first time to the gulf

On Sabbath, we took the kids to the beach. It was Khloe's first time to the Gulf of Mexico. (Her second trip to the beach.) We met Billy's sister, Brenda, and Ethan, along with his "sister" Heather and her friend, Mel ... and a lot of other people. Heather and Mel (and others) came down to Orlando to run the Disney Princess Half Marathon, so they took time on Sabbath afternoon to drive down to visit us. The beach was a good idea, because it was a beautiful day--aside from some strong wind. The nice thing about Clearwater is that they provide shade/wind barriers that you can rent, so we did that and it kept the kiddos well protected from the chilly wind.A couple of cute pictures of the kids with Heather and Mel.

It was Ethan's first trip to the beach, and aside from waking just enough to eat a little bit, poo, and cry some (to remind us he was there, too), he slept through his visit.Khloe wanted to say 'hi' to Ethan and check him out a little bit. He was making some little noises. I think she likes him.Ethan is just relaxing ... waiting for Mommy to finish her lunch, so he can have some lunch, too. He even gave us a little peek-a-boo!Ethan and I had a little photo-op. He was enjoying his little sleep while I documented the cuddle-time.He even took a minute to look at the camera.A little snuggling with Aunt Tasha.He got a little lot of Mommy-love, too.

Colton had a blast, as always. He was having a lot of fun playing football with Heather and eating "Mel Candies" with Mel. (a.k.a. M&M's) Billy made a "smart" move and took Colton to feed the seagulls ... and then there were a ton of them flying over us trying to grab some grub. So, we told Colton he could feed them sand, because seagulls like sand ... he wouldn't stop talking about wanting to feed the seagulls!

He liked playing football with Heather.And digging holes with Daddy, too.

Khloe had a great, relaxing time, too. She hung out on the blanket for a while. She let everyone hold her for a little bit, and then she took a short nap in my arms.
Little girl gets some love from her Mommy.She did a great job for her first (long extended trip) to the beach ... even with the chilly wind.

Both kids were pretty sleepy when we got home, so we laid them down for a nap. They had a great time, and we decided we'll have to buy one of those wind/sun shades. They come in pretty handy!

Sunday we went to Billy's cousin's daughter's (whew!) 6th birthday party. Colton loves Emily, so he had a great time running around with her and her cousins (from the other side of her family). He chased them, and they chased him all around. Colton was having so much fun that he didn't really eat much at the party.
It was a luau themed party ... Emily dressed Colton up this way. He stayed like this for about a minute ... Billy on the other hand ...Luckily Emily doesn't only have girl toys! Colton loved playing with her monster trucks.He jumped into the middle of the bean bags, and he got stuck.Glad cousin Emily was there to help him out!

When we got home, he crashed into a nap. He woke up in the absolute WORST mood. We didn't know what to do. He just cried and cried. He was furious about everything, and the more we tried to get him in a better mood ... the angrier he got. I asked him if he was hungry, and he said "NOOOOOOOOO!" (In a very whiny, annoying, angry voice. Followed by some fake tears.) Finally, I said to Billy, "Do you want a grilled cheese?" Colton immediately says, "I WANT A GRILLED CHEESE!" And he proceeds to follow me around the kitchen begging for a grilled cheese while I make it. He gobbled up an entire sandwich and two bowls of ABC soup ... along with some treats Billy gave him after dinner. He was so hungry. Immediately toward the end of dinner, Colton said, "I'm going to finish my soup, and then I'm going to give Mommy a kiss." We knew right away that he was feeling much better. For the rest of the evening, he was our sweet, little Colton again. I guess he doesn't deal well with hunger ... and apparently, he was so grumpy, he couldn't tell us what he needed!

For good measure, I'm going to throw in some pictures from a few weeks ago when Mom and Dad H were here visiting. There are just a few random pics that I wanted to post of Khloe and Mom holding Ethan when they were visiting us.This makes me nervous for many reasons.Grandma settling Ethan down during game time on Saturday night.A little floor time a few weeks ago ... I just thought she looked especially sweet.This is for all of my famly and friends who live in the "north country" and by that, I mean ... anywhere not humid subtropical like our state ... this woman was selling papers on Sunday morning on at a local intersetion. She is wearing a parka with a fur-lined hood ... it was 66 degrees out.