Putt Putt - Beach

During the rainy days we were able to squeeze in 2 games of putt putt before the showers started. This was one of the coolest courses of putt putt I've ever seen. We stumbled upon it by luck. The first course was a castle and the second was animals. The boys really enjoyed it because it took them through caves/tunnels, over bridges, up an then down, and in and out of the castle.

Brookgreen Gardens

While at the beach, we went to some historic gardens so Emily could play with her new camera, we could all get some exercise, and just to get out and about and try something new. They were beautiful and had some pretty amazing statues. The boys tolerated the gardens pretty well, looking for animal statues around every corner. They also got to go to the "zoo" at the end of the tour which had otters, eagles, owls, other birds, alligators, and a few more animals I'm forgetting about. We had nice weather and some good family time. Here's the website if you want to know more.

Arcade

One of the highlights of the beach for the boys is going up to the pier to play at the arcade. It's cheap entertainment (although each year you get less tokens for your money it seems). Ben loves ski ball (and has quite an arm for a three year old). Caleb likes the whack em games.

On the first day we found a game that gave you high bouce balls for a prize, and we walked out with a dozen of them the first night. The next day it was broken unfortunately. Caleb had determined he was going to only play that game the rest of the week, and probably come home with 50 high bounce balls.

Of course they got their tickets, and they turned them in for cheap Oriental Trading company style prizes. Ben always goes for the candy (Airheads, dum dums). Caleb is into scary and creepy things. He took home a rubber snake and a zombie looking finger puppet. Plus some candy.

Beach Trip Pictures - General

Here are the basic pictures from our beach trip. I'll post pictures from our excursions and activities later on. We had great weather at the beginning of the week, and then things got rainy for the last two days. The boys really loved being around all their cousins (8, with one more on the way). Luke enjoyed being held by so many people. He was really good all week considering he was in a new place with new noises and people. They boys loved kicking the waves and building sandcastles this year. Since it was the off season, we practically owned the beach. I'll have more pictures in the next few days.

Beach Trip 2008

We are back from our Beach Vacation. That is why the blogging was sparce last week (despite rumors of quitting the blog). With the new camera, we took a lot more pictures this year, so Emily and I will have them edited and uploaded in a day or so.

Backup Plan

Luke Pictures

Just more wonderful pictures of Luke we wanted to share.

Get your Own Milk

Sorry if anyone finds this picture offensive. I think it is funny (and obviously innocent). I've captioned it "Get your own milk!" Feel free to leave you own caption suggestions in the comments.

How a Dog Drinks Water

Hold that Baby Close

It takes a lot of hands to keep a baby happy. We all have to chip in from time to time.

Parent in Training - Part 2

Another job that Ben loves to have is helping feed Luke with his bottle. Ben is an amazing combination of rough and tough at times and sweet and kind at others.

PIT - Parent in Training

Ben loves Jellybean (Luke). I mean he talks about him all the time. He always wants to know where he is and give him a rub on the head. He likes to pretend with his own baby as well. He got Baby Andrew all buckled up, complete with passy and burp cloth the other day and then headed for the door. He is really enjoying being a big brother.

Along Came a Spider

We found this in our yard last weekend. I walked into the web when I was watering the trees and bushes we had just planted in the back yard. I was glad I composed myself pretty well in front of the boys, because this thing almost ended up on my head. It is the biggest spider I've probably ever seen in the wild. It was about the size of a baseball.

We looked it up afterward and found out it is a Yellow Garden Spider. Harmless to humans, but freaky looking. Freaky enough to warrant a few pictures, some study by my boys, and then a swift stomp with my boot. Sorry spider, you just don't look friendly enough to share a yard with.

Ninja Cat

Blog Inspiration

For those of you who don't watch the office and don't understand the new blog header, here is the picture that inspired me. I just thought it would be a funny spoof.

Special Bible Time - Lost Parables

We are trying something new at our house. It's been in the plans for months, but just never got put into practice. I wanted to make the Bible story time more active and memorable by making it an experience rather than just a lecture. This isn't my idea, but I'm just running with some ideas that I've come across in the books I'm reading in Seminary [imagine that!]

So once a week I'll be putting together a Bible story experience that is hands on. I think the boys will be able to reflect back on this a it will definitely leave a more permanent mark on their minds.

So week one is the Lost Parables from Luke. The Lost Sheep, The Lost Coin, and The Prodigal Son. I gathered a sheep, a coin, and a little man figure from their toy collections and hid them in their room without them knowing. We then sat down and read the story from Luke 15 (I paraphrased the Prodigal son because they were getting antsy and I wanted this first week to be very positive). I then turned them loose to find their lost items. They used flashlights to help them, just like the woman used a lamp to find her coin. Then when you find all your items its time to celebrate, just like the people in the story celebrate when they find their stuff.

I admit that this night did not have the amount of planning that I would have hoped, but I at least got the ball rolling and the inertia is broken. I'll share pictures and ideas about each weeks stories as we do them. If you have any ideas, please share them with me.

Stylin

It's tough when your 3 week old has more style and class than you do. Chucks are making a comeback and Luke is looking hip.

Luke Pictures

Luke doesn't do a whole lot yet, but he does know how to look cute, and he does that well.

Animal Rescuers

For their birthdays the boys got some nerf guns. Uncle Daniel supplemented with a few more from his collection, and we can now play animal rescuers. We pretend that the animals have escaped from the zoo and are hiding all over the house. We have to freeze them with our bullets and return them to their cages. The boys love it.

Hows that for putting a positive spin on guns and shooting?

High Divin

This man is the world record high dive champ. He dives 172 feet in this video. When he's up top preparing for his dive, it makes my palms and bottoms of my feet clammy. I expected him just to jump off, but give the guy credit for the flips and somersaults. And who is the judge who only gave him a 7.5? How do you give a 7.5 to someone who does a world record jump? I smell a conspiracy.