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.

Eva

Last Thanksgiving my sister had a sweet baby girl named Eva.  Eva's almost 5 months old now and she's the cutest little girl you've ever seen.  I'm completely in love with her.

Riley and Camden are pretty crazy about her too. We had family dinner tonight and Camden couldn't stop talking to her and trying to pet her.

I mean.  Just look at her.


While Riley was waiting for her dessert tonight she struck up a game of "Who's the cutest baby ever?" with her cousin.

Eva loved it and adorable cousin laughter ensued. 

Right after I took that photo Riley saw her dessert and said, "Okay.  Can I go eat my cake now?"  Eva didn't mind though because her Mommy is #1 in her book.


Aren't they precious together?

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.


 

Little Moments

Our trip was made up of lots of little fun moments.

Like trips to Mister Whippy's. (Oh please Mr. Whippy, please build a satellite store in my town!)

And hours of fun with the random collection of figurines we brought to entertain the kids.

At any given moment while we were in the house the kids had one or two of these figurines (or an iPad) in hand and were reenacting some sort of made up world of mommies, babies and even a "Daddy that was killed in a horrible accident".   Um, what Riley?

My favorite episode was some sort of Seinfeld soup nazi line on the coffee table. All three girls lined up every single figurine and then moved them through one at a time to the side table. Riley was at the head gruffly yelling after she checked each one, "OKAY! YOU CAN GO THRU!"  No idea what they were really doing, but...

Yes, it was that funny.

Butterfly Taxidermy

Almost a year ago one of my favorite design bloggers wrote a post about framed butterflies as art. There were people who loved it and those who didn't due to concern about using (once) live butterflies.

I was on the loved it side, but I knew I wanted to make mine myself somehow. I pinned the idea to Pinterest and forgot about it. Then I brought home my lovely Lucketts hutch turned craft storage and as I started to organize all my supplies I found a shadow box frame that I bought at a yard sale last spring.

Like all of my ideas once the light bulb finally comes on the process goes very quickly.

I thought about going old school and collecting butterflies and moths like I did for my 9th grade biology class, but then decided faux would be easier. I picked up 5 packages of fakies at AC Moore. The biggest butterfly was 2.99 and the rest were either 1.99 or .99 each.  I used three coupons to rein the cost in.  Did you know that most stores will accept competitors coupons?  I had 20% off a full priced item coupon from three different stores and was able to use all of them.

I gave the once black shadow box frame that was $3 in that yard sale a year ago a few coats of Rustoleum white in satin finish. I always have a can of white Rustoleum on hand.  I lined the back of the frame with a piece of white foam board.  I paid $2 for the sheet.

Using straight pins I had in my sewing supplies I carefully pinned through the body of each butterfly.

I'll concede my finished product is nowhere near as beautiful as the ones Jenny pinned as inspiration, but I love the color, texture and feeling of spring they add to my decor!  I'm sure mine is way cheaper too, coming in at $13.55 for the finished product.

Misty of Chincoteague?

The first day we were in Chincoteague we tried to visit the Pony Centre only to discover that during the off season it's closed during the week. We had already promised all the kids pony interaction so we had to think quick.

The night before while on the way to Assateague Island we noticed some ponies in a pen next to the island's McDonalds. Not quite Misty of Chincoteague or her descendants, but the kids didn't care. They squealed and charged towards the ponies.

We spent over half an hour feeding the ponies long handfuls of grass.



Everyone got in on the fun!

By that point another group of families pulled up, so we gave the ponies a quick pat goodbye.




We came back later in the week and fed them some apples too!  I was kind of disappointed that we didn't get to visit the Pony Centre, but it's part of the agenda for our return visit.  Thankfully our kids are still young enough to be easy to please!


 

A Much Needed

VACATION
All I ever wanted.

VACATION
Had to get away.

And get away we did my friends. A week ago we loaded up half our home and headed a little ways south.

To a lovely waterside home on the island of Chincoteague.

It's the off season right now and the town was fairly quiet.  We were free to explore and have mini adventures.  Like feeding some ponies.
 

Enjoying sunsets from our porch.

Hiking up to the lighthouse.
 

And in spite of cooler temperatures, spending a day splashing in the ocean.

It was a quick getaway, but we had a wonderful time with our family and dear friends.  This mini vacation was just what we needed to recharge for the remainder of the school year.  If you live in our area and are looking for a place nearby to relax and have fun you should check out Chincoteague and Assateague Island!

What the What

I'm veering off the path for a bit here friends. Usually I blog about craft projects, DIY, my kids, our adventures.

Today I have to do me. Specifically my skin. Please let me be vain for a moment. I used to have beautiful skin. Smooth, soft, perfect caramel colored skin. My teen skin years were good to me. I did not suffer from acne or breakouts. I used regular bar soap to wash my face and that was just fine.

I am totally comfortable bragging about my skin because there was not much else to be vain about.  Exhibit A.

Yes, that's me. I had HUGE red glasses, braces, frizzy hair and no sense of style. As can be seen by my choice of a sports bra with overall shorts? Really???  So I'm sure you can agree when I say that my skin was the best thing I had going for me.

Then I hit 30. I was totally fine with turning 30. My skin on the other hand? Clearly, not so much. In the last year it has gone completely bonkers, crazy, haywire. I am prone to ridiculous breakouts, hideous pores, blackheads, and well yuck, yuck, yuck. My chin is the absolute worst, but I've been getting zits everywhere now and I am not a FAN.  Please look at my chin, it's a war zone.


I've tried intensive masks, blackhead clearing scrubs, oil removing papers, salicylic acid face washes, and sensitive skin bars, but I don't know what I'm doing.  I'm literally just standing in the face wash aisles of Target and taking a stab in the dark at what might help.

None of it is working.  I need help.  S.O.S my friends.  What do I do?  I've considered the Xeno hotspot and those battery powered face scrubbers on several recent Target trips.  I'm just not certain if they would be worth the money.  However, given a thumbs up by a friend I'd be willing to spend the money.


Now that I've shared those hideous photos with you.  Advice, anyone?!?!

My Girl

We spent a beautiful, sunny day at a local farm last week and I really wanted some new photos of my girl. She's growing like a weed, looking older and taller every day.

Riley is not the most willing photo participant these days, but she hopped up on this rock when I asked. She would not smile though. Until I told her I had a secret. She implored me to tell her.  So I did.

"Your Daddy is stinky!"






Works every time.