Pier fun after Faith's birthday party

After having our fill of cake and presents, we headed to the pier.

Seth was just dying to go fishing.

Watching him throw the cast net is quite amusing.  He actually puts it in his mouth.  Gross!

Seth wasn't the only one who caught something.  Grace caught a Queenie!

And a Hope.

Then MeeMee, Seth, and I all caught a fish at the same time!  Seth and MeeMee with their poles and me with the cast net. 

Soon the sun started to set.

And another wonderful day came to its end.

Independence Day celebration

Happy Independence Day!

We went the Battleship today.

And walked around the planes.

And tanks.

And the Battleship, too.

Then we pitched our tent.

And rested in our chairs eating a little picnic.

The girls ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

David and I ate meatloaf cooked in Mason jars.  A fabulous idea by the way, cleanup is super simple!

We even let Chloe have a little taste.

We enjoyed tailgating most of the afternoon.

And then we walked closer to the Battleship in anticipation of the fireworks.

We stood in honor of our country while the orchestra played the Star Spangled Banner.

And then we let the girls play with glow sticks.

Daddy went to the bathroom and came back with a surprise.

Ice cream for everyone!

Faith had her first ice cream cone.

And made quite the mess with it.

And she enjoyed every bite.

Chloe helped clean her up.

Then we all climbed into our chairs to await the fireworks display.

And it was quite spectacular.

After the first display, Grace exclaimed, "This is the best firework ever!"  After the second, she said, "Momma it's too close!  It's gonna burn me!"  And then she buried her head in my chest and said, "I want to go home!"  I couldn't believe it.  And at one point, David had Faith, Grace, and Chloe in his lap.  Next year I think we'll watch from one of the planes instead of right next to the Battleship...

Playing at the beach

After taking some pretty pictures in the sand we put on our bathing suits.

 Grace and Faith admired the view while Aunt Hope and their Momma lathered up in sunscreen.

 They look so darling in their matching suits.

 Soon it was lotion time for my girls.

 Faith started crawling right over.  But she didn't like her knees touching the concrete.

 So she stood up and demanded we come and get her.  Apparently, she isn't quite ready for those first steps.

 Then I plopped the girls back in the sand for a few more quick shots.

 Since Faith doesn't particularly care for the sand, her big sister helped her stand up.

 Faith tolerates the sand better when she's on her feet.

 Grace was so sweet and tried to help Faith walk.

 But Faith just couldn't yet. 

So Grace comfortered her by saying, "Faith!  It's okay, doorling (darling).  Draycee-momma (Gracie-momma) is here."  Grace likes to pretend that she's a momma, too.  She really has an amazing mothering instinct.  

After these few pictures, I packed the camera and our clothes away in the car and then we all headed further down the beach for a fun after in the sand, sun, and surf.

 Then much too soon it was time to head home.  Hope and I loaded the girls into our car and Faith konked out almost immediately.  Grace, however, played a bit longer.  She was delirious I think.

She took this plastic bag and wrapped it on her head calling it her sun hat.  Next time we go to the beach I should probably give her a real sunhat.  And no I did not make her wear a plastic baggy on her head...

Beach condo

Grace was feeling great after her surgery and wanted to go to the beach.  So to the beach we went.  While in the area, we arranged to see a condo that's on the market.  We've been contemplating making an investment.

 The unit we saw is on the first floor.

 It has a pretty open floor plan with a nice sized kitchen.

 This is the master bedroom.

 With doors going outside and a nice view.

 There are two bathrooms just alike.  This is the master's.  It's small but functional.

Here is the second bedroom. It's quite large with a exceptional closet.

 And a third bedroom with bunkbeds!

 There's even a washer and dryer.  Love that!

 It actually comes furnished - which is wonderful.  The sofa has a bed hidden inside.

 This is the view from the kitchen and family space.

 Here it is again zoomed in 3x.  Unfortunately I didn't bring my bigger lens.  You really can see the ocean from the room without any problems.

 This walkway is right outside the unit and leads to the pool.

 And it's a large pool indeed.

 Then there is a boardwalk to the beach itself.

 Beside the sidewalk are these cute chairs overlooking the beach.

 And what a nice and private beach it is!

 All throughout the grounds are shady little niches you can sit and enjoy.

 There are tennis courts.

 A gym.

And an indoor heated pool.

David and I are seriously considering making a bid.  We think it could be a wonderful investment that we could also enjoy ourselves.  We could go visit and stay when it wasn't rented out and there's enough space that we could also bring our families.  We're going to pray about it and if it's meant for us, it will happen.  And if it's not meant to be, then we can walk away just as easily.