Our Beach Memories

We just returned this afternoon from a wonderful, week-long trip to Sandbridge Island, a lovely beach community just outside of Virginia Beach. This was our second visit to Sandbridge and once again, we had a great time! As we were leaving this morning, the kids shed more than a few tears, asking when we'll be able to return.

One of the places we visited this week was the Children's Museum of VA in Portsmouth. One of the exhibits actually shrinks you down to fit in this chair...Just kidding...We're the same size,
it's the chair that's huge!

How can you resist being inside a bubble? Exhibit One.

Exhibit Two.

This is one picture that brings back memories already. Nathan and Christy with their kite. I'll leave it up to Nathan to explain about the "possessed" kite on his blog! Micah's little head coming out of the sand in the foreground makes me chuckle, too!

Vacations are for Family

This time at the beach was all about spending time together as a FAMILY...not only the four of us...but my parents and brother's family as well. Living 9 hours apart, it was a blessing to be under the same roof for an entire week! As the kids and their cousins get older, it is so awesome to see their love for each other grow...and the fun and mischief they can get into! Here are Grandpa and Grandma Shive with their four amazing grandkids,

(L-R) Emma, Paul, Maggie, and Micah.

My brother Nathan, sister-in-law Christy, Maggie and Paul. Nathan underwent surgery for a very torn Achilles Tendon a couple of months back. This week he was able to try walking without crutches for the first time. It is amazing how he can get around...even on the beach! We could always hear him coming, though!

The cousins...Friends Forever!

Ok, this picture needs some explanation. Each cousin is sitting below their Webkinz collection...Between the four of them, there were well over 50 Webkinz on vacation with us this week. Fortunately, there were enough rooms in the house for a designated "Webkinz Room" with plenty of shelves to display their collection.

With the help of Geoff and Nathan, Micah and Paul constructed a "Jenga-like" tower using blocks at the Children's Museum.

Micah & Emma...Sandy Fun!

I had hoped to get a nice, calm, posed picture of the two kids at the beach...BUT, it was difficult to keep them still for any length of time. They were having TOO much fun!


Ahh...Emma, now here's an idea. We can bury Micah in the sand to keep him still for a picture...Good Job!


Wish you were here!

Beaches are for Swimmin' and Diggin'

Micah loved all aspects of the beach...swimming and "surfing" in the waves and then crawling on the shore to dig and dig some more. Consequently, each day Micah was at the beach, he turned into quite the "sand monster"...covered from head to toe and everywhere in between with SAND!


The evening we arrived at the beach Micah couldn't wait to check out the ocean...He ran right in!




Conserving energy with cousin Paul until they decide to dash back into the waves...again!




And after Micah is all cleaned up...What better way to relax but to play his DS until suppertime. Ahh...This is the life!

Surfer Girl

Last time she was at the beach, Emma was a bit overwhelmed by the waves. So, before this trip, she informed us that she was going to "stay on the sand." Well, that only lasted a few minutes before she realized how fun it was to play "tag" with the waves and then go body surfing with daddy!

Here are a few of my favorite shots of Emma on the beach this week:

Facebook...I'm Hooked!

Are you on Facebook? Well, I'm finding that many people from my very distant past are! It's been amazing, actually. Using Facebook, I was able to find my long lost friend, Lara, from primary school days in South Africa! Many of my classmates from AISJ (The American International School of Johannesburg) also have Facebook accounts. Because of the nature of our school, we are all spread out across the globe, so organizing a class reunion would be near impossible. Through Facebook we've been able to catch up on each other's lives...a mini reunion of sorts. How cool!

It's been great to discover that so many friends from college and Peoria, as well as family members are on Facebook, too. I guess I must have been living under a rock not to enjoy the benefits of Facebook sooner!

In honor of my Facebook addiction, I had to include another comic morsel from the duo, Rhett and Link. To find out more about these two hilarious guys, see my post called "Fear of Frogs." ENJOY!

And When the Party was OVER...

Micah and Emma on the way home from the birthday party. Micah is happily playing a new DS game and Emma...well, Emma is all partied out! It's tough being a party animal.

Oh, and I should add...For all the concerned parents out there. The reason Micah isn't wearing his seatbelt is because this picture was taken while Geoff and the kids were waiting in the Trader Joe's parking lot while I ran in to pick up a few things. I don't want anyone to worry that my poor child is being driven around town with no seatbelt...Gasp!

"Wii" Bounced at Micah's Birthday Party!

Micah's 7th birthday party was this afternoon at a fun new place in town called "Wii Bounce." Needless to say, after inviting his entire 1st grade class at school, Sunday School class, and several neighborhood kids, we ended up with 30+ kids in attendance...plus their parents. It was a BIG group, but a GREAT time was had by all. I think Geoff has a Wii on his wishlist now!

We had an hour in the "play area" where the kids got to choose from 7 screens playing Wii games. Here Micah and a couple of buddies are playing "Mario Kart."

There were also 3 big inflatables...a bounce house, slide, and obstacle course.

I knew I wanted to serve cupcakes at his party, just to make things easier. This was an idea Geoff helped me design..."Cupcake Mario." He was yummy!

Micah chose Mario's eyeball as the cupcake he wanted to eat.

Micah on the "birthday throne" with his buds.

A HOT Day for Runnin'

Well, I did it! I ran my first 5K this morning...On a HOT and sunny, humid North Carolina day. I think I heard it's going to get up to 102 degrees later today. As we began the race, within the first 1/4 of a mile you could just feel how thick the air was to breathe...very heavy. I had trained on a couple of warmer mornings, but usually when I run at 6 a.m., it hasn't been this uncomfortable. But, with the help of my "custom" running mix of the Newsboys, Lincoln Brewster, and Barlow Girl (thanks Jenny), I made it through!

I was messing with my earphone plugs when the race started, so I forgot to start my stopwatch. I'm not sure of my "official time", but I think it was around 33-34 minutes. We all wore chips on our shoes, so I can get my real time later. In fact, I think they're publishing them all in the Raleigh paper tomorrow.

Geoff has been battling a bad cold the last couple of days, but still made it across in great time...just a couple minutes longer than his usual time (22 minutes).

Me and pal Jenny. We are a force to be reckoned with, Girl! So, Jen...You interested in training for that 10K in October?

King's Dominion...You Can't Do It All!

How many of you remember old King's Dominion tag line? "At King's Dominion...You can't do it all..." Well, when you're going to an amusement park with your kids, that is definitely the case. No big thrill rides for me...But we did see a lot of Kidsville!

On Saturday, May 31, We went with our good pals, Jeff and Pam Stevens and their kids, Douglas and Megan. The day started out very hot (in the 90's) and we prepared to sweat the day away walking the hot blacktop.

The kids waiting in line for their first ride of the day, the "Taxi Jam!" They're ready to GO!

Here is Micah after riding the Scooby Doo Roller Coaster. It gets a thumbs up! Emma, our little thrillseeker, was very sad that she was still too small to ride it with her big brother.

We took a break for a late lunch at an indoor, slightly air conditioned eating establishment ... definitely not one with a high health inspection rating! But, we got some food in our empty bellies nonetheless. Poor little Megan lost her footing on a slick spot on the floor and took quite a tumble, hitting her head on the hard floor. So, she got a tour of the first aid station.

Pam and I were in line for what was going to be our only "big" ride of the day (the Volcano), when the sky grew very dark and they announced that they were going to close the ride because of impending bad weather conditions. Within 15 minutes or so, large drops of rain fell, the wind picked up big time, branches flew, and we were forced to find shelter to wait out the thunder, lightning, and hail. By the time that cleared up, we were all ready to clear out!

Between the sun, sweat, rain, and wind...we looked like quite a motely crew on our 3 1/2 ride home that night!