Beach-bumming it Around

First, a few of the things we've been up to since we got back.  It was great to be home again, and we've really enjoyed it, though we miss all our family in Arizona. We got to go to a fun birthday party of a friend, and Katy had no trouble going to nursery (thankfully - it's been a long 3 months, but she had just started to come around before our trip). We had been home for about 4-5 days (and had enjoyed Easter (see a few posts below) and Easter candy when 3-4 of us came down with a cold. It didn't seem to bother Reilly or Katy very much, but the rest of us were slightly miserable, and Jaina and I are still coughing. It was the day/night before Jeremy was supposed to leave for Orlando for a NUCCA conference, and he was a little sad that he was sick AGAIN for it. He has the worst luck with those. But he was able to have a great time anyway, and even got to go to Universal Studios and US: Islands of Adventure for half a day. He was pretty excited about this, because he has really been wanting to see the new Harry Potter World, but didn't think he'd really get to anytime soon.

In general, Katy's sleep has been a little better the last month. But she
still has her nights. This is one of them, at about 10:30 pm...

Katy was VERY impressed with the birthday cupcakes.

______________________________________
I've been here less than a year, but I'm convinced that Virginia is just a little bit confused, and has a hard time being in ONE season. Even in winter, we had 75º days, and now in the spring, it keeps going back and forth between highs of 62º and 85º. Which, with the humidity factored in, 85 is pretty toasty! We went to the beach once last week and once this week, and though the water is still pretty cold, we're excited to start doing that a few times a month. We can't live this close and not go often!! I was glad to see that Katy is more cautious this year. Last year she was crawling, and we kept having to grab her from heading right into the water. As I said, the water's pretty cold, so maybe that's why she's been content to play in the sand mostly. The first day we went it was about 70, and later in the afternoon. A little cold, but really fun, and the older kids couldn't stay out of the water. Jaina timed things a little too closely and fell on her bum in a wave. I thought there would be a lot crying and coldness, and we might have to leave, but all she was worried about is that I wanted her to sit and play in the sand with a jacket on. She wanted to keep playing in the waves! The second time was an 85º day, and it was about 11:30 when we got there. I don't think we'll go too much in the middle of the day. The sun is so intense and bright, and even though I thought we had everyone sunscreened, Reilly ended up with burnt cheeks and I felt terrible. We're excited for Daddy to be able to come with us sometime soon, and I look forward to the water warming up a little. I just remember how nice it was at the end of the last summer, well into the fall! :)

I was carrying all the stuff, but the sand was a little bit hard for Katy to
walk in, so her siblings got that job.

After her fall - still having a blast.

Not sure what she's doing here...

Modeling her new swimsuit. She stuck her stomach way out to show off
that Mommy got her a two-piece. With potty training around the corner
(hopefully) we needed to make sure our swim time wasn't too stressful...

Showing another look, with her new Minnie Mouse

Showing another look. Probably the one we'll see most, since the
purple rash guard (2T) already seems too small. She's in 24m-
2T, but I'm glad I bought her mostly 3T swimwear last fall,
or we'd be in trouble.

Our second beach trip was also a little windy!

Having a blast at Virginia Beach's Boardwalk!

Love.

Our friends that came to the beach with us!

Lunch in the sand! We had fun tossing little bites to the seagulls.

I don't know who this belonged to originally; the waves and wind were
tossing it all over. Katy was obsessed  with it!

Unfortunately for her, the other two liked it, too.