Pic of the Week

Outdoor dining at its finest.

Summer Lovin'

We welcomed summer this past week with lots of fun activities...For starters, we had Judah and Lydia over for another Red Neck Beach Party in our backyard - complete with dirty kiddie pool and me wearing some horrid cutoffs (not pictured)





Then we cooked out on the James River beach Friday night. The girls love to play in the river and we enjoyed hot dogs and potato salad as Triathalon trainers swam by (not sure who was jealous of who in that scenario)

Sophia wants a "bathing suit that shows her belly button - like Olivia. You know, Mommy, a two-piece, like what my Buela wears."

On Saturday we tried out our new season passes for Water Country USA!

I realize water parks carry with them a stigma. Water Country in particular. Granted, it is the masses of people from Busch Gardens in their bathing suits. But I love a good water park.

Turns out I am not the only one...

What's not to love? The Oldies Music, two-feet deep water so three year olds feel independent, slides with names like "Malibu Pipeline," the "Hubba Hubba Highway."

And yes, the two-person rafts!

And Saturday night we celebrated Kristina's birthday at Buffalo Wild Wings!

Happy Memorial Day! Hope you enjoyed your weekend!

More Floors

Olivia's Room (Sophia's room was done too but was not in a great state to show off the floors:)

Living Room (frequent visitors will notice the new chair by the window - a very generous gift!)

Don't you feel healthier just looking at them?

Goodbye Vineyard, Hello Beautiful Floors!

As I prepare to write my guidebook: "Family Vacation: No Longer An Oxymoron" I reflect on what we learned from this year's adventure. We took huge strides towards successful vacationing with preschoolers by making one major adjustment: our expectations. Vacations for most of my life centered around two core values: sleeping in and laying out. My goal is no longer to sleep in (unless you mean sleeping in...a bed - as opposed to sitting up rocking a crying baby) or lay out (this should never have been my goal according to my mother and dermatologist.)


But once again what we give up we make up for in other ways - significant ways. We had the time to experience life as a family of four. Who are we? Away from outside pressures, other relationships and overall busi-ness which dictates life at home...what is this new family we are building? Well, I can tell you who we are not: anyone you want to sit next to on a plane, ferry, or bus.

There were definitely moments of devastation...

But there were also many, many moments of joy...

We made lots of new friends!

(Alice inspired Olivia's first two-word combination: Night-Night Alice. Some would call that a sentence.)

Saw exciting things that they just don't have in Williamsburg:

Realized we can do the impossible: Early for the 7am Ferry - Unbelievable!

And remembered that looking at our own children can still take my breath away

(These are my favorite pictures from the trip. I think they perfectly capture both this crazy season and these sweet girls.)

And then to return home to new floors! I know material things cannot complete me or fill me up. But sometimes they sure make me happy.

In my rapture I lost track of the camera once again:

Finally, I had to get a picture of our yard the afternoon we returned. The new floors inspired a major porch clean up thus producing the scene below. I turned to Travis and asked "Do you think the neighbors know we're back?" I mean, how would they?

More MV: Menemsha and Miscellaneous

Menemsha (which we still cannot pronounce like the locals) is a small fishing village up-island, famous for its sunsets and lobster rolls. We snuck away for a lunch without the girls to see what everyone was talking about.

We floundered like the tourists we pretend not to be for about 40 minutes into this excursion realizing that lobster roll shacks only take cash, and atms close at two. Oh the laid-back island life...Once we obtained the legendary rolls and clam chowder we understood what everyone was talking about. I still think about this meal sometimes...

I liked this sign - it was so positive. What a great way to say - No Cars Allowed!

Alley's is another famous island spot. It's like step back in time. They sell everything you didn't even know you needed and there are rocking chairs on the front porch and community posting boards.

Back at the cottage...I didn't fight the pajama battle much over the week. She was on vacation too. (Today I definitely put my foot down - no winter fleece Dora pajamas when it is 97 degrees outside. I told her that she would overheat and have to go to the hospital and take a bath in ice cubes. Probably not good parenting but this morning did not contain many shining moments for me. I know I'm not winning the Mom Award when my child says "Please no more TV Mommy...")

Vineyard...Libraries!

You don't have to be around here long to notice my passion for the public library. We are often there at least twice a week - even in the most germy of seasons. The week before vacation I took on the arduous task of returning every book we had checked out and paying my balance. Am I the only one who can't go to the library without my credit card? This time it was to pay the "lost book fee" for Bunny Money. $17.48 - not bad for what the library has given us over the years. But this then meant that we were facing a week of vacation with four small paperbacks I had stuffed into my carry on. This was not going to cut it for Sophia's intense literacy regimen. Elmo must be read to.

So...we headed to the library. Martha's Vineyard has six small towns - and each one has its own library! For an island that shrinks in population to 15,000 during the off-season - this is a very impressive feature. Here are four of the six.
The Aquinnah Public Library is my favorite - and I actually had to get the picture off the website. It used to be the schoolhouse for the village. When we drove by there was a sign propped up outside giving its storytime schedule - and it was handwritten. Love it.

West Tisbury Public Library

Chilmark Public Library

Edgartown Public Library

The library we actually visited was in Vineyard Haven. For 10$ you can purchase a temporary card which allows you to check out up to 10 items. Obviously Travis and I both had to purchase one. The librarian seemed aghast that ten items would not be enough for our family. I felt like his response broke what I have always understood to be the secret "librarian code of ethics" - to be completely non-discriminating towards the amount or subject of books checked out and simply be happy that someone out there just wants to read.

As we slowly master this beast called "family vacation" we are learning to transplant a lot of our home routine in the new location. Kids need that. We need that with the kids. The library was a huge win. We got books, DVDs, and spent a morning at Storytime - something we do often at home but Travis can't do with us.

As we were leaving I noticed the "Judy Bloom Young Adults Reading Room" - I asked the librarian (a different non-judging one) how Judy Bloom was connected to the library. "Oh, she has a home on the island, " she answered non-chalantly. Of course she does. And next time we visit I hope to run into Beverly Cleary.

MV Beach Days

We had two great beach days. One was warmer than the other - both Sophia insisted on wearing her bathing suit and swimming. The girls loved finding rocks in the clear water and running and splashing. It was beautiful.

Edgartown Lighthouse

Harborview Inn in Edgartown