Vacation. It Was Nice While it Lasted.

Vacation is over and we are back at work and at daycare. It was nice to have a full week off and we combined it with a few trips and some stay-cation activities. We went down to Old Lyme, Connecticut to visit our friends Randy and Jess. Jess's family has a great place close to the beach. The first day was a little overcast so we went to the Mystic Aquarium. It's recommended if you are in that area. Katie is still talking about Coco, Surfer and Boomerang who are part of the Sea Lion Show there. They made a big impression. Later that day, we roasted some marshmallows for s'mores. Here is Katie....she's a natural. She also was very concerned about the status of the fire. More wood! Next day was a great beach day so that's where we headed. Beach trips are a little tough with someone who sleeps mid-day but we managed. Abby had a vacation of her own and was sent to stay with Auntie Joanna, Uncle Rob, Ella and Molly (the cat). I'm sure Molly was thrilled. Abby returned on Wednesday and the rest of us decided to visit a local favorite- Davis Farmland. It was a hit with the girls and Chad, Joanna and I really enjoyed it too. As we were leaving there we a bunch of goats napping on the walkways. So cute. On Thursday, we went to Nana and Papa's house down the cape for some more beach and visit. Overall, a great vacation. My only complaint is that I wish is were longer.

I Want an Elephant.

We had a busy week leading up to today but now we are officially on vacation. Hooray! Katie's had some funny things to say now that she is getting a little older and speaking in sentences. The comments are getting funny...and kind of random. Katie: "I want an elephant." "I like onions." Not true... "I hear a birdie. He's tweetin'. He's havin' breakfast. I WANT CEREAL!" at 5:45 in the morning. "Oh Dear..." "Help me my mommy." "Thank you my daddy." "Kitty havin' supper." This is what we tell her when we see the neighborhood cats walk by the house and then disappear. "MUSIC TRUCK!" Usually shouted during the daily appearance of the ice cream truck. She doesn't know yet that it sells ice cream, thankfully. My favorite: Chad: "Katie, do you want to go outside?" Katie: "Yeah, Grab a beer!" Here is Katie with her "Boo Boo Kitty" ice pack. It's getting some action lately thanks to alot of outdoor play. It heals all boo boos. Legitimate and imaginary boo boos.

Happy Birthaversary

We’ve been teaching Katie how to say Happy Birthday so last week when she tried to say Happy Anniversary it worked the first couple times but morphed into Happy Birthaversary. Katie left this message (with help) for me and Chad on the driveway.

Not only did we celebrate our third anniversary but we were able to hang out with the other couple we spent our anniversary with this week. Sounds a little weird that we honeymooned with other people but David and Dawn were the captain and chef of the catamaran where we spent part of our honeymoon. They were visiting the Boston area on a stop from the British Virgin Islands to the UK. Here we are sailing. It was nice to see them and reminisce about our time in the BVIs. I wish I was there now!

Three years!

Chad and I were married on July 22, 2006 making today our (drum roll) third wedding anniversary! I thought I would post a few pictures to reminisce.

Where did the swimming pool go?

We joined my cousin Stephen on his vacation in the Lakes Region of Maine, specifically Tripp Lake. We pulled into the drive way and Katie yelled “SWIMMING POOL!” I had to think for a second but I’m pretty sure that Saturday was the first time that Katie had ever seen a lake. I explained to her that it was a lake but one morning she looked out the window at the fog-covered lake and said “Where did the swimming pool go?” Ocean, pool, lake…she loves them all! We had three days of good company and fabulous weather. The lake is great for swimming and hanging out. Katie would walk into the lake and just keep on going. She didn’t even slow down as the water got deeper and deeper. Here is Steve helping Claire and Katie with a sandcastle. Even Abby came to Tripp Lake. She loves to swim. Katie enjoying a swim with her many floaties. The S.S. Kerrigan moored for the night.

More Beaching

I thought I would send a quick message before our next family excursion. We went to the cape last weekend and spent some time with Nana, Papa and Ella. We hit the beach and the girls got to play together at the house. Katie had her first outdoor shower and seem to love it as much as the rest of us. After our visit, Katie and I went to Sean and Jill's for a summer bbq.

Here are Katie and Ella enjoying their little pool on the deck. Post beach shower...

...and relaxing in the sun.

Beach Baby

It's official. I have a beach baby. We spent the last two weekends at the beach (which I'll blame for my lack of blog postings) and Katie loves the ocean. First stop was Maine for the 4th of July. This weekend we went to the Cape. I'll recap Maine first and get to the Cape later in the week. Ok, 4th of July. We went to visit Auntie Sheila and Uncle Bob at Moody Beach in Maine. From the minute we got there, Katie hit the beach. I think she gets her beach baby status from her Dad who willing swam twice in the very, very cold water. It’s a perfect beach for little people. It’s long and flat so we let Katie run around in the small waves and when she wasn’t hanging out in the water, she was playing in the sand and building her sandcastles. She loved it and soon after breakfast each day she would hit the water. Since we were right on the beach, Chad and I were able to relax a little without having to worry about bringing all the paraphernalia to the beach…and that made it a pretty sweet deal for us.

We spent some time with the Murphy’s who were visiting from California. It’s rare that we are able to get together at all since we're on opposite coasts but we were able to do it a few times last week. The kids got to play and even the four adults got to hang out one night too.

More from Maine: Katie pretending to crack a lobster.

Here is Katie and Sadie relaxing . Katie is showing off her new "Bug Boots". They could come in handy with this season's weather.

Stay tuned for a Cape update....