Visit from Uncle Ted

Uncle Ted and Carolyn came in town last weekend for Father's Day, and we got to hang out for a little bit on Saturday afternoon.

And a Happy Belated Father's Day to my 3 favorite daddies.  :)  We love you!!

Brooks, What Did You Do While the Girls Went to VBS?

(Again with the mad face = "smile" conundrum...He really WAS having fun!)

And in other news, taking just ONE kid to the zoo has to be the easiest, most fun thing I've done all week.  We had the place to ourselves, and B was enjoying his only child status!

"Love You Mommy!"

Who could stay away when they get this sort of video message while on a trip?

Palm Springs

A couple of days after we got home from the beach, I flew out to Palm Springs for a work conference while the kids played at Nana and Papa's house and Jason and Archie had a bachelor week.

In addition to attending lots of meetings, I managed to enjoy myself quite a bit.  

The airport in Palm Springs is unlike any I've ever seen.  It is mostly outdoor, and you can drive right up to the pick up/drop off spots without even getting off of a main road.  The outside of it kind of reminded me of "Catch Me if You Can," where he's sitting in the car outside the airport.

It was REALLY hot (think 102 degrees at 8 pm), but the dry heat made the evenings pretty pleasant, so I unwound by the pool and read a book one late afternoon.

I also ate quite well.  I took advantage of my solitude the first night there and ate some fabulous sushi, which would've made Jason squeamish.

The view from my room was gorgeous.  The lush resort was surrounded on all sides by mountains and desert.

We shared the resort with a lot of birds...I saw a parrot, lots of ducks, swans, and even some resident flamingos.

It's been a fun two weeks, but I am glad to be home!

And with that, I think I'm caught up.  Phew!

Family Portraits

We trekked down to the beach one morning to take pictures as a family.

Nana and Papa got a picture with all the grandkids.

The Big Girls.

Individual Families.

(B still grimaces when you tell him to "smile."  So this isn't our best.)

I got to take a picture with each of my babies.  :)

Nana's Birthday

We also celebrated Nana's birthday while we were at the beach, and the big girls said a rhyme for her.

Beach!

On Saturday, the 19th, the Head contingent loaded up four cars and drove South to the beautiful water and white sands at Seagrove Beach!  We spent lots of time digging in the sand, going into the ocean (to my surprise), playing in the pool, and hanging out at our beach house with our cousins.  It was a fun week.

Yep, that's my Bug swimming way out there!  The water was very clear and calm, which I think helped her feel comfortable out in the ocean with her daddy.

Sara is not much of an ocean fan, but she can spend hours digging in the sand.

 Avery played in the sand some too!

And Brooks played until he wore himself out and became very snuggly.

But have no fear--he revived for a dip in the pool!

My girls.

And my whole crew, eating a snack.

Nana herded children down the beach for walks.

Walking in Papa's shoes.

Uncle Jon made us an awesome sand mountain!

Yep, even Mommy got in the ocean!  (Mainly because B was insistent--"Mahhhmmy!  Take me in the wahtuhhhh!")

Another snack break.  We had quite a few of those.

When Jon Jon finished our mountain, we took turns standing on top of it.

(Not pictured above?  Our beach neighbor Eli Manning, whom Hallie told 'Hotty Toddy' before we left for the day!)

We ate a  pizza picnic by the pool so we didn't have to stop swimming for too long.

Surfer Dude.

Avery was a riot at the beach because she is fearless.  She would run straight for the water, meaning that Jon and Julie took turns running after her.

We spent a lot of time walking back and forth between the beach and the house.

Nana, in her birthday duds--a new hat and cover up.

If these two were any cuter playing together, I just couldn't stand it.  They love each other so much.

We did some cuddling before bed, and lap space was at a premium.

We also went out to dinner one night at Captain Dave's.

Charlie is a great big brother (although Avery looks like she may be telling him how to drive from inside the stroller!).

Our house was, appropriately, located on Grove Avenue.