, not tropical, but clear enough to see fish swimming, an occasional jelly fish, a sea turtle, and a sting ray. Those were not all my sightings, just the collaborative experience of our party of 9. We also saw a dolphin in the water from inside our house. That's a pretty good view. I will be posting about the trip all week, I just wanted to put the first post out there. I am so tired that I can barely see the screen. Kids are certainly creatures of habit. Ainsley tried to start her day at 4:30am(6:30 vacation time), but she stayed happy in her room until 5:30am at least. We put the girls down at around 7pm last night so we had hoped there bodies would just sleep like normal. Nope!
I don't know if you can tell in this picture, but Aubrey is standing in the sprinkler. She just cannot help herself, if it's on, she's in. Ainsley is the same way, but she's taking her morning nap. So here we are at 10:37 with Aubrey in her undies since they are her only dry-ish piece of clothing that she had on. Hopefully they will dry quickly, it is a cute outfit. 
Aubrey is delighted by her Birthday presents. It turns out that no matter how many toys a girl has, there is always room for a few more. 
It's just a pretend camera, but she walks through the house taking pictures of everything!
The big hit, her very own train set. Now I just have to figure out how to put an invisible wall around it to protect it from Ainsley the Destroyer.
Is that a happy girl or what?
But not as happy as the girl eating ice cream!!!
Ainsley trying to push Aubrey off the couch during snack.
Somehow Ainsley was the one to get pushed off, gently of course.
Aubrey and Ainsley running around the house holding hands. It is hilarious and pretty dangerous for the youngest little girl in our house!
And, yes, Aubrey is wearing piggy pj bottoms with her shirt! She hasn't fully recovered from her mid-day slumber.
Mommy with the Birthday girl! I was so excited to have this party for her. I am thrilled that she was on board, and wore the hat!
Daddy and daughter getting ready to celebrate. Notice Ainsley in the background. She was confused about why she wasn't the center of attention today.
She was very aware her Birthday party was coming and SO excited. I loved watching her anticipate her special day.
And yes, I made the train cake. Mike helped a ton during the decorating process, I couldn't have finished it on time without him. I didn't want it sitting out all day since the frosting is pure whipped cream (the cake was small loaves of pound cake and it was served with strawberries) and started to decorate it about an hour before the party was about to start. The track is chocolate licorice, the wheels are oreos with fruit loops attached, the animal cages are fruit flavored licorice, and the animals are safari animals, not edible. If I were to make this cake again, I would use tooth picks inside the licorice for the cages to get them to stick up straight. I was hoping to find snack size pixie sticks for the cages, but I guess it was too far removed from Halloween for all the good finds. I also played around with the idea of making it a coal train and piling crushed oreos or whoppers in the train cars, but decided Aubrey was more familiar wit the concept of a "Zoo Train" thanks to Cho Cho Soul.
After a few crafts, dinner (engine shaped PBJ's), cake, and presents, the main party was over. We still had a few families here so the kids went outside to play with Aubrey's new bubble machine. Wow! That's a lot of bubbles!!!
Our friend, Scott, is brilliant, and suggested we put a movie on for the kids. Way to go! We slapped in The Polar Express and that was the last we saw of the children for about an hour. By this time it was past 7:00 and the kids had been moving non-stop since 4:00. Needless to say we were all tired.
When we got home, AJ was waiting at the window for us. If you tell her someone is coming, she waits at the window until they get there, even if it is hours! Anyway, I walked into my house expecting to hear a loud "Mommy's home." But that wasn't what I heard. I heard a BIG "surprise" from 20 plus of our dear friends! I admit there were moments in the last few weeks that I thought it might be possible that Mike was up to something, but he was really good at not giving anything away. I even went as far as to leave the house a little extra messy the last few days to see if he would clean up at all. Nope. It was such a nice night hanging out with friends! As much as I love being the life of a party, I am not so good at being the reason for the party. So if any readers were at the party, my calm reaction at the door was not an indication of me knowing or anything else. I just don't know how to process stuff like that! I kinda pull my head into my shell instead of a grand reaction. Well, I also had two little kiddos who wanted me immediately to contend with. 
Anyway, my 30th Birthday was the best yet! I look forward to many more celebrations with my sweet family and friends! 
I met up with a few friends and their kids today at a nearby pool. Aubrey DID NOT want to go. I told her she didn't have to go in, she could just have lunch and watch. She still was pretty sure that the pool was a VERY BAD IDEA. Needless to say, one look at her friend Jasmine heading in and Aubrey was sold!
It was a zero depth pool that topped at 1 foot. There were still a few spills and dunks by our five girls, but overall it was a very safe and secure place to take the kids. Aubrey and Jazz would run to the "deep" end, climb out, and start all over again. 
Ainsley and Alexa sitting in the shallow end where there were a few fountains bubbling up. Ainsley also went all the way to the deep end and climbed out. She also feel forward and dunked herself at one point. I simply pulled her back up, she blew the water out of her face, and continued playing. It's a good thing she has had practice getting her face wet during bath time! Big sisters are good for a lot of things. As we drove home, Aubrey kept talking about the pool and wanting to go back. I think she may actually like it more than the park!
People ask me what I love about Rachel. (Ok, no one has ever asked me that, but here is what I'd say)
She is eternally devoted to me and her family. She is very supportive of all my employment ups and downs. She always has a smile for me (ok, usually). She is a terrific mother. She is aware of her flaws and works on fixing them. She has a cute haircut. She loves the Lord Jesus Christ. She puts up with me and my "sense of humor". She's as cute now as she has ever been. Oh, and she is a minx in the sack. Too much? Sorry.
She woke up with a sore back this morning. Welcome to the next decade, babe. Aubrey remembered to alter her normal "Good Morning" with a "Happy Birthday Mommy" in the sweetest voice ever. Rachel is pretty lucky to have all of us.
I'm excited to see what the 30s bring to Rachel and look forward to spending all those years with her too.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETIE PATEETIE!
Aubrey has figured out someday. It is very common to hear her talk about something she will do "someday." So far on the list we have riding trains, horses, getting a doggie, and getting a pet elephant. Now that is cute!
and here is the proof
