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The Beach in Pictures

I took last Friday off of work to make another 4-day weekend. It was my sister’s last full day in town. Since she is in Chicago, she misses a lot of Rylee’s “firsts”, so I decided to see if she wanted to be a part of Ry’s first trip to the Oregon Coast Aquarium. My dad and brother came over too and my other sister came down from Portland.

I started the day out getting up earlier than I would on a normal work day to make sandwhiches and what not. We were out the door about 7 AM. We stopped in Florence to have breakfast with some cousins from Andy’s sid eof the family then headed up the coast to Newport. Ry slept almost the whole way to the aquarium and was super excited to see her Aunties and Uncle and Grandad waiting for her! She enjoyed looking at the fish and the crabs and the jellyfish and the sharks. The sea lions were probably her favorite.

After the aquarium, we headed to Agate beach for some lunch and Ry’s first “dip of the toes” in the Pacific.

After lunch we headed down to the water. Ry enjoyed “writing” everyone’s names in the sand. She literally went down the list of family…Mommy, Daddy, Dante, Auntie, Auntie, Uncle, Grandad…it was too cute.

After that, she headed down to the water. The water was of course Oregon-Coast-Freezing. I went and dipped my toes then quickly turned back around. The cold didn’t even seem to phase Andy or Ry. She was a really good sport about it…until her feet got dirty.

(this shot of Andy and Ry looking out over the water is my new favorite of those two)

Of course, we couldn’t leave the beach without getting some family shots…

It ended up “raining” on us as we were headed back to our cars. It wasn’t really rain, it was more like a really, really wet drizzle. There was water literally dripping off of my face by the time we got back to the car. After this, she slept nearly the enter 2 1/2 hour drive home…oh and I might have too.

Growing Up Sucks…but in a good way. Really.

Well, another 4th of July is on the books. As I was driving home at 10:00 PM, leaving the party early because Ry was ready to go home, I couldn’t help but think about how my 4th of July’s used to be. I’ve been going out to the Clark’s Independence Day bash for a while now…well, as long as Andy and I have been together, so this would be my ninth year (except for the 1 year I was down in Cali)…so 8 years in all.

Ever since Rylee was born, it’s just been…well, different. Gone are the days of watching the fireworks until 1 in the morning, then staying up until 3 AM playing board games with friends. Not only does Ry need to get to bed, but I don’t think I’d even be able to make it until 3! Our friends who used to come every year have moved away or moved on. It’s amazing how things change as we get older. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss how the 4th of July’s used to be. I miss all of our friends being together, staying up late, laughing, retelling the same of stories again and again (and again).

But, at the same time, I love the day I had with my family today. Playing with Rylee on the teeter-totter, seeing her face drip with watermelon juice, watching her and her “Buddy!” pick up rocks from the driveway and toss them into the dog dish full of water, watching them chase each other around or holding hands, spending time with the “extended family”, reapplying sunscreen, watching Ry “brush it off” after her ump-teenth crash-and-burn. And quite possibly, best of all?…rocking her to sleep (because I never get to do that anymore).

Also, I must add a side-note. I had one of the BEST proud mama-moments yet…a non-biased 3rd party person commented on how cute of a TOM BOY Rylee is! Sa-WEET! Score one for the mama! That’s right…I don’t have a froo-froo little girly-girl…just ask the lady at the party…now if I only knew who she was…

I have been known to be a stick-in-the-mud-LER about Ry’s bedtime schedule, but this year, I eased up a bit and she got to experience fireworks for the first time! That only actually lasted about 10 minutes before she was ready to go, but hey, baby steps. She did however, totally dig the sparklers…

It’s hard to believe this was two years ago…

Post summary: Different in a good way.

Happy Thursday/Happy Things

A lot of the mama-blogs I like to read take part in a Thursday “Writer’s Workshop”. Mama Kat give 4-5 topics to choose from every Thursday and then you choose a topic and write about it. Some are fun and easy, some really make you think. When I saw this week’s topic, I decided I’d go ahead and join in the fun!

TOPIC: Write a list of 10 things that are sure to put a smile on your face when you are not happy.

And without further adiue, in no particular order…

  1. Seeing the smile on Rylee’s face and watching her wave wildly as I drive up the driveway after work.
  2. An unexpected hug and/or kiss from Rylee.
  3. Having a glass of wine while talking to my sisters. Or just a glass of wine. Or just a call with my sisters. (That doesn’t count as 3 does it!?)
  4. Hearing “Hey Soul Sister” by Train.
  5. Making dinner.
  6. Receiving a hand-written note in the mail.
  7. Watching Andy and Rylee together…no matter if they are reading a book or playing outside.
  8. A really good cup of coffee. Coffee. Any coffee.
  9. Watching Grease or Dirty Dancing on VHS.
  10. Going outside and chasing after Rylee as she runs around exploring our property.

"MOM, I watch poop!"/Catching Bubbles

Oh how I love my sisters!

I have been helping conduct a physical inventory of our factory for the last day and a half and I.Am.Tired. I decided I’d take a little break and upload one of the videos taken of Rylee over the weekend. At first, I was going to share a cute video of Ry’s first ride on a carousel. Then, I remembered this video was taken and decided that I needed a laugh instead.

The whole point of the video was to capture Rylee blowing bubbles…she really just learned how to blow hard enough to actually make the bubbles and not get soap in her mouth. But, what was caught in the background noise is…well…priceless. In 10 years, she’ll hate me for this…oh well…Enjoy!

Don’t Forget. Please and Thank You.

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