Now where were we?

I'm so out of sorts right now, I'm not even sure where I left off. So I'll just pick up somewhere and hope I'm close.

Before Bev and Dick left, we hoped to get in at least one more beach day, but the weather wasn't exactly cooperating. So instead we decided to just go and take a walk at the beach, during which of course the sun came out and the weather was beautiful . . . but we didn't have our suits, so we made the best of it.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures during our beach walk . . . and of course we start off with the kids getting tired less than halfway through our walk and wanting to take breaks . . . I love the pained look on Charley's face.

Their spirits brightened, however, when they found trees to climb on, like monkeys of course.

Can you tell that Zander is completely mesmerized by any sort of mechanical equipment?

Here is a front shot of him concentrating on the bulldozer (or whatever it is) in the background . . . but my favorite part is how he is hiking up his shorts . . . classic.

Bev and Dick left last Friday, so we've spent most of our time ever since catching up on some neglected things. On Saturday Brian hit the books, while I spent the day piddeling around the house trying to figure out where I should start. Needless to say, I didn't get a ton accomplished. On Sunday we powerwashed the entire outside of our house, which was quite a long and wet adventure, and then I cleaned the entire inside of the house on Monday, which left us with one clean house. Today was our weekly grocery shopping excursion, and even though we had a rough start, the kids didn't torture me too badly. And they were dually rewarded with M & M's.

We've also got both kids in swimming lessons right now, and I have to say, I am extremely proud of them both. Charley started in Level 2 this year (you may recall she finally graduated from Level 1 last fall), and Zander started in Level 1. I was a little bit nervous about both kids in lessons, for different reasons . . . with Zander I was nervous because the instructor doesn't usually allow kids to start lessons until they are three years old, but he told me that as long as Zander could follow instructions, he would let him try. This one simple qualification had me a little anxious in the beginning, but Zander has proven himself quite capable of following instructions (with a few distractions mixed in of course) AND he loves the water . . . so we are doing good there. I was a little bit nervous for Charley to start Level 2 because in reality, she barely passed Level 1 last year, and we were told if we practiced with her a bit over the winter, she would be ready for Level 2. Needless to say, despite a lot of beach time, we didn't practice her swimming skills a ton over the winter, so I was a little nervous about whether she would be ready for this class. But she too surprised me by rising to the occasion, and she is a much better swimmer now than she was last fall, despite the lack of practice. Whew, thank goodness we have little fish!!

So now it's time for me to get caught up on emails, pictures, the blog, and return a few phone calls because my communication skills have not been so good this past month. Slowly but surely I'm getting there . . . .