Off to the...

BEACH!!! I can't believe this photo was taken last summer!

We left yesterday for the beach!!! The car is fully packed and we are making a stop for a few days at Grandma's house before the beach on Sunday. We are ready for a vacation, Bradley is pumped!

Friends, beach, sun, sand, and a week of relaxing! I can't wait!

I Went A Little Overboard;)

This must be the week for me to catch up on all of my posts that I have had in my head! Every time I put Bradley to bed (mostly Chris does it) I always want to take a picture of him in his hoodlie bath towel. I have to put a plug in for my friend Heather's handmade bath towels. We have the monkey and the dinosaur...they are well loved by Bradley. A few weeks ago I finally brought my camera up, and Chris helped me get some shots of Bradley. I love that right before bed he can get really silly and giggly (or completely exhausted and crying). This night he decided to be giggly and cute. I don't know if it was the lighting, his cooperation, or what, but I LOVE these pictures! I only chose a few for the blog, but I probably took 50 of him sitting there in his towel.

Look at that little grin...hmmmm

Laughing at Daddy

He actually looked at the camera and smiled!! I love it!

This is just hilarious!

Bathtime Fun...

Coloring on the tub?! I didn't want to get these for Bradley,

but we have been struggling with bathtime lately.

They seem to have done the trick, along with our new bottle of "Diego" bubble bath!

Gotta go fishing in the tub!

The fake smile for the camera!

Going crazy!

Look at my bubbles, Mommy!

Weekly Rituals

One of our many weekly rituals is "The Little Gym." We go every Wednesday, and I am always forgetting my camera. I finally got it together to bring my camera and do a post on one of our favorite places! Bradley LOVES The Little Gym, and talks about it all week...leading up to it and afterwards. Since going he has learned how to do Donkey Kicks, The Bear Crawl, flips on the bar, climb the rock wall, and most recently somersaults!

To be honest for the first 20 or so classes, Bradley wanted very little to do with the group instruction part. The beginning of Little Gym the teacher sings songs and leads the kids in a warm-up. For many weeks I was always the mom doing the gallop steps by myself, while my child ran around like a mad man jumping from one thing to another. The teacher kept telling me not to worry, that he would come around. Sure enough over the past 6 weeks Bradley has started joining the group for parachute activities and to bounce on the air mats. Last week we had a huge breakthrough. Bradley joined me for the entire warm-up!! I was over the moon with it! He followed directions and listened to the teacher.

I must say that parenting is one of the most humbling experiences of my life. Here are a few of the snapshots from exploration time (basically run around the gym like two year old wild beasts). Just a side note, his class is called the "Super Beasts!" I love it!

His friend Margaret and Bradley taking a break on the mats.

The Bar: Bradley Attempting to Swing on the Bar

Here he goes...

Look at me Mom!!

That face is hilarious!!! Concentration!

Thank goodness for the padding!

I love the structure and routine of the class. We always end with bubbles, and the kids have a blast trying to catch them!

Sherwood Forest ~ A Little Slice of Heaven

We just got homeTuesday night from an amazing trip!

Sherwood Forest in Annapolis was the most beautiful and relaxing place we have been in a long time. My best friend Cali invited us up last week, and we went up without the husbands to stay in her family's cottage. I took over 250 photos while we were on the trip, but I don't even feel like they do justice to the community. It sits right on the Severn River, with waterfront views from every nook and cranny of the community. The houses are beautifully designed and each one breathtaking in its own way.

Our beautiful house we stayed in...with a view!

There are wonderful beaches for the kids, docks to swim from, ducks to feed, playgrounds, and pools. We were only up for two nights, but I felt like I was on a 'mini vacation.' The kids played so well together, and were literally wiped out from 2 1/2 days of swimming. I chose some of my favorite photos to share, I had a hard time narrowing them down. Thank you Cali for inviting us...beach count down 10 days left!!! Love you!

The beautiful pier where campers have swim practice and go out in paddle boats!

Looking for fish...

Another beach to explore and swim!

G-Daddy and Larken on the dock

Snack time on the dock, what a perfect place!

"The General Store" with sandwiches and treats for the adults and kids

The community center where they have dances for the teens on the weekend!

There is no need for cars, you drive around in golf carts throughout the community. This was the highlight for the kids! Larken and Bradley started calling them 'carpet rides.'

Isn't she a ham? Baby Amalie waiting to get going!

An afternoon spent exploring and feeding the ducks!

Going down to the docks to check out all of the beautiful boats!

Our 'walk' up to the store for ice cream at the end of an amazing day!

I went a little crazy with the picture taking, but

I got some amazing pictures of Larken out on the golf course.

I LOVE this picture!

Don't you love when the kids look better than the moms...this us after a full day of swimming and without a shower! Gotta have a picture in front of the sunset!

The fam...G-Daddy, Cali, and Scotty

Sunset in Sherwood Forest

I just played around with some of the pictures. This one is in black and white with a glow, below is with saturation. I love the way it makes the grass and Larken's bow look.

I can't forget about one of our biggest events from the weekend. Bradley started swimming by himself with just his swimmies on. It was so exciting!

We have just been trying trying to settle back into the week after our fabulous 'mini' vacation. Unfortunately a family friend, Bob Bullock passed away last night after battling lung cancer. I grew up with this family, and we are thinking of them right now.