Beachy Keen

We ventured to Garden City Beach a few weeks ago for the Kincaid/Gardner/Williams/Ussery 476th annual family vacation. 

We....

put our face paint to use one rainy afternoon...

transformed ourselves into pirates, 

transformed Uncle Matt into a pirate,

(eye patch under eye resembles giant sperm, jolly roger on forehead with a smiley face)

peered into buckets of dead minnows with cousins, 

climbed through tunnels at the aquarium to the viewing bubble,

roughed the waves with Poppy,

took pictures of the cutest chick on the beach,

threw babies in the air,

rode the waves,

bumped cars, 

(guess which child avoided bumping altogether and which one bumped with a devilish laugh)

forced Dad to ride the rides while sad, preggo Mama stood by and observed,

and rode more waves.

(Finn took to boogie boarding as easily as his big bro.)

As usual, the GCB vaca was a great time had by all.  We are so blessed to have this time with family, especially the cousins!  The boys love their cousins, both big and small, and ask on a daily basis when we're going back to the "beach club."  Last night, in fact, I asked Jack what he wanted to thank God for. It was a very detailed answer:  "I want to thank God for the people who own the beach house but let us pay to borrow it." 

Other fun (non photographed) events:

-Pirates Voyage:  pirate themed dinner theater.  Worth the money.  Made us excited to take the boys to Disney World one day.

-Building castles with Jack:  He seems to be more into landscape design than into structural design.

-Hanging out on the dock.

-Watching the cousins perform their "routines" which consisted of them singing and doing dance moves to different songs played on our iphones.  Makes me think of Ross and Monica from Friends and their "routine".

-Meeting up with some friends who moved to Charlotte.  

-Waking up to the smell of Mimi's flapjacks. 

Tee Ball

Tee Ball 2011 was a special time for our family.... 

Jack was coached by his Papa Johnny. 

Finn was promoted from Bat Boy to unofficial player #11 for the Ussery Group Red Sox.

And I was able to determine that tee ball uniforms are the cutest of all kid sport uniforms.

It all started on a cold February night practice, where our 10 little guys met on a red, dirt field determined to swing as hard as they could, slide into every base despite necessity, and master the art of climbing a chain link fence.

Our coaches were awesome!  

Papa Johnny, Coach Larry (also known as Coach "Warry"), and John were our coaches, and they all did an amazing job working with these boys.  I think Johnny and Larry were a little out of their league with how young these kiddos were and how little (at first) it appeared they could understand.  But they immediately adjusted to the boys and taught them the fundamentals of catching and throwing.  (And not to head to third base after you hit!)  They were so encouraging to every boy on the team.

So many of the other dads were so willing to help out as coaches as well.  It really was a family effort.  

Even the snacks were good.  Someone brought Oatmeal Creme Pies early in the season screwing it up for the rest of us on the snack schedule.  I mean, really?  I was worried my Teddy Graham/Capri Sun contribution would receive an audible "BOOOOO!"  But we survived.

As with most things, it was difficult for Finley (seen below as #11) to accept that he was too young to be on the team.  But when your Grandad is the coach, you get to experience a few perks.  Like, say, when a few players can't make it to the game and you just happen to have an extra jersey in your car and you get put in the game....only to be put in every game after that because it's just too darn cute.

Our little lefty really was able to hang in there with the big boys.  

(And, yes, he has his shorts on backwards.  But, hey...they were on.)

How awesome is this picture?

This is what Jack would do in the field if we yelled, "Look like a baseball player!"  He was so ready.  After every game, he would ask us what our favorite part was.  If we didn't answer correctly, he would say something like, "You mean, it was the time when I caught that ball in the air that was soooo high?"  

I love that boy.

Jack really loved Tee Ball, and he improved so much throughout the season.  He wanted to learn, and he wanted to win.  Can't argue with that.

And Finley got a little taste of what it will be like next year when he's officially on the roster.  

Usually at the end of a sport season, we're ready for it to be over.  But we really miss Tee Ball!  The players were our friends, the families were so involved, and there's nothing like being coached by your Papa Johnny and Dad.  

I have a feeling this was the first of many seasons of baseball for our family.  

One can hope, right?  

Craftin' and Listin'

 Blogs are fun.  Some more than others.  There are a few that I frequent on a daily basis.  One of which features a lot of fun kid stuff.  John will ask, "Are you reading about that lady you want to be when you grow up?"  And I will say, "Yes".  She has 5 children (not saying I want 5), she loves Roy G Biv as much as I do and we seem to have the same values in life: Christ, Sonic drinks and searching the internet for fun things.  

Sadly, Meg's (that's her name...Meg) youngest two children are girls, so most of her featured crafts are more on the girly side.  Not saying there's anything wrong with girly, but so far, it doesn't fly in this house.  However, about a week ago, she did a version of the following craft that I thought (with some tweaking) could be fun for my crew.  And it was!  So, I thought I would be like Meg (even though I haven't grown up yet) and share a good idea with you.

1.  Start with a blank canvas.  We used 6" squares.

2.  Let the kids pick out paint colors they want you to paint with.

(Or you can be more like Meg than I am and let your child paint their own canvas.  I'm working on relinquishing some craft control and haven't made it to level 2 yet of "Let your child paint their own canvas.")

3.  Paint the canvas and let it dry.

(I used cheap acrylic paint.)

4.  Take a sheet of watercolor paper and let the kids paint the entire sheet any colors that they want.  Let them dry.

(Our girly buddy, Campbell, was over for the afternoon.  She won the award for following directions best.)

Finn went for abstract...

Campbell focused on purples....

And Jack was in a stripey mood.

5.  Use a paper puncher of any shape and punch away! 

(Crab puncher from Michael's = $5 with 40% off coupon.  Meg used a butterfly puncher, but only 1/3 of our crafting audience would have been happy about that.)

6.  Hot glue them on.

7.  Optional: Embellish with wording and ribbon if you wish!

8.  Hang it on a doorknob as a reminder to quit being crabby.  

(Maybe it will go on your own doorknob?)

Yesterday, we made a Summer List.  I have seen these in blog-o-land for the past few summers and have wanted to do one for a while.  With pen in hand and two little guys brainstorming beside me, we came up with some simple ways to mix things up a bit during the dog days of summer.

(Yes, Meg does this, too!  She posted their list today.  Super cute.)

Finn's favorite idea was "Mall Train".  He enjoys riding the train at the mall in Savannah.  Thankfully, we have Jack's eye appointment in Savannah in early July and will be able to mark this off the list that day.

Jack's favorite idea was "Rita's (ice cream) on the May River".  

Happy Summer!  If you make a summer list, please share.  Would love to add some to ours!

The Difference Between Jack and Finn

Oftentimes, people will ask us if Jack and Finn are different from one another.  And if you're a parent of more than one, you know the answer to this question.  Of course they're different!  They might look a little bit alike, but other than their blond hair and blue eyes, they are two very different kiddos.  

Sometimes, something happens that really highlights those differences.  Yesterday, we had one of those 'somethings' where we all looked at one another and said..."And that's the difference between Jack and Finn."  

Henry, our beloved scaly pet of 2 years, died yesterday.

We pretty much expected this would happen after watching his less than enthusiastic swimming performance the day before.  And, indeed, on Memorial day we were forced with a memorial service of our own.

What couldn't be entirely predicted, however, were the reactions of the boys.  John drew the short straw on this one and had to relay the sad news to Jack and Finn.  

Here were their reactions:

Jack: (crying) "Noooo...I loved him so much.  I am going to miss Henry!  WAAAAA!!!"

Finn:  (not crying) "What are we going to do with the tank?  We'll just get another fish.  We could name him Henry the Second.  Yes...that would work."

Jack:  "What will we do with the body?  I don't want to send him back to the water because a huge carp might eat him (crying increases at the thought of such brutality)."

Finn:  "We should bury him."

At a later time during the day my mom was trying to perk Jack.  "We'll clean the tank, and go pick out a new fish...

Jack: "That doesn't sound exciting to me yet.  I still miss Henry."

Finn: "You're gonna die one day, too, Jack."

Jack:  "Yes, but I will be an old, old man."  Henry was only 2.

Jack the Feeler.  Finn the Realist.

Thank you, Lord, for their differences and for adding some balance (and comedy) to our lives!

RIP Henry

Everyone Needs a Slip'N'Slide

Jack and Finn received a Slip'N'Slide courtesy of their Uncle Matt and Aunt Melissa for their 2010 birthdays.  We unveiled the beloved gift a few weeks ago, and the only regret was that we hadn't used it sooner.  We now have a permanent dead grass runway in our yard ready for hours of slippin' and slidin'. 

Jack's first run was a success.  I'd give his horizontal layout a 10 on this one.  Sadly the bubbles we added with some dish soap hadn't made their way to the end of the slide yet, so his first ride was cut a little short.  

But sprightly, brother Finn belly flopped his way to the end helping with bubble distribution, and the rest was history.

There were flamboyant spins and crashes...

back stokes and swirls.

And moms, this is a great water activity, where there is no risk of drowning.  I file this into one of my Awesome Lazy Mom folders.  Your kids think you're Awesome for letting them do it, but you really get to be a Lazy bystander while you read a book or sit and relax.

(And who needs a bath when you've been rolling in dish soap all day???...another great Awesome/Lazy combo.)

 But in all honesty, if it weren't for this preggo belly, I'd be lathered in Palmolive in the blink of an eye.

So, before they sell out...

go to Target

and get a Slip'N'Slide.  Or two.  Summers can be long you know.  

You will have some satisfied customers.