beach time and party city

we went to new pass yesterday. it wasnt as hot as usual and it was perfect out. we even saw a manatee! ive lived in florida since 1991 and this was only my second one that i have actually seen. (thats not including the one that we bumped in our little aluminum boat when i was about 9 or 10, when manatees were my favorite animal, and i even adopted one named manny, had "save the manatee" stickers on every notebook, door and wall, and my dad assured me that our little boat couldnt cause any damage or scars to a manatee, but the damage was done -to me- and i was scarred for life...but thats an entirely different story). i thought it was amazing!

grandpa found this hat on the side of the road while he was on his bike trip home from out west. he picked it up in jacksonville and saved it for jack. i wouldnt have let him keep it, but grandma washed it and jack thinks its the most awesome thing in the world because its specially for him from grandpa. he immediately told grandpa that it was the perfect hat for playing golf, fishing, baseball and even dates. what a ham! of course, to jack, going on dates is what he calls special time with dad.

when i told him that sister leishman, his sunbeam teacher, loves the florida gators, that was the cherry on top! he is now a florida gator.

this sand castle is pretty amazing for ellie. its the first one that she has helped build and not knock over as fast as i can put it up. i was impressed.

by the way, its a princess castle if you couldnt tell. every time she said "princess sand castle", she would whisper it. i guess you have to whisper if youre a princess?!

if you have ever seen the youtube classic "i like turtles" then you might find this video enjoyable. it reminded me a little of that clip....

last week between finals and chris leaving for ohio, we wanted to get in as much family time as we could. so naturally, we ended up going to the halloween stores and trying on masks. good quality family time! jacks favorite place on earth is party city.

dont be frightened!

its just jack!

of all the masks, ellie was the most scared by this one. i wonder what could have frightened her???

ellie, can you help me find a really really large sombrero? preferably one with bright colors? oh hey, thanks!

we had so much fun laughing together and trying to scare each other that i may or may not have wet myself a little. just a little, i promise. i think thats pretty normal after having multiple kids and being pregnant while laughing on the verge of hysterics. at least, thats what i tell myself.