mauter.com

After graduation, we made a fairly spontaneous trip down to Fort Walton. Once we got there, I realized that we had never been to the beach with just the four of us. It was a great trip, with fantastic weather. The condo was perfect for us: 2 bedrooms with bunk beds in the 2nd bedroom. It had an indoor and outdoor pool, right on the beach. We couldn’t have gotten a better place to stay. (And I got a smokin deal!)

We started out in the pool.

And finished at the beach. Sam loved playing in the water.

And Ellie loved playing in the sand.

Like I said, it was beautiful!

We had such fun.

After spending hours in the ocean, I saw this sign. Oops. I did get sick, but nobody else did. I think I must have picked something up elsewhere.

Ellie only wanted to play in the sand, but she would stand at the edge of the water requesting for someone to fill up her watering can. It made me think of the Coppertone girl.

And we couldn’t leave without making Ellie into a mermaid.

We had a great trip, and I’m so glad we went. We’ll go back soon on our annual family trip, and we’re also hoping to spend lots of time at the neighborhood pool this summer!

The beach week has come and gone again.  The memorable parts were rain, clouds and jellyfish.  But, we did have a good time.  Samantha really enjoyed the pool more than the beach and wanted to spend all her time there.  Ellie enjoyed both.

We’re still working through all of our pictures, but here’s one for proof.  We had lots of fun.

UPDATE:

What a trip!  We stayed in the big house again, and it seemed like there weren’t as many people there as usual.  I guess that’s because there wasn’t.

Sam enjoyed the water this year, but was still a little anxious at first.  Every year, it takes less time for her to get used to the water.

Ellie didn’t mind the sand at all, but I think the heat bothered her.

I think she enjoyed Patrick’s truck almost as much as he did!  We also discovered during this trip, that she likes push toys and wheels!

Some kids:

And some family:

Another Betbeze Seagrove beach trip has come and gone. We had fun, even though it was killer hot. I’m so glad the oil had not made it to the coast yet, but sad the the Gulf is being ruined.

Some Betbezes:

the great-grandchildren:

I didn’t take any pictures because my hands were full (of sand and saltwater among other things)! So, thanks to Brian, we have a few pictures to document our stay.

Little E didn’t go outside the house. Luckily, there was usually someone who would watch her for a bit so we could go to the pool or the beach.

We should have taken a picture of Samantha’s room. It was our closet! It was huge! It held a crib/toddler mattress, 2 suitcases, and had room to read books on the floor! She loved having her own space!

Brian went fishing again this year. He didn’t catch 2 sharks like last year (my dad caught the one shark and one grouper) but he had a good time catching the limit on snapper. See Alex’s fishing trip picture.

I haven’t been adding blog items recently, but I have been adding pictures. Be sure to check them all out (those without RSS readers, please look throughout the site since I’ve added more than the most recent 5 on the side).

I guess I’ll start with our trip to the beach. We had a great time! Samantha slept for a whopping 45 minutes in the car ride there and back. I sat in the back with her both ways so I could occupy her a little bit. And of course, I wanted to show her what she should be doing in a car, so I “pretended” to sleep a lot. Thanks for driving, Brian! Samantha LOVED the water. She plays in a baby pool a lot (8″ deep) at home so she was used to laying in the shallow water on her tummy and floating. Thanks for all the help from MamaLinda and Aunt Lettie for watching her when my back was turned.

Her ears seems to be doing fine. She wore ear plugs while we were at the beach. She wasn’t bothered by them too much, but that could have been because there was so much else to see and do. She is teething again though. One tooth has broken through on the bottom (one of the pointy ones). She’s a bit lopsided because she has 2 more teeth on the left side than she does the right. I’m guessing they’ll come in at their own pace. Anyway, she’s been drooling, congested, and coughing a lot lately. Maybe the tubes will keep her well.

Here are some random facts about her. She is a great singer, having finished the whole alphabet song by herself yesterday. Wow! She is so incredibly independent these days too. She is learning that when we give her choices, she can say yes (and it actually sounds like yes) and shakes her head for no. She can almost put her Crocs on by herself. She opened the pantry door today (although I’m not sure if it was already cracked, but she sure was working that handle). She loves being chased by the corn popper. She can say I love you and has given several sweet closed mouth cheek kisses recently.

And lastly, Happy Birthday, Daddy!