August 2012

In August, we took a short trip to VA Beach.  Getting there took a little longer than expected but after many hours in the car, all the kids wanted to do was to play in the sand!  So, we headed to the beach as the sun set and they played until it was too dark to see.  Sun or no sun, the boys were just happy to be there!

Two days ahead of time, Braden carried around this tractor and how he would use it to make various sculptures in the sand.  This tractor was similar to his "lovey" and had "a front scoop and a back scoop".  Sadly, this is the last picture of that tractor!  When we were washing off the sand before heading to the hotel, the ocean scooped him up and he disappeared into the night.  We had one very upset little guy on our hands!  After settling into bed, Papa had to make a midnight run to Walmart to replace the tractor.  Usually, we wouldn't replace any lost toy but knowing how important this was, there was no other option. Braden even woke up in the middle of the night and asked me, "Did Papa get my new scoop?".  After a quick, "Yes, we'll see it in the morning", he plopped back down and went to sleep.

We took turn chasing the fearless Devin into the ocean....

Dolphins in the morning!

The boys were hard at work first thing in the morning making roads, tunnels and castles!

Even Grandpa played....I mean helped!

It was good to see this guy back to his happy self!!

This was the first year that I taught Ryan how to boogie board.  Since he is a better swimmer now, I thought he would really enjoy it...and he did!  After we did it together for awhile, I had to step out and get some action shots with my camera.

Incoming....!!!!

After a day of fun on the beach and in the pool, we went to dinner at a new (for us) restaurant.  The place was right on the water; we sat outside in our own glider that overlooked the marina.  We checked out all the boats while we were waiting for dinner.....

More waiting....

And after dinner Grandpa and Nana treated us to a ferris wheel ride.  The boys had never been on one before (they'd always been too afraid before!).  They absolutely LOVED it!!

The next morning the boys played on the beach some more.  Braden was so funny...he would fill up the little scoop on his tractor (that maybe held a teaspoon of water) and would carry it ALL the way up the beach to his castle.  He would take a million trips like this...all with a huge smile on his face!!

As we've done for the last 5 years, we had to end our trip with a bike ride along the boardwalk.

Later that week, the apples were ready at Grandpa's house so we drove out to pick some apples and make applesauce.  Each boy took a turn on the ladder.....

Checking out the apples....

After the picking, dad and I had to peel, peel, peel, peel, and cut!  We made and froze many, many batches of apples that morning!  After the boys got a bit antsy inside, we sent them out to the dirt hill with their tractors.  They were in heaven!

Dirt + tractors + boys!!  We didn't hear from them for awhile!

As a surprise to the boys, we took them to a preseason Redskin game at the end of the month!  We didn't tell them where we were going....and they finally figured it out when they saw everyone tailgating in redskin attire!  They were SO excited!  I had everyone change into their redskin shirts in the parking lot and Ryan was just so surprised that I packed the shirts without him knowing!  Papa set up our tailgating area and we ate carne asada and hot dogs and played football while we waited......

More waiting.......

And when it decided to down pour before the game, the boys just climbed in the back of the van and ate while watching the storm pass.  Papa and I were a bit big for that so we stayed under the tent in our chairs.

Waiting for the storm to pass....

Football in the rain!

And just like that, the storm passed right when it was ready to head into the stadium....

They didn't speak for the first half hour...they were taking it all in!!!  We stayed until the end of the third quarter - which was actually longer than we had expected with the little guys!  We had excellent seats  on the 13th row so the boys could see so well.  However, when we asked Braden what his favorite part was, he said "I liked sitting WAY at the top of the stadium!".  LOL I guess everything is relative.....to him it was big!

Here are the boys with their completed summer workbooks.  Ryan completed the Abeka K5 Letter and Sounds book and a Kindergarten math book, Braden completed a jumbo preschool workbook from Costco and Devin did a lot of coloring in his Spiderman coloring book!  We chipped away at the books each day during the summer.  Over 600 pages of learning and fine motor skills right here!!  LOL

Ryan started Kindergarten in August.  He was super excited to go to the school that is literally one block from our house.  We are in walking zone so we all walk him up in the morning and they do provide mid-day transportation for the kindergartners so we have him ride the bus home 3 days a week since that will be his only opportunity (unless we move).  The other two days, I pick him up so we can go get Braden from school.

Sending off my oldest little guy!!

The favorite of three Barney's stopped singing one day.  After a battery replacement did not work, we knew it was time for surgery.  Papa had to cut open Barney's arm and find out the problem.  We then had to borrow Grandpa's soldering iron to fix the wires, and then Nana had to sew him up again.  Whew!  Three adults to save one purple dino....but Devin was VERY excited when he was fixed.  Barney still goes with Devin most places, including up to school in the morning, in the car, etc.

In addition to his "I lo lu" (I love you), Devin sings Mr. Sun and does the hand motions.  His only word, however, is "sun"....so he just repeats "Su, Su, Su, Su" while dancing his little heart out.  And to add to the Barney craze, he now thinks that every time we get our shoes on, he is going to the car to watch Barney.  As soon as I put his shoes on, he opens both the regular door AND the screen door, runs outside and hits the van saying "Arney, Arney, Arney"!