Beach 2009- Part 3

We took a break from the water one afternoon and decided to hit the park.

We weren't too surprised that O decided to conquer the big slide.

W was a little hesitant.

But loved it.

This is how I spent most of my time...hauling O back to the playground.

We took over the swings for awhile. I'm sure other playground children enjoyed watching our kids scream and giggle...well... O was just screaming to get out of the swing.

There was a lake nearby with a pavilion that extended out into the middle of the lake. We were able to feed all of the ducks, geese, turtles and fish. Next thing I knew, I looked over to see W hanging his leg out over the lake. He couldn't fall in...he's not that skinny.
Unfortunately, his shoe was. Plop!

The turtles came to investigate and thought it was food.

Daddy found a branch and slowly fished the shoe out of the lake. Our hero. Oh, and do you see the blue rail just above? As we were leaving, O darts under the rail with one leg dangling to the water. Thankfully, he froze when I screamed in horror (as did everyone else in the park). As I scooped him up for the 589 zillionth time, I said we were "definitely leaving the park...now."

Tons of ice cream. Oh yeah.

Another so called adventure while at the beach was a visit to a local zoo...or should I say a dilapidated compound that houses sad animals in teeny tiny cages. I was completely disgusted and felt sorry for these animals...and if I felt that way, I'd hate to see the reaction of a true animal lover. I need to contact Bob Barker to go shut that place down. ;)

W's famous squat. He sits like this all the time.

King of the castle.

My dad took E out to meet A and Wazzah in the ocean. Yes, E is screaming...a happy scream.

Going a little deeper...she gets nervous and wants me to get her.

My dad holds her up, showing her its FUN to jump in the waves.

E now has the death grip on my dad...clawing into his neck.

After splashing through the waves, they finally made it out to Daddy and Wazzah.

Daddy and W

W's new obsession.

We then headed over to my uncle's house in Wilmington for a cookout. We gathered with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. The kids played with toys, loved the swing set, and swam in the pool.

Our cousins in the Wilmington area are all girls. Here, we have 4 who all have birthdays within six months of each other. E is first, then Wazzah, EG, and AB. Another baby girl, EM, joined our family a month ago. What's special about E, EG, and AB (those standing) is that they were all part of the miracle of adoption. Awesome.

Wazzah jumping...no fear.

E giving the thumbs up.

Loving the play area. E has prayed for a swing set for awhile now, but after this experience, she increased her prayers for one. In every prayer, she always asked for a swing set.

Playing with bubbles. Aunt T is such a trooper. It then turned into drinking them. The fun didn't last too long.

Piled high on our way home. Notice O has a black eye on the opposite side of his face now. He also had a cut eyebrow, cheek, and his baby toe nail detached. All this from hitting the tray on his booster seat and then falling on the driveway. What was funny is that I had just said that morning that I was surprised we made it a week without O hurting himself. I spoke too soon.

We met Wazzah's dad at a park half way home. This is where we ate lunch and said our tearful goodbyes. E was upset and hated to leave Wazzah. They're so cute together. I hope we get to see them again soon. As for the beach, we all hated to leave. We had a good time and look forward to next year. E is still talking about it and wonders when we'll go back to the condo.

Funny story: While exiting the front door of the condo with my parents, E discovered a loud noise, a large cart, and a strange woman. She was immediately frightened and came back into the condo crying. It was the "cleaning lady" clear at the end of a long hallway that frightened her. From that moment, every time she left the condo she was on the lookout for the "cleaning lady," wondering where she was, what she was doing and why. She even prayed about her! I'm happy to report that E no longer fears her. In fact, she energetically moves about the house playing "Cleaning Lady."