we have had quite an exciting week!

tuesday we spent mostly packing to go on a mini-vacation to the beach! katie invited us for an overnight stay at her beachfront cottage on the lake in canada along with our friends, jamie, gianna and kenadee, stephenie, brooke and ben. malloy was so excited when i told her and she immediately started "helping" me pack. she was picking out any and every toy from the playroom and packing it in her toy bag. i'd then take most of it out and put it back in the playroom. needless to say, it took a while to pack!

wednesday we got everything packed up and were on the road around 11. malloy was super excited about being at the beach with her friends! she kept telling me that she wasn't going to be scared of the water that she would just run right in. it was the kids' first time in a new country! not that canada's that much different, but still a new country! when we got to the cottage, all 7 kids were running around screaming. they were in the car for over an hour and needed to get some energy out. it was LOUD!! once everyone was unpacked, we ate lunch and then headed out to the beach! before we actually made it outside, malloy was asking to take a nap. she went up for a bit and then eventually came back down. it was a little too chilly for swimming, but we still had a blast playing in the sand. i'm pretty sure all of the kids got their feet in the water. we had spaghetti for dinner and then had a campfire on the beach. malloy and rex had s'mores for the first time. malloy chose a chocolate marshmallow with a reese's peanut butter cup and rex chose a regualar marshmallow and hershey's chocolate. malloy loved hers, rex didn't. he just wanted to eat marshmallows. at this point malloy, who did not nap at all, was begging to go to bed! still, she stayed up and ran all over the beach for another half hour. then it was time to go in and go to bed!! the kids did great and didn't yell more than usual when going to bed. it was the first time (since she was a tiny baby) that i shared a bed with malloy. she wasn't too happy about it and kept telling me that i needed to sleep on the other bed. i explained that i didn't bring other sheets, so we had to share the bed. when i came to bed, she was a little whiny. at one point in the night, she was close to me and her hand was on my belly. she woke up, terrified, and said "there's something squishy under the blankets!" i had to laugh out loud! it was my belly! i told her it was just my belly and to go to sleep. she woke another time and yelled "get in the other bed!" she really doesn't sleep well with somone else in her bed! in the morning, she was snuggled up against me though - it was nice, especially since she's not a cuddler when she's sleeping.

thursday, we all had a big breakfast of pancakes, bacon, sausage, and potatoes and then it was time to put bathing suits on and play on the beach! we made sand castles, flew kites, ate snacks, filled buckets of water, ran around, until it was lunch time. malloy was begging for a nap, but i had already packed up our blankets. the youger kids took a nap (except rex) and the big kids had some quiet time and watched a movie on jamie's portable dvd players. then it was back out to the beach until we headed home. it got a little crazy when we were all packing up - most of the kids were crying and whining and tired and wanted their mommies!!! malloy and rex were so excited to see daddy and tell him all about the beach! they were very happy to be sleeping in their own beds and went down without a peep!

friday, safina and emery came over for a bit to play while katie went to the dr. then we went to a playdate at brooke and ben's house. rex was an absolute mess! he was tired and teething - just plain miserable at times, especially if he lost sight of me! we left the playdate early so that they wouldn't pass out and miss a good nap on the way home! they held off and took a long nap. i even had time to take a tiny snooze! we went out to dinner at brew pub. rex was very excited to order his "lalioli" (ravioli). rex also loved throwing the peanut shells on the floor. he'd hand me one and say "crack it." i'd crack it, eat the peanut, and he'd sweep the mess onto the floor. he didn't enjouy eating the peanuts. after dinner, we took a few trips to the back of the restaurant to see the fish tank. that was very exciting!

rex helped babysit emery

trying to stay cool ;)

playing with the office chair daddy brought home!

today, neal took the kids to the park this morning while i went to the gym and wegmans. after nap, the kids went out to swim in the pool with neal while i got dinner and dessert ready. uncle ryan and kari came over for a bbq! neal built the kids a fort out of boxes and during dinner, malloy was doing a circuit and eating in a pattern. she'd come over and take a bite of chicken, then corn, then potato chip the juice, repeat. in between each bite, she run back into her fort. she's such a busybody!!! rex was right there with her, copying her every move. except he was asking for a chip each time. i made a caprese salad for dinner and rex LOVED it! he was eating the mozzarella like crazy! he loved the tomatoes, too, but couldn't get enough of the mozzarella!
malloy's new thing to do is ask "mommy, guess what?" and then will answer "i love you!" it's the sweetest thing to hear!!!

neal bought the kids new pez dispensers. malloy's is cinderella and rex's is buzz lightyear!

making bubble snakes