After leaving Idaho on Sunday we made a pit stop for a few days in Utah to visit friends and then it was onto Virginia, the 2nd part of our summer vacation. We flew into Baltimore and a very nice friend let us borrow her car to drive down to Richmond, where Gabriel's parents live. We got to their house at about 1 a.m. (don't think we'll do that again!!) The next day we drove to Virginia Beach and spent the night there. The kids had an absolute blast playing at the beach. Sand and water what more do you need if you are a kid? The boys actually played in the water. Last time we went to the beach they were scared stiff of the waves(but that was 3 years ago). Zach even had a wave board that he tried to learn how to use. Natalie pretty much stayed with the sand, we got her out in the water a few times, but she wouldn't stay there very long.
This was a shot that I had thought about before we got to the beach. But it didn't work out like I had hoped and Natalie's print had a few flaws!!! Maybe next time we are there. But it is still cute to see her little foot next to mine. If only we could mold things like this.
The The boys thought it was so fun
to run from the waves, and I like how the sun is glistening on the water. This was the next morning. We wanted to get in more beach time before we had to leave.
Natalie had her tongue out alot
at the beach, maybe it was the taste of salt in the air. She would walk out to the water, but stayed a ways away from the actual water.
Zach loved this!! Gabe would help him "jump" the waves!
Evan played in the sand alot. He is our sand boy. He was so excited about this creation, as he called it. And then about 2 minutes after I took the picture a wave came up and washed it away. He started to cry and stated that now his love for mom had disappeared! I reassured him that I knew he loved me and showed him the picture that we would be able to alway remember what he made. It was so cute!
We headed back to my in-laws house, they live about 2 hours from the beach. We relaxed alot there. The boys enjoyed watching the Disney channel, we do not have cable and our rabbit ears pick up about 3 local channels. So Gabe and the boys were in heaven with his parents HDTV.
On Saturday we went and picked Blackberries with my in-laws and once again Evan was amazing at picking. He filled his little basket, but did not want it mixed in with everyone else's(something he learned when we went in Texas). He held on tight to his basket and kept telling everyone that they were his and he was going to eat them himself. We made a blackberry cobler the next day and it was delicious!
This was Great Grammy's Birthday celebration. On the couch is Gabe's uncle David, his Grammy, Natalie, his mom.
On the floor are his cousins, Craig and Chad, then Gabe with Evan and Zach(our boys)
We had a great time visiting his family. We were glad to get home also. Vacations are fun, especially when you are bonding with family. But it is nice to get back and into your own swing of things. Three days after we got home we took away Natalie's pacifier, something Gabriel had been threatening for months. It was a tough road. And she still wines so much I just want to stick a plug in her mouth, but not enough to go out and buy more. It has been almost a month now that we took it away and hopefully she gets better, at least she isn't asking for it anymore. Now we have to start thinking about moving her into a bed! Ahhh! They grow up too fast. Thank goodness for pictures to remember the memories. Hope you all had a great summer!!!
Zach really loved the water and the waves. Some of them were pretty strong and could knock him down. Gabe and I even went wave jumping and had a blast. I would have loved to go swimming with just Gabriel and I. Next time we'll go without the kids(probably when we are 50!)
This is one of my favorites. One wonderful man and one cute little guy. Evan is so much like his dad. And as you can tell, very rarely can we get him to just sit and relax. He is alway going!
A few family shots. The beach is not the place to do a family portrait, all in swimsuits. But we thought this one was funny because we were trying to get one with the water around us, but the waves kept coming strong. So, we are trying hold up the boys. It was hilarious! The three kids is a cute one, it turned out blurry. This was after we got back from picking berries. Do you notice Evan's basket of berries next to him? Ya, he was not letting that out of his sight!!
This is my dad's father. He lives in Aberdeen, Idaho. Where is that you ask? It is a little town about 30 miles west of Blackfoot. My dad grew up on a farm, so the boys had a blast there. Just being boys! Evan was climbing trees and playing with the animals.
This is the grandparent that had never seen Natalie before. This is Gabriel's grandma Barber. She lives in Richmond, Virginia.
