Addicted to braids and nail polish

Finally home from family vacation and attempting to get back into the swing of normal life. The week's weather ended up being really great. Hot, but beautiful. We had a very relaxing trip, even got to ride some bikes around the island. As I rode (with my dad, brother, and sister-in-law) I was reminded that brothers never out grow some things. We were riding on some paths, and Brandon, not content to just ride, is standing on his bicycle seat with one foot. Still not quite enough, he proceeds to bump me on my bike with his bike or ride beside me and hold onto my handle bars, keeping me from going anywhere. Any one who knows me well can imagine the look of "I'm-gonna-get-a-mouth-full-of-pavement" on my face, and the wobbling that followed. He is still the 12-year old boy at times like this. 

I also spent a good amount of time just relaxing on the beach, and half the family 

joined me to play in the ocean one night at sunset. Fun times with boogie boards, frisbees and sand buckets. There is something so amazing about the consistency of the ocean waves. 

And another one of my favorite memories of this trip is how easily I addicted my nieces to nail polish, painting, and braids. One night of manicures turned into touch-ups an average of two times a day. Good stuff. And of course the pigtail braids that would make any little girl a princess. Unfortunately, the princess wasn't so keen on having her braids removed. We dealt with it. 

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so I should be very flattered, I suppose. When I had my paints out working on a landscape for a friend, Grace wanted in on this action. So, when nails were dry, paintbrushes were wet. Great memories!

Summer is finally at an end, so goodbye to vacations and hello to school...  

I think a rain cloud is following me...

Today is the first day of our big yearly family vacation to the beach! Going outside of the box this year, we avoided Destin (sigh) and headed for Hilton Head Island, SC. Can I just say, family vacations have definitely taken a turn since the birth of grandkids (or for me, my nieces). Everything is MUCH more exciting and gets met with cheers (literally, lots of "Whoo hoo!" and not just from the girls). We stopped in Atlanta to break up the trip and also to watch a quick Braves game. So just imagine taking a two-year old and a four-year old to a major league baseball game. This isn't actually that bad, they were really into the game and the music and clapping. But now imagine that it begins to rain. And rain and rain, a nice little mist. Not hitting the row behind us, just starting to hit our row and down (I have really great luck with this). Still didn't ruin the mood. Rain stopped, Braves lost, but fireworks were anticipated. Gweneth was especially excited. Unfortunately, two minutes before they began, she gave up the fight to dreamy sleep. (So sad, she had been talking about the fireworks since the first inning!) But alas, she woke up just as the first boom began... then burst into tears and had to be taken into the bathroom for the remainder of the show! Maybe being excited about something (such as fireworks) is better than the actual thing. Now the word fireworks is synonymous with a little whimper and a pouty lip. 

After Atlanta, we came the rest of the way to HH and made it just in time to see the rain roll in. (Once again, I have great luck). But no worries, cause tomorrow will probably be sunny, right? Yes! It was, and I could see the sun shining all through church and even through lunch... raced back to change and head out. 15 minutes in, I see a familiar sight, that's right, more rain. 

Such is life! Still a fun painting, pizza, movie day. I enjoy an occasional one of these, as long as it doesn't last 7 days, heh.