Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Beachin' It

 
It may be a month ago that we went to the beach, but I had to post it even though I am obscenely late. We went for Memorial Day weekend and it was such a sweet and wonderful time for our family that I could not NOT write and post lots of pictures from the weekend.
The weekend was filled with constant joy, happy boys, swimming, fishing, sand castle building, birthday celebrating, lounging, and eating great seafood. I think all 5 of us were on the beach maybe 2 times the entire weekend as the newborn still sleeps his days away and doing so on the beach is, well, too sandy to do so effectively. So I became the runner. I ran casting nets back and forth from the condo to the beach. I ran juice boxes and more sunscreen out. I ran extra towels and then became a sherpa and hauled it all back inside in the afternoons. Jared spent most of the time with the older boys on the beach having great bonding time with them. He would catch them fish and crabs and build sand castles and dig big holes. I felt at first that I was missing out, but then as I would walk down the boardwalk with more of whatever it was that they needed I could see that all three of them were playing so hard and having such a great bonding time that I no longer felt like I was missing out. It was great time with Daddy. And after all, sitting by the pool reading a book by myself and listening to the monitor (don't worry I could see both entrances into our condo from where the pool was so Hudson was safe inside by himself :)) or fixing lunch for my hungry hippos in the quiet of the condo was really quite nice. 
We celebrated Kingston's 2nd birthday at the beach. 2? Really? I am constantly amazed at how quickly time is flying by and amazed at how much I might sound like a old person every time I say this out loud. But it is true and I am really trying to enjoy each little season and stage of my precious children's lives for it will be over before I know it. 



Mama and her boys on the beach. Conrad Hudson...not so happy.

Jared using his casting net to catch fish for the boys. I think they were really hoping for a shark.




I love that little hand. Kingston has the longest fingers and just the sweetest hands. They are very distinct. Here is his hand trying to catch the fish as Alder watches overhead. This is not an unfamiliar sight as often I see this occur at home as Kingston fearlessly catches bugs and Alder looks on with sheer excitement but refusing to touch a bug himself.

Chillin'.

Classic Kingston. He loves, loves, loves Busytown books by Richard Scarry. He will get one of the books and go find a place all by himself and read the book for hours (ok its really more like minutes). 


Classic Kingston....again. This is Kingston trying to smother his baby brother with his blanket. 

Why do I even try to get pictures of the 3 of them together? And how different could they look from each other? And who cut Kingston's hair? 

Kingston's birthday morning and unwrapping his presents. Of course with the help (or rather interference) of his older brother.


Here we are as a family. Yipee! We actually all got in a picture together. We traveled into Rosemary Beach for dinner to celebrate Kingser's b,day and had a wonderful dinner with a Lightning McQueen cake which Kingston is just absolutely obsessed with. He loves Cars. Anyone taken a 2 year old to the new Cars movie??? Should I dare to take Kingston?

And this captures my ever fickle, moody, and usually discontented Alderman. That all may sound harsh, but we love him for all of his different intensities and quirks. 


Kingston looking confused by the cake being brought to the table.
Pretty cute cake for Wal-Mart, hey?





Yay for me! I finally posted about the beach. 
Good night.









Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Life is Hard...


Currently these are the life lessons Jared is trying to instill into our sons. 
He (and I) are determined not to raise...well, how do I say this? nicely? 
We do not want to raise boys who become cowardly, lazy, and self-absorbed men someday. 
So Jared and a dear friend came up with these 5 little life lessons and what did Jared do? 
Typed them up, copied it, laminated it, and brought it home for the fridge.
A little much? 
Maybe.
But I would rather err on this side than any other. 


Wednesday, June 8, 2011