H-O-T

So we've been experiencing some SUPER hot weather here lately....as in a heat advisory all day yesterday and temps creeping towards triple digits.  This combined with the crazy humidity here has made it downright awful to be outside.  However, three boys trapped inside all day is a recipe for mayhem, so what's a mom to do?  Drag out the POOL!!  Instant fun and an energy burner to boot.  :)

Lambert Beach Week 2010

Over Memorial Day weekend we were lucky enough to join the rest of the Lambert clan for several days of fun and sun in the Outer Banks, NC!  Jay's parents rented a beach house where we met up with them as well as Jay's brother and his family.  We all had a great time catching up and playing on the beach.  Well.....all of us except the twins, that is.  They HATED the beach.  Nathan pretty much refused to set foot on the sand and Matthew might have enjoyed playing in the sand if it weren't for his terrifying fear of the water. So after two unsuccessful attempts at bringing them down to the beach to play, they were not invited back. :)  Thankfully, Jack and his cousin Lexi were content to play for hours (literally) on the beach happily splashing in the water (which was COLD), collecting shells, and digging in the sand.
I especially enjoyed this trip because it brought back so many wonderful memories of the vacations I took each summer as a child to the Outer Banks with my mom and all the Springer clan.  It was really fun to drive through Kitty Hawk & Nags Head and see familiar shops, restaurants, and of course who could forget the Brew Thru drive thru beverage joints where we would purchase T-shirts every summer (only when I was older did it dawn on me that the real reason to go to a Brew Thru was to purchase adult beverages and not just for the T-shirts as I had been led to believe as a youngster).  Okay, since probably only the Springers et al. are enjoying this little digression.....on with the pictures!

Day 1 @ the beach and Nathan is NOT impressed.

Jack & cousin Lexi having fun with shaving cream. 

Also note Matthew trying to have fun...until the water got too close to him and he had a meltdown.

Jack & Grandpa flying a kite.

Concentration!

Jay & Jack having a snack break.

No trip to the beach is complete without putt-putt golfing! 

An added bonus - this particular course had a dinosaur theme.

On the pier.

Another example of a "please smile for the camera" face.

The Chesapeake Jubilee!

Last weekend was the Chesapeake Jubilee which, to everyone other than those who live in Virginia, would be considered a good ol' fashioned fair.  I absolutely LOVE fairs and was excited to explore this one with all the kids in tow.  We also joined up with my good friend Sharon and her kids for the experience.  The morning started out nicely with the kids enjoying their share of fair rides for the preschool set.  Now for me the best part about a fair is the FOOD!  Who can't turn down greasy french fries, corn dogs, and funnel cakes?!?!  Well, much to my dismay, my Jubilee lunch of fries and a corn dog was so awful that I had to throw the entire plate in the trash can.  Let's just say the fries had this strange grey color to them....  Anyway, lunch woes aside we forged ahead with our afternoon which by now was becoming quite hot and sticky.  After a couple more rides our friends headed home while we decided to stick it out a little while longer.  Bad decision.  It only became more crowded and more humid and more hot the longer we stayed!  I attempted to make up for my horrible lunch by purchasing an ice cream cone but even this too was a disappointment - more like chocolate ice on a cone.  At this point we called it quits although Jack would have stayed all day seemingly unaffected by the heat and crowded conditions! 

Jack enjoying the jeep ride.

Jay with Jack and Conrad.

Sharon with all the kids!!

Roar!

Jack's preschool had a picnic in the park day recently complete with lunch outside, tons of bubbles, and even face painting.  What more could a kid want? :)

Jack wanted to look like a Tiger!

A Walk In The Park

We took advantage of some beautiful spring weather a few weeks back and made a trip to our wonderful city park.  Which, incidentally, was a recent victim of some deranged arsonist who torched an entire section of this fantastic play space (Fun Forest Arson).  However, the residents of Chesapeake have rallied behind the rebuilding efforts and the park was also the grand prize winner in the Sears More Green Across America contest.  We were the only ones there on this day so the kids had a blast roaming around wherever their little hearts desired!

Nathan

(Matthew was in constant motion so I was unable to snap a good photo of him)

From babies to toddlers.....

It has just dawned on me after looking at these recent pictures that the twins are officially no longer babies but have seemingly morphed into toddlers right before my eyes (sniff, sniff).  They are looking more like little boys every day and have really begun to take on personalities of their very own.  They are fun-loving little guys who laugh easily and are almost fearless climbers. Look out world!!

They ADORE cars and seem to always have one (or two) clutched in their little hands.  They eat with them and even insist on sleeping with them!!  I guess there really is no doubt who their father is. :)

I looked at this picture and was taken aback by how OLD they look!!! It's very bitter sweet to me because these are my last babies and while it's been tough going at times it has also been so wonderful having TWO babies to hold and cuddle.

Fiesta!!

Today was Fiesta day at Jack's preschool complete with a candy-filled pinata (made by the kids) which induced so much excitement you'd think they'd never seen candy before!  I suppose the free-for-all nature of gathering pinata candy created such sheer joy.  The twins were major party-poopers, however, with one or both of them crying at any given time.  Oh well, the rest of us still had a good time and Jack even discovered a new food - taquitos! :)

Ole!!

Botanical Gardens

Last week my friend Sharon and I hauled our children over to the Norfolk Botanical Gardens for a fun morning of exploring their children's garden.  Sharon shares my love of a good adventure and is so patient with me and all my kids...let's just say we don't move very quickly nor do we ever arrive anywhere on time.  Our little corner of Virginia is in full spring bloom right now (which was clearly evident by the literal blanket of pollen we woke up to not long ago) and the botanical gardens were spectacular to say the least.  Full of ponds and meandering paths it was a pleasant walk back to the children's garden complete with a sighting of a real live bald eagle and nest!  And the children's garden did not disappoint!!  Filled with all kinds of areas to explore it proved to be fantastic for both the older and younger set!  Normally, the highlight of the park is a large area filled with fountains of shooting water just waiting to be played in but the fountains were off for repairs the day we visited.  Thankfully there were many other areas to uncover and Jack is still asking for a return trip!  They offer summer camps too which just may be a great option for my little nature lover.

Welcome to the Norfolk Botanical Gardens!

Entrance to the children's garden. Isn't it charming?

This is the area where the fountains are....obviously not working on this day.

One of many paths just waiting to be explored.

Jack manning the tree house.

I let the twins out of captivity and, as expected, they proceeded to head in opposite directions! Here is Matthew climbing the rope ladder - he made it to the top with no assistance!

We had just a fantastic day!

This is pollen....I've never in my life seen anything like the layer of pollen that covered everything in sight for about two straight days.  I haven't stopped blowing my nose for about two weeks now.

Playhouse

Right after Jay came home we bought a new playhouse for the kids and they LOVE it!  Since it's kind of a production for us to pack up and go other places to play, it helps to have lots of fun stuff in our own backyard to keep us entertained!  In all honesty, we probably could have just bought a door and set that up and the twins would have been just as happy.  Their favorite part is going in and out and opening and closing the door....over and over again!! Actually, Nathan tends to leave the door open which irritates Matthew (my OCD door closer...shades of a toddler Jack) because Matty likes to have the door CLOSED, thank you very much. :)

Homecoming - Part II

Okay so most of you know by now that the Easter bunny brought us the most wonderful present this year.....JAY!!!!  YAY!!!  The ship pulled back into Norfolk on Saturday, just in time to have a fantastic Easter spent as a family.  Sorry for the delay in posting pics but we've been busy re-acclimating ourselves to life as a whole family again!  Thankfully this time around the twins were not as reluctant to welcome Jay home again so our transition was fairly seamless.  It has been WONDERFUL to have him home and I'm finally not waking up just as exhausted as when I fall into bed.  :)