It’s a bird, it’s a . . .

A friend of ours offered us some tickets to the VIP section at the air show today. Last year, we went and set up chairs on the sidewalk across from the airport to watch it, so we jumped at the chance to actually go inside this year. Here’s a small sample of what we saw.

the F-14 taking off

We came prepared for our girls and all their squeamishness. They each had their own set of hearing protection. Even with that, whenever one of the really loud planes passed by, they had to sit on my lap. Eleanor would say, “Hold me tight!” whenever one came back toward us.

It was a HOT day today. The kids and I stayed in the shade of the tent or the umbrella tables for as much of the time as possible. One time, looking rather overheated, Phaedra and I passed by the drink table. One of the men in charge grabbed us some chairs and let Phaedra play in the ice surrounding the drinks until we had cooled off a bit.

(getting rather sleepy)

Toward the end, we went back and both girls played in the ice, switching the drinks from one container to another until all the drinks were taken and they just played in the ice water. I can’t imagine how many drinks they went through. I saw them restock the drinks at least 3 times. It was so good to have plenty of liquids to keep hydrated and to be able to keep the kids cool and entertained while Grant could go to the very front and watch the planes.

I didn’t get a ton of pictures of the planes this year. I was busy trying to keep cool and keep kids happy, but here are a few. It was amazing to watch the planes pass each other so closely.

(one upside down, one right side up)

After a camping trip this weekend and a day at the air show, I think I am officially worn out. It has been a fun weekend, but I sure don’t mind if the next few days are just quiet, at-home days for us.

In Her Element

This girl loves to be outside. She asks to go out all the time, and whenever the door to the garage is open, she goes out and gets her boots on. When Daddy comes home from work, she goes to greet him and then has to be coaxed in from the front yard (or the next door neighbor’s yard). She collects “flowers” (weeds), she finds sticks and bugs, and she doesn’t care about getting dirty. This was Friday morning. She played outside by herself for about an hour and didn’t mind being alone at all.

Eleanor was not as interested in going outside because she had a stack of books she was “reading.” She likes to go outside, but she could sit and read for hours.

Tons of Beach Photos

(Because I love them so.)

A typical walk on the beach with our girls generally involves . . .

races in the sand

digging holes(like father like daughter)This is about the biggest glimpse you’re going to get of Eleanor’s face while she’s on the beach. She’s constantly looking down at what she’s doing, and her hair is always in her face.

. . . Grant making drip castles. I love his vacation beard.

Phae burying her feet

Phaedra “helping” daddy. Before her help:and after her help:

checking out the tide pools. Waiting for a hermit crab to say hello.

our stragglers stopping all along the way back

Daddy taking far away pictures (maybe not a bad thing for me).

somebody crying

Am I heartless if those pictures make me laugh? She’s just so cute!

That was our morning walk on the beach. It was such a perfect day! No wind! We went back down later, but I didn’t take my camera because we were going to play in the waves. Phaedra is her mommy’s girl; she loves wading in the ocean. Eleanor might not have wanted to if she didn’t see her sister having so much fun, and she takes a bit to get adjusted to the cold. We all held hands and walked into the waves. Phaedra, being the shortest, got much wetter than the rest of us. This is what we looked like when we got back:

Like my wet splotch from carrying Phaedra?

That evening, Grant grilled dinner for us, complete with corn on the cob that the girls loved.

Beach Trip

Grant and I took the girls to the coast for a week for a family vacation. It was so nice to get away, to have plenty of time to enjoy the coast, and to have time together.

These pictures are from our second day.The very first day, Eleanor smacked her face on the cutting board that pulls out from the countertop in the kitchen. I had watched the girls run past it several times, thinking to myself that they would surely run smack into it, and I should do something about it. But each time one of them neared it, they quickly veered away and avoided the collision. Of course, once I had reassured myself that they were aware of its presence and used to avoiding cutting boards because of the way they are always left out at home (—cough— Grant), Eleanor ran smack into it. There was blood, so I was useless except to gasp and holler for Grant. We watched it and decided it wasn’t deep or gaping enough to warrant a hospital visit, but she got quite the shiner from it. Now, two weeks later, you can still see the bruise.

When Phaedra and I woke up that morning, we found that Grant and Eleanor had already headed down to the beach. We hurried to meet up with them and found them just as they were walking back up to the beach house. Phae and I took a little walk anyway while they made us breakfast. Not a bad deal at all!

Phae loves these boots, probably because she can put them on by herself. She constantly tries to put them on for outings, only to be told that we don’t want her to wear her boots to the store, church, etc. She loved being able to wear them as much as she wanted during our vacation.

She kept her boots on the whole time until I made a comment about how the sand felt on my feet. She had to check it out for herself. And she did some random walking on tip-toes . . .

I love beach pictures. More to come!

July 30th

It took us until this day to declare it warm enough that the girls could use a run through the sprinklers. Happy summer!It just wouldn’t be having fun without some singing

. . . and then they got cold (Eleanor much earlier than Phae, hence the many pictures of only Phae).

*(Yes, Grandpa Matthews, your theory is correct. Keep it up. Spread the word. Do what you have to do.)