Our last day at St. Augustine, FL

Mommy, Gabby & Lily watching the boys and Hannah surf the waves.  Our beach house is in the background.  

 We had a wonderful time on our last day at the beach.  Today seemed to be a day spent surfing the waves.  I didn't get many pictures of Lily today...she seemed content to sit in a chair and dangle her feet in the water with me.  It was nice having her companionship.  The older children spent the entire time in the ocean, loving every minute.  In fact, they looked like they were having so much fun, Daddy couldn't resist joining them for most of the time!   :)   See you again next year, beach!!!!

Happy 8th birthday, Connor!

Today, June 2nd, is Connor's 8th birthday!  We hit the beach in the morning.  We found some wooden boards meant for skimming along the water.  The boys were brave enough to try.  Cameron was especially determined.  He fell the most, but kept on trying for awhile.  The girls thought it would be fun to try some beach yoga and are seen here doing "tree pose".  Hannah found a live crab and wanted to keep it for a pet.  We convinced her that the crab needed its home in the ocean.  Connor had an awesome-looking beach birthday cake that was completely delicious.  We went out for dinner at a seafood restaurant and when we returned, Connor, Hannah, and Lily went mini golfing with daddy while Cameron and Gabby chose to hang out with mommy so Cameron could go in the pool.  Connor won at mini golf.  It was a fun day for everyone, and a happy 8th birthday for our Connor.  Happy Birthday, big guy!  I'm so proud to be your mom   :)

Happy June 1st, from the beach!

This is how our family welcomed in the month of June. Not too shabby, huh? The day began overcast, but we never got rained on. The children wanted to spend the day digging and building sand castles. It was another day of beach fun. What's happening tomorrow? Connor's 8th birthday!!!!!

Beach 2011 - Memorial Day weekend

Here are just a few pictures from our first couple of days at St. Augustine Beach. We are having such a relaxing time...heading out to the sand and surf shortly after 9am and coming in for lunch close to 2pm. With all that sun, the children are all tuckered out at night! The back of Gabby's hair has turned into a mass of gorgeous strawberry blonde curls. The boys think it's funny this year to evade the paparazzi (a.k.a. mommy). But never fear....I'll get 'em! At 37 weeks pregnant, our baby is willing to wait, thank goodness. Enjoy the pictures! We're heading out to enjoy some ice cream :)

Lily's Dance Recital

A week ago, Lily danced at her first recital. I took this picture of her just before we headed out the door to attend the rehearsal. She was in 2 dances, and this picture is of her ballet outfit. She later changed into a tap dance dress.

The rehearsal was friday night from 5:30pm until 9:30pm...quite late for a 4 year old! But she was a trooper and did so well. She then had her opening night performance on saturday from 6-10pm and a matinee performance on sunday from 1-5pm. She danced beautifully and had a wonderful time. She certainly slept well last weekend, after all that!

We think Finnegan was pretty proud of Lily too. He came over to be near our "Tiny Dancer" for the photo.

Fuzzy Dice

Blonde, barefoot, pregnant, and.... fuzzy dice?

Okay, there's a story behind this one. Dan's boss sent him some big fuzzy dice to hang in our 12 passenger van as a joke. The thought of me sitting behind the wheel of this monster vehicle, pregnant and with fuzzy dice in view must have sounded amusing, because a photo was requested. So, here I am! No offense guys, but I prefer my oversized diaper pin with bling to the fuzzy dice hanging from my mirror. Glad to provide everyone with a little comic relief though :)

Cameron's 7th birthday

Cameron celebrated his 7th birthday on May 16th!!! It was a school day. In fact, it was the last monday of school. I baked a cake and took it to school for him to share with his class. For his home cake, he chose a Harley Davidson Motorcycle cake :) He had a fun time opening his presents, and was very patient as he waited for Daddy to get home from work to be able to open them. This year, we chose to give all of the older children one joint gift...a very large trampoline with a safety enclosure. The children love it! We gave it to them a couple days after Cameron's birthday, so on each of the children's actual birthday, they will open a small gift from each of their siblings. Cameron is growing up so fast! Already 7 years old. I remember being 7, and it is hard to imagine that my son has just celebrated his 7th birthday. We love you, Cameron!