The End of Capestravaganza 2010

As all good things must, Cape Week 2010 has come to an end. We had a great time and the kids had so much fun. It was wonderful to be surrounded by our family and to spend so much time with all of them. I think that our kids are going to be disappointed this week when no one is here to entertain them! Also, they probably think that ice cream is now one of the four food groups, so getting back to our routine is going to be tough on them. They were definitely happy to see the purple house and to be in their own beds, though!


The adults had just as much fun as the kids. We spent a ton of time together and had a great time playing 'Celebrity' and our own home-made version of 'The Newlywed Game.'



Katie is awesome at charades.


My dad was searching the Celebrity basket of names for someone he knew.


Love this one of my mom and Lily.

Lily had a blast, too! So much excitement- so many people to play with!

One of the most popular and fun activities was the after dinner dancing. Jen brought a ton of songs to dance to, and the kids loved it. Everyone was in on the fun!

All that dancing makes a kid tired, so blue blankets and a rest with their uncle, Brian, were in order.

We also used this time to celebrate my mom's birthday since it was the first time we had all been together in a few weeks.

Mom and her kids. Believe it or not, we are all REALLY tan in this picture.

On our last night there, we stayed on the beach until we had to go home for dinner. Jack took Jimmy for a nice walk.

Beach beauty

We filled a kiddie pool with ocean water so that the kids could play and Lily could swim. My kids took this as an opportunity to create a giant pool of mud. What's gonna work? Team-work...

Lily loved it, anyway. She would splash and get water on her face, but thought the salty water tasted pretty good, so she was all set!

Jack was just about to try and get away with something, so he checked to see if Steve was looking.

Ben

Love that she is giving him a hug on top of his head. She kept saying, "Oh Daddy. So cute!" She says this about Lily all the time, too.

The kids' last dinner at the beach was a crowd favorite. Mairead loves to go to the drive through. She kept saying, "McDonalds. Fries, please. Give the lady some money!" Earlier in the day, we were on the beach and she asked to go "in the car. Get fries." I told her that the car was not there, so she said, "go in Grampy's car." She was pretty determined.

Twins are so close that they even share their McDonald's fries.

Lily knew they were getting something good that she wanted, but she had to settle for the empty bag.

Ben was trying to give Jack a hug and Jack was petting him on the head. They look for each other now. If you ask, "Where's Jack?" Ben points to him and says, "Dack. I see Dack." Jack walks around asking, "Bee? Bee?" if he doesn't know where Ben is.

Awww, sharing!

We really had a great time. Thanks to my parents, Jen and Mike, Brian and Christin, and Katie, Steve, and Lily for making it a great week. And, thanks to everyone for helping us with the kids and putting up with their antics all week!

More Beach Days

We have been having a lot of fun on the Cape and have been lucky enough to get some great weather. My family has been hugely helpful with chasing the kids around, and the kids are having a blast with their relatives.

For example, Jen carved the entire alphabet out of apples just for Mairead. Pretty cool.


Lily is a beach bum.


Jack and Ben are, as usualy, approaching things with entirely different styles. Jack prefers to be held or to sit in a beach chair like and old man and have a drink. Ben wants to run down the beach at top speed.


Mairead keeps insisting that Daddy "make a pit."

Poor Jack had sunscreen and sand in his eyes.

So, can you tell that Ben had an Oreo?

Please- no more pictures!

This is the first time the boys had ever seen a Reese's Peanut Butter cup. Jack did not trust it.

Ben was about half way through his before Jack even dared to touch it.

Mairead is in LOVE with this turtle float.

She insisted on taking a nap IN the float yesterday.

We are having a great time! Dave and I are exhausted, but the kids are having fun and making some great memories.

Yaaaaaay, Beach!

Capestravaganza 2010 is in full swing and we are having a great time! The kids did really well in the car for the 3 hour and 20 minute ride... a long time for little ones! We did have some complaining when Mairead realized that we were not on our way to McDonalds. She kept saying, "McDonalds. Give the lady some money.' But she was pretty excited when we arrived and had a whole new house to explore.



As soon as everyone was here, we headed to explore the beach. Mairead has been to the beach before and was really excited. She said, "Beach! Crabs. Lobsters. Jellyfish." The boys have never seen the beach, so it was cool to take them for the first time.



Ben, of course, set out to explore on his own as soon as we put him down.





Lily seemed unsure of why the hell we were all sitting in this giant sandbox.




Mike and Ben




Ben is in green for all of these.



Jack. Jen was tossing him up in the air.

Aaannnd, he has a bucket on his head. Won't keep his hat on, but a bucket is totally different.

Aunts are fun.

Jack with his soon-to-be aunt, Christin.

Two cool guys.

We gave this turtle float to Mairead and she in love with it. We have to bring it wherever she goes. When we got back to the house for lunch, she said to the turtle, "time for some juice, honey," and then shared her juicebox. Right now, the turtle is in her crib with her and is wearing her hat. She is supposed to be napping, but instead is curled up in the middle of the turtle and talking to it.

Two pictures that pretty much sum up the differences in Jack and Ben's personalities.

Ben, when he first saw the ocean...

Jack.

At first, Ben was a bit unsure of what the beach was all about.

They are having a lot of fun. Jen has taught Mairead to say, "yaaaaay, beach!" and, "Beach party, whoo hoo!" Jack is getting a little jealous of Lily because it appears that my mom loves Lily as much as she loves Jack, and that doesn't seem right to him. He does love Lily, though, and tries to play with her or snuggle with her when they are both down on the floor. Ben pretty much couldn't care less about Lily. When Mairead sees her, she says, "Oh, Lily. So cute!"

Mairead is talking a TON lately and today told me, "I go to the seashore." What?? Where the heck did you get that? It was very cute, though!

The weather is great and it is so fun to be able to spend all of this time with our kids and extended family. After the kids go to bed, we have been sitting around the fire pit trading stories and even making s'mores. Jen and Mike started us off with a great pancake breakfast today and now the kids are taking naps. I do have to say that getting three very young kids dressed and packed for the beach, transported to the beach, and then playing with them on the beach is pretty exhausting. But in a good way!