Smashing.

Watermelon in the summer - delish.

It's good to be home. Pete is definitely swamped with schoolwork, but we convinced him to walk away from the computer screen for a quick breather on Saturday. Even graduate students need a picnic-table-and-goldfish break.

Sunday, we were on our own. So, we decided it was a perfect cake smashing day. I would have liked to have done one back in April for Addy's 1st birthday, but better late than never! Plus, we have lots of baby friends that just recently or will be turning one soon, and I wanted to practice so that when we do their cake smashes, I've worked all the kinks out.

 Somehow, I suspect Addy isn't going to argue with being my test dummy.

We've got a big sister birthday on tap this week. And, Pete finally got his laptop, so now his schoolwork doesn't interfere with my picture editing/blogging/Facebooking. Priorities, people.

Vineyard

Sarah and I took Addy and Livvy for a 48 hour escape to Martha's Vineyard. We drove down on Wednesday, which included a pitstop in Plymouth to see her parents (who weren't home), feed the girls, let them play in the kiddie pool, and then set off for the ferry.

Not huge fans of the wind.

We settled into the guest house, gave the girls a bath, and put them to bed. I think it's important that everyone have tub pictures with their best childhood friends. Check.

Dinner, Vineyard style.

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Early morning pajama relaxation.

 Cutting molars? No fun.

No cell service in Chilmark. Sometimes, it is so nice to be disconnected.

Thursday was cool and breezy, so we made it a boat day. The boat ride was a bit of a disaster; the girls were sobbing, and the controls malfunctioned on the boat, leading to a bit of a crash docking.

Rare smiles on the boat.

Giggling with Grandad.

Addy snuggling with her great grandfather on the boat

We took the girls for a walk around Menemsha to let them rest after their nautical adventure. I love Menemsha.

Friday was a beach morning, then it was time to pack up and hit the road again.

It was an awesome, relaxing, fun Girls' Getaway. Even with cranky, teething babies. Back to reality.

Mid-July --UPDATED

We're doing hair clips as often as we can. Addy's bangs go down into her eyes, but the rest of her hair still has some growing to do. She also loves, loves Seltzer. Thank goodness for SodaStream. We just make (and chug) seltzer all day long. Yum. **burp**

This post doesn't have a lot of pictures. I know it's been a week since the last update, so there should be tons. And even though we've had an awesome week (splash park - not a hit with Addy, Children's Museum, farmer's market, beach), I just haven't done a lot of picture taking. It probably has something to do with the fact that Addy is everywhere and into everything, can crawl faster than lightening, and believes everything should be tasted. And my mother's helper (Chloe) is still in Oklahoma/New Jersey.

There it is, the one picture I took at the splash park. The water was a bit chilly, and Addy was having none of it. I could just hear what she was thinking - Seriously, Mom? You take me to the beach last week, and this week I get cold water spraying in my face while I sit on cement. So much fun.


Storms were forecasted for Friday, so we scrapped our plans to head back to Drumlin Farms, and went to the Children's Museum instead. Along with every other child in Boston. Luckily, there is a "crawlers only" section in the 3 and under room that we camp out in.

Dalia, playing on the waterbed.

Saturday was a schoolwork day for Pete (grad school started this week!), although we did break long enough to walk to the farmer's market in town. Forgot the camera at home. *sigh*

Chloe finished up her National horse show in Oklahoma on Saturday, too. It was a bit of a tough show for her this year, mostly because she hasn't had the chance to ride as much as she would have liked. Just like last year, it came down to the last class of the show, and Chloe ended up getting Overall Reserve Champion. This is still an amazing accomplishment, and although the Overall Grand Champion is still a trophy she has yet to win, she has managed to win Overall Reserve for the past three years in the 10 & under divison. Next year, she will move up - and it should also be noted that she showed in 2 classes this year that are in the higher division (12 & under), and did well enough in those classes that she made it into the Top 20 Overall for that division - which bodes well for next year, when she will be showing in around 7 classes in that division. She is an accomplished equestrian, and we are proud of her.

Sunday was terrific. We went Plymouth and spent the day on Scusset Beach with Sarah, her parents, and Liv. It was one of our favorite days of the summer so far. Both of the babies love the beach, and we loved Sarah's parents. It was just one of those days with warm sun, hot sand, cool water, and tons of great conversation. I can feel myself relaxing just remembering it.

Sarah's dad, Don, soaking in some rays with Addy; classic Livvy.

Checking out the hermit crab. Followed soon after by popping it in her mouth. Not quite escargot.

Ode to Grandad. Low tide.

We have some more beach days on tap this week, especially because the heat is supposed to break after tonight. We're taking a "girls only" mini-vaca to the Vineyard - my goal is to do lots of pictures so Sarah can create a scrap book page or an accordion frame of the pictures. Sarah is one of those super-crafty scrapbook people - check out her page here. 

**UPDATE**- I've been meaning to put this in a post for a while, and I keep forgetting. I remember being thrilled, way back when, that I had over 1,000 visits to my blog. We're now up to over 3,000 - and there were over 1,100 visits in the month of June alone. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who takes the time to read and look at the pictures. It really means a lot to us!