Memorial Day Madness

Memorial Day weekend was a little wet, but that didn't stop us from having a great weekend.  Camping, no less!  Saturday was beautiful, and we spent it at Aunt Katy and Uncle Joe's house.

 

 Making our scary faces while waiting for the Sea to Ski parade to start.

 

Nathan was our lookout man.  Mom heard a lot of "Mom, LOOK!  A ... (firetruck, rescue boat, fill-in-the-blank)."



Hanging out at the campfire (camping night #1).    

This was a beautiful day, a beautiful evening, lovely sunset.  And then it rained most of the night.  We showed up at Aunt Katy's door the next morning before they had even woken up!  It was nice to spend the day in a dry place.  Dad and Uncle Joe took us to an indoor playground while Mom and Aunt Katy went for a fun, muddy, and peaceful trail run.  That evening (after a full day of rain) we headed back to our wet campsite, which wasn't as miserable as it probably sounds.

Roasting S'mores in the rain (camping night #2).

 

 There was a nice low tide on our last day, so we hiked to the beach and explored tide pools.  We saw lots of sea stars, sea anemones, limpids, and crabs.  I have four rock crabs and a hermit crab in my hand here.



 I got stuck in the muck.  Daddy literally had to pull me out.  (Notice how deep Dad's right foot is.)

Silliness at the beach.

Rock climbing.



Lego Maniacs

Dad and I worked on creating a Lego Stryker vehicle today.  After I came up with the idea, we made it from scratch - no plans involved, and it looks like the real thing!  And while we worked, Dad got to tell me a little about his experiences in a Stryker brigade combat team.

Happy Mother's Day!

Mom and Dad were both home for Mother's Day today!  Mom hasn't been home for this day since 2010, and Dad hasn't been home for Mother's Day since 2009.  It was so nice to spend the day as a family.  And we were especially lucky that Grandma and Grandpa got to have a nice outdoor Mother's Day lunch with us, too! 

Mom and Dad wanted us to be sure to mention how thankful they are for their moms, Grandma and Oma.  They love them for lots and lots of reasons, but are especially thankful for the great examples they are as parents.  It's a lot to live up to, though!

Photo courtesy of Nathan.

Sun and Family

What a gorgeous weekend!  Temperatures in the high 70s and 80s make for days spent entirely outdoors.

 

Nathan's favorite place: Grandma and Grandpa's beach.

 

Warm enough to dip our toes in the water.  And later to go shirtless.



Our favorite threesome at Jon and Brittney's wedding.

Cousins and second cousins playing tag.  Mom didn't get pictures of Allyson and Josh (Noelle is in the pink and Emma is running in the foreground), but it sure was wonderful to see them!



Nathan and Emma.

Look what we found!

Dancing with Aunt Katy and Grandpa.

 

Grandma and Grandpa's pride and joy.



Mom's favorite kids.