A Week at the Beach

We just got back from the annual 4th of July week in Ocean City, NJ. It was wonderful and relaxing, as always. No surprise that Lauren was in heaven running in and out of the waves and playing in the little baby pool alongside the adults. Sophie also had a great time digging and hanging out with Quinn and Carley and their friends ("the girls"). We lucked out with great weather, except for Hurricane Arthur, which came through on Friday for a few days, and unfortunately caused the fireworks to be cancelled. Overall a great getaway!

Lauren happy as a clam - taking a break on the beach chair

Pap Pap giving Sophie some kite flying instruction

Beach-loving kids

Nana with her 3 grand babies 

Lauren rode the Carousel for the first time...

And so did Ari.

Lauren at 18 Months

This week Lauren will be 18 months old - amazing. She's really become a little toddler the last few weeks. Very independent - wanting to do things herself, doing (or attempting to do) everything that Sophie is doing and talking up a storm. Although we can't understand most of it, she's got a fair amount of words now: "Daddy" (her first and favorite word), "shoes," "up please," "help please," "hi," "cheers" and "dog."

Virginia in June

We made a quick trip to Virginia last weekend. The girls got to see their cousin Ariana, and Dave and I got to enjoy some Virginia wine tasting. All in all a great trip!

Lauren doing her favorite thing - playing in water

Me with Ariana, who is 6 months, and Lauren, who is right now very into clutching (and not letting go) blankets. 

An attempt at a cousin picture. At least we got one where no one is screaming (I'm looking at you Lauren). 

Father's Day 2014

We spent Father's Day this year down in Maryland with the Sharps. It was a beautiful weekend, just perfect weather, and we got to spend some good time at the beach.

 The girls enjoyed time on the swing set... here they are with popsicles. What more could you want?

Pop Pop and Lauren

 

Lauren's gift to Dave (with assistance from Michelle)

And another highlight of the weekend, for Dave especially, was getting his summer car back from the dealership, complete with a beautiful new paint job. The girls also enjoyed it. 

Annual Bike Race BBQ

The first weekend in June is always the Philly Pro Cycling Tour, a professional bike race that comes right through out neighborhood. We've had an annual BBQ for the last few years - maybe 7 at this point - and it's always a good time. A lot more family-oriented now that everyone has kids. 

 Benson, still hanging in there, but looking older these days. Sophie made him a flower necklace to wear for the occasion.

 Sophie with her friends Claire, Rachel and Leah

Memorial Day Weekend

Last weekend for Memorial Day we went down to Rock Hall, MD for a few day (thanks Mom Mom and Pop Pop Sharp for letting us use your house!). The Devine's joined us for the whole weekend and the Townsend's joined us for the last day. 4 kids total and everyone had a great time.

Ava and Sophie loved the horse swing and kept chanting "higher, higher!" No one fell off so it was a success... 

 All three girls put the new sandbox to good use

 We set up the blow-up pool in the backyard. The girls had a blast (and as you see in this pic Ava was very into the hose)

 What's amazing about this pic is that it's Benson, out in the water. This is not a dog who likes to swim at all, but after a stick throws he got very into it. Just too tempting I guess.

 We all went for a sail on Sunday. Ava and Sophie spent most of the time at the bow. They were loving it.

Sophie's First Professional Haircut!

Up until this point I've been cutting Sophie's hair myself. We finally got the point where she needed a more professional touch. So last week I took her to the kids salon at Nest and she got a proper haircut. She also decided that she wanted to cut it short - to her shoulders. The hairdresser and I both asked her several times to make sure she was serious, and she said she was. So here's the new do! It's amazing how much older she looks.

The "Before" shot

 The CUT

 And even a fancy blowout

 The new do! We celebrated with ice cream afterward. She was a happy girl :)