Camping

July brought a week off for Daddy and our annual 4th of July camping trip. DiDi came with us this year. She's never done that before and was quite the surprise. The girls loved having her with us. We camp right near the beach so the weather can be a bit chilly. It was absolutely freezing at night, but got a little warm during the day. We lucked out and the first day was really nice on the beach. The girls played until they were just too tired and hungry to go anymore. Then it was a late dinner, some s'mores and bed. Kite Flying Cheeto came with us and loved the beach. He, however, does NOT like camping. He is not an outside dog. He is definitely an indoor, couch sleeping, blanket burrowing dog. If we weren't at the beach, he was either hiding in a sleeping bag on an air mattress or curled up on the front seat of the van. He froze almost the entire time we were there. Leia is also not a camper. Each morning when she woke up in the tent, she was very unhappy, but having DiDi, Gramma and Papa around helped. The twins were up bright and early the first morning so they helped Papa make pancakes. Right after breakfast, we headed down to the beach. It was the lowest tide of the year so Gramma wanted to look for sand dollars and agates. The girls enjoyed checking out the tidepools. Leia found this sand dollar and told me that a seagull ate it. It definitely looked like something took a bite out of it. Mira was tired so she rode most of the way back in the wagon. After a quick lunch, we headed to the fish hatchery. The girls absolutely loved feeding the fish. Adia later told us that it was the best day ever, beach, then feeding fish, followed by ice cream and fireworks. I don't have many more pictures after that because my camera died. I've had it for 6 1/2 years so I've definitely gotten my money's worth, but it made me want to cry. It's been having problems after being dropped in the hand a few years ago, but now it will not focus at all. My camera's like an extension of me so it's been terrible missing so many great pictures and my camera on my cell phone just plain sucks. Mira fell asleep before the fireworks started. Leia fell asleep mid firework show. Adia made it to the end, but was asleep just seconds after being buckled into her seat. They slept hard. Mira woke up once around 4:30am because she had to pee, but after hiking to the bathroom, she went back to sleep until almost 8! They were tired. We had another Papa breakfast and then started packing up to leave. Leia was more than ready to go and Mira was ready too. Leia actually said, "I don't want to wake up in the tent" when she woke up that morning. We made another stop at the cheese factory before driving back to DiDi's house. Daddy and I left the girls with DiDi and drove back home. I went back the next morning, leaving Cheeto at home with Daddy, so the girls could spend some time with their out of town cousins. Adia instantly reconnected with Tanae even though I don't even remember the last time they saw each other. That evening we celebrated Tanae, Lexi and Micayla's birthdays. The girls were crazy, but they enjoyed more ice cream. Then we had to quickly drive home so I could finish baking cakes for the twins' birthday party the next day.

June

Wow, the months are flying by. It's the whole "the days are long, but the weeks are short." I'm treading water and there's only 2.5 more weeks before Daddy's home for good. This weekend thing sucks. Before school ended, we went to Florence and the PTA carnival at DiDi's school. The girls loved it. The twins are finally old enough to really enjoy it and understand some of the games. The real prize winner though was the obstacle course. Adia did it last year, but the twins were too young. This year the twins were determined to try it. All we did was help them through once and then they were on their own. They didn't need anymore help. We teased Daddy that we'd make them military recruits somehow. A carnival wouldn't be complete without cotton candy and face painting either. Mira wanted a butterfly and Adia wanted a dragon, but Leia couldn't decide. She ended up with a clown face. She absolutely loved it and held still for the whole thing. One morning before school, Adia was up early and asked if we could curl her hair for school. I was shocked, but agreed to it. I soon discovered that while I can curl hair, I didn't own any hairspray. Her curls looked great at first, but they didn't last long. While she was at school, the twins and I went and bought hairspray for the next curling attempt. She looks absolutely adorable with curly hair, but I doubt she'll let me do it again for a long time. I accidentally burned her ear and she doesn't like holding still for that long. Mira got in on the curling action too, but she didn't last long. Adia graduated preschool and we went to the beach to celebrate. We got super lucky and the weather was perfect. The girls also had a great father's day with Daddy. They played with legos, went to the park, spent time together. It was great until he had to leave again.

May

We spent May keeping busy. There was definitely more painting. Adia has started painting some gorgeous pieces of artwork. She even has a new sketch book because I've been so impressed with her artistic ability. She's rarely scribbling anymore. We made leaf prints with the magnolia leaves we collected while going for a walk. They turned out really well.



We've been spending a ton of time out in the backyard too. The girls play while I garden. I've been doing an insane amount of weeding, mulching and planting. Gramma's definitely helped too. She pulled grass from a huge section so we could plant Adia's vegetable garden. We now have corn and zucchini and radishes, carrots and pumpkins that have recently sprouted. Our tomatoes, strawberries and herbs are doing well too. The girls get so excited to see the plants grow and we've taken to trying to identify any insects we come across. I need a field guide desperately. Of course there's lots of running through the sprinklers, bike riding and pool splashing. Papa brought up the blow up pool and they've been loving it.



We went back to Florence for Rhody Days. The girls loved the carnival. Daddy and I discovered we're not carnival ride people anymore. Just watching the Merry go Round made me feel sick. Mira was cautious, but Leia loved every single minute, except for the loud noises. She just wanted to keep going.



They did drag me on the Ferris Wheel with DiDi. Yep, I'm still terrified of heights.



The girls begged for sno cones so they each got one. We ended up playing pass the sno cone though because they were way too big for them to eat and they complained that they were too cold. Papa then brought over an order of curly fries. I've never seen something disappear faster. They devoured them! My girls typically don't like potatoes of any kind, maybe tater tots, but that's it. It was a feeding frenzy and they were gone!



The next day was the parade and after the beautiful weather the day before, it was overcast and drizzly.



The icky weather continued all week. We attempted a puddle jumping walk, but we didn't find any puddles. We found lots and lots of slugs and snails though. Adia was touching the snail shells to make them hide back in their shell so Mira and Leia attempted it too. Mira was fine, but Leia doesn't know her own strength. She crunched it and felt horrible.


Since they couldn't play outside (it was cold!), we made spoon people and pizzas.


Over Memorial Day weekend, my friend drove up from California. I wasn't sure how the girls would react to her, but they absolutely loved her. Adia and Leia immediately loved her, but Mira took some coaxing. She finally opened up to her the night before she had to drive home. Ever since she left, the girls keep asking where she went and when she'll be back. We did take her to the beach on Sunday and froze her to death. She's used to 90 degree weather, not 50 degrees with a terrible ice cold wind. She still had fun, but wished she had her winter coat with her.


We went back to Gramma and Papa's house to warm up and eat lunch.


Then it was off to Old Town for ice cream, candy and to visit some shops.


It was great having her here and we hope to make a road trip down there to visit again.