April in Pictures

I'm so far behind on my poor blog - but I'm going to try to catch up via my pics/FB/Instagram account so away we go!!!

We said goodbye to the bitter cold of winter and all those lovely snow days and we're thankful to start April off with some warmer air and sunshine.


Every day I would pick up Riley from her morning Kindergarten at 10:45 AM.  Some days we would continue on to an activity of the day after picking her up.  The local library was a weekly stop.  She loved this Matilda Jane top and asked me to take a picture of her.


The grandparents were in town for a quick trip so Riley and Cam got to sleep in the bunk beds together.


I spent my April mornings with this cool cat in his standard Cam uniform.  Pjs, monkey, swag.


One afternoon we were playing outside and I found Cam propped up in his lounger, with his Waikiki trolley book, reading next to my forsythia bushes.


We spent part of our spring break at Gigi and Papa's house where the weather was warm enough to eat ice cream cones for dessert outside by their pool.


They have their own room at Gigi and Papa's and their own matching twin beds.  Gigi reads to them at night.


Before church that weekend we took some pictures of the kids with Spring in full bloom.

The weather was nice enough for a zoo trip while we were there.  I love the zoo near Gigi and Papa's house because it's small enough for little ones, but big enough to keep them entertained.


The train is a crowd favorite every year.


On our last day we went to the mall and had lunch with Gigi at California Pizza Kitchen.


We came back a few days before Easter so I could attend #LindsaysLastSupper.  My dearest friend was on the eve of a very major surgery so she gathered all of her girlfriends for dinner at our favorite Mexican joint.


The Saturday before Easter our neighborhood held an Easter egg hunt.  They cordoned off sections by age group.  Riley had a brilliant strategy to run ahead of the entire pack to the empty section beyond everyone crouched at the starting point.  Her bucket was completely full in mere minutes.  Camden had a brilliant strategy to only put the eggs that made noise when he shook them into his basket meaning there was candy - not stickers inside.


On Easter morning we went to church and heard an amazing sermon by our pastor.  I left there with one of my favorite quotes for the year, "Upon further review there is always cause for hope and gratitude."  Those words have been with me since that morning and I find they apply to every day.  After church we went to a delicious brunch at our local wine bar.


The next weekend my sweet friend invited me to my first Nats game.  Let's be honest, I went for the frozen margaritas.  It was the perfect day for some baseball and a few MARGARITAS.


April flew by with all the exciting Spring time and outdoor activities we were able to enjoy and the happy month ended with the little man's birthday.

A Crabbing Adventure

While we were in Chincoteague there was one thing on the to do list that couldn't be missed. Well, at least as far as I was concerned.

So one afternoon while the kids napped, twinnie and I headed here.

And got these which in our opinion were a little bit of heaven.

We came back and let the (willing) little people get in on the fun. 

It was Riley's first time eating crab. TG does not care for crab and told her she had crab breath. She asked me if this was true. She made me check.

Inspired by our delicious meal we decided to take advantage of the crab pots and pier at our little rental home. Armed with the pots, some chicken legs, and nets for all the girls we made our way out onto the windy pier.


We know nothing about crabbing and I think it was too early in the season, but Riley loved dropping her pot in. She didn't love discovering later that day that all we caught was "slimy yucky seasweeds"

Snails were plentiful though and because it was low tide twinnie and I were able to catch a few for each girl to keep in a little mason jar. They instantly forgot all about the crabs.

And so ended our crabbing adventure...I think we did pretty well for city girls.

Down The Shore and Over The Ocean

We left Chincoteague and our lovely bayside rental early on Thursday morning. It was a bittersweet goodbye because we were sad to leave, but excited to head to Gigi and Papa's house.

Riley and Camden love their Gigi, Papa and Lolo. In the car on the way there Riley said, "When we get there I am going to run up to my Gigi and give her the biggest hugs ever."  As usual Cam played shy guy at first, but after about 2.2 seconds he was all about them.

Gigi and Papa's house is quite a bit larger than ours and Riley and Camden love having all the extra space to run and explore. This visit watching the birds at the new bird feeder in the front yard became a favorite activity. Camden would stand there watching the birds and every time a blackbird came in he would yell "GET! OUTTA! DERE! BIRDS!" at them.


On Thursday night TG and I snuck away to see Hunger Games.  Friday we visited the renovated children's museum and on Saturday morning before we left for home Gigi made a delicious Easter brunch for us. Brunch is my favorite meal and Gigi's cooking never disappoints.

After our bellies were full we convinced the kiddos to pose for some much needed family photos.




It was a quick visit, but it was so worth the detour down the shore and over the ocean.  We love you!

Assateague Beach

After our quick stop at the lighthouse we continued on to the beach.

My children are very lucky. They have been able to put their little piggies in the ocean at lots of different beaches in their short lives.

They know just what to do when they see an ocean. Riley ran down the beach and wasted no time getting ankle deep in the chilly water.

Camden was right behind her.   The first evening we were there we headed straight to the beach in hopes of seeing the wild ponies.  We didn't see any ponies, but we did learn that Camden thought he was there to swim.  He sat down and rolled around fully clothed and soaked himself.  This time we put him in his swimsuit and packed a change of clothes.  Business on top, party on the bottom.

I didn't forget to take a picture with their names in the sand. Riley was a willing photo participant.

Cam was too busy enjoying himself to pose, but I love this picture anyway.

While I was taking Cam's picture Riley came running up to me and said she had something special to show me. She made me close my eyes and led me over to this. She had written my name in the sand.

She took that photo of my name and then begged me to take "jus' one more pictures with your big camera please Mom?"   TG and I rarely take pictures together and we thought she did a pretty good job, even if we had to squish down a little.

It was a beautiful day. Camden was so happy to play with the "WAH-TER!".

While Riley played in the sand and dug a hole big enough for her to sit in.

Eventually Camden sat all the way down in the water and got his sweatshirt soaking wet. He was not happy about us putting the nix on his water fun, but flying his "INA-MAN!" kite with Daddy helped.

After a yummy picnic lunch (pretzel sliders, WHAT?), we reluctantly packed up and headed for home.  On the way out we kept our eyes on the marsh in search of ponies and we weren't disappointed.
And by "we" I mean, "I" since no one else was as excited as I was about finally spotting the wild ponies. If only aunt Tata had been there.

Little Red Corvette

The last day of our vacation was gorgeous.

There was not a cloud in the perfectly blue sky, a warm breeze was blowing and there was lots of sunshine. We spent the morning playing at the park where the ponies make their yearly swim from Assateague Island.  There was an awesome view of the marsh and the lighthouse as well as playground equipment, basketball courts, tennis courts, a baseball diamond and a skate park.

After the babies were sufficiently worn out, we hopped in the car and trekked back around the Eastern side of the island to feed some apples to the ponies we visited on our first day.  After that we were on our way to find lunch when I asked TG to make a quick stop at a gift shop so I could find some souvenirs.  There were a bunch of electric cars lined up outside the store and TG was intrigued enough to inquire about how much the rental fee was.

We didn't get one at that particular place, but in the end we couldn't resist the low price and the promise of an hour of fun in the sun.


This thing was awesome.  It's basically a two seater (with seat belts and a helmet for the kids) scooter.   TG and I switched off and gave Riley and Camden turns as we cruised around the island.


We all agreed it was one of our favorite parts of the trip, but Riley really loved it.  She suggested that we trade in "Daddy's Black Car" aka my collegiate years Pontiac Sunfire and get one of these cars instead.  With the ridiculous gas prices these days I'm thinking a tiny car or moped might not be a bad idea.  Just have to get TG one of these first...

Assateague Lighthouse

The beach on Assateague Island is part of a large wildlife refuge with walking trails , scenic stops, Tom's Cove and the Assateague Lighthouse.

On our way to the beach we stopped to check it out.  It was a quick walk up to the lighthouse from the road below.


My handsome hubs could not be convinced to pretend like he was lifting the lighthouse up on his shoulders, but he compromised and gave me an adorable smile.

We stopped at the top for our only group shot of the trip - no tripod, just my self timer and a fence post. :)

We were sad to discover that the lighthouse was closed, especially since there were no signs at the bottom notifying us of that. Some of us were sadder than others, ahem Riley. She had her little heart set on going to the top.  She (barely) agreed to let me take her picture in front of it anyway and that was only after we promised her Gigi and Papa would take her in a lighthouse at the Outer Banks this summer.