We Spotted the Ocean, Cont.

The exotic locale and summer sunsets must have had an effect on the boys, because Sam developed quite a crush on his Aunt Perry...

...and Eli carried on a bit of a love affair with the garden tub, or at least with the knobs (big pools = bad, little pools = good).

All in all it was a great trip and we can't wait until our next time at the beach!

We Spotted the Ocean

One of the big events of our summer was a week at the beach on the Outer Banks.* We had two full houses there and the boys, Patrick and I had the best time hanging out with cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, great aunts, great uncles, and first cousins once-removed. We swam in the pool, played at the beach, played in the house, caught cool bugs, watched fireworks, and didn't sleep very much at all.

Here the boys are catching their first glimpse of the ocean...

They didn't really know what to do with the sand (it was so sandy!), but they enjoyed looking at the waves (and the birds and the sand and people and dogs and kids...).

The boys also had a great time playing with their cousin Jada, who managed to fare quite well with a couple of boys who are used to shoving each other and stealing toys. She had a great trick: she would just pick up the toy and walk away. The boys still haven't quite mastered that trick yet.

The boys also had their first experience in the pool. Eli was a little nervous, but Sam took to it like a fish to water. At one point he even tried to shove off me to swim to a ball floating nearby. Here are the boys sylin' and profilin' in their shades and floaty-boats...

*Trip made possible through the generous support of the R. A. Betts Family Vacation Fun Trust. (Thanks Aunt Rebecca!)

One Crazy Summer

Well, it has been a bit of a whirlwind summer for the boys, and as a result, I am once again very behind in my blogging. But I will try to catch you all up on the last few months...


It began with a short visit from our Uncle Paul (who, incidentally, just gave the boys--along with a little help from Aunt Heather--a new cousin, Charlotte Eaves! To meet Charlotte, please visit her here). We had a great time with Uncle Paul and are looking forward to seeing him next weekend on our trip to Nashville.


Before the summer really kicked in to high gear, the boys got nice, short haircuts for the hot weather.

Sam's haircut turned out a little shorter than originally planned, due to an unforseen sudden turning of the head. Our cute little Friar Sam...






Our summer travel kicked off in earnest when Nana and Mo came to visit and watch the boys for an extended weekend while Patrick and I went to Puerto Rico for Falcon's wedding. We had the greatest time hanging out with Brent and Ana and our friends Chimmy and Cassy from San Francisco. (I think that maybe we should make the trip an annual event...)

Experiencing Technical Difficulties

I apologize to Sam and Eli's faithful fans--we are all fine here but have been unable to post or upload pictures for the past few weeks. I was looking in to the problem but not coming up with any solutions, and had just about given up hope. But apparently the blog has healed itself, so there will be many summer pics coming your way pronto!

Thank you for your support.