Labor of Love

We spent most of the Labor Day weekend at the beach this year. The kids LOVE the beach. (Daddy and I are big fans, too!)

They both love to dig in the sand.

From the dunes to the shore, Osten ran all over the beach! Seeing him run like that made me think of my brother when he was a little boy. Actually, I'm pretty sure he still runs like that when he goes to the beach . . .

Marci also loves to have her feet in the sand.

Let's Go Fly a Kite!

Let's go fly a kite. Up to the highest height.

Let's go fly a kite and send it s-o-a-r-i-n-g!

Up through the atmosphere. Up where the air is clear.

Oh, let's go fly a kite!

Tiny Tourney

When they weren't covering themselves in sand, the kids had a good time playing on the porch.

Daddy brought his bean bag toss (a/k/a "corn hole"), and we had a tiny tourney.

It was a healthy competition (especially since we could still enjoy the beach air from the porch), but there was a clear winner!

Two's Company

Nothing clever to say about these two shots . . .

I just thought they were too cute not to post!

Skittle Skattle

Skittles are all the rage in our house these days! Osten had his last swim class this week, and I told the kids we could do a little something special afterwards to celebrate. I was thinking that they would probably want to go to Burger King, but after discussing it amongst themselves (so cute!!) they decided that they wanted candy. We stopped at the little gas station right outside our neighborhood, and they excitedly walked inside with me to choose a sugary treat. They each picked a bag of Skittles, and for less than $2 we were on our way. Of course, the real trick was to convince them to be good listeners and wait until after we swam to eat their candy. They were remarkably compliant.

As it turns out, Skittles can inspire amazing things. Just the other day, Marci got a hold of my chapstick while we were in the car on the way home from the grocery store. She was teasing up a storm with that chapstick and absolutely refused to share it with her brother. Osten and I both begged and pleaded with her, all to no avail. I mean, I tried anything and everything I could think of to convince her to give Osten a turn with the chapstick. She was unconvinced. Then I remembered the Skittles. I told her that if she wouldn't share, I was going to give Osten some Skittles when we got home and he wasn't going to have to share. She handed over that chapstick like it was a hot potato! It caught me so off-guard, I burst out laughing.

Skittles. They're powerful stuff in our house (at least for now)!

Sweet Dreams

I couldn't help myself the other night when I went in to turn off Osten's light. I had to snap this photo of him sound asleep on Lamby next to a pile of books! Sweet dreams, sweetheart . . .

In the Red

Osten just had his last swim lesson last night. He is officially in the red and is the proud owner of a red swim patch! He had another great class with three other boys.

He is now a huge fan of jumping into the water!

And he can float on his back . . .

and even kick his way around the pool!