One direction....WAIT...U-turn....

TO THE BEACH!!!!

But, I can't just start the story there. Let me give you a sweet backdrop...

Since Monday, I inherited the other 2 children from Cory and Cassie's family. And my house is SMALL! So, 6 kids in my townhouse is quite the crowd! I NEED to get out and let these kids PLAY! And I love to go places and play!

So, we were off to Celebration, FL to walk the town and play in the splash area there. But, before we got too far down the road, I looked to Morgan in the front seat next to me (she's getting too old, by the way), and whispered, "I want to go to the beach, what about you?" She had the look that any normal person would have toward my crazy comment and said, "are you serious?" So, I called my husband for permission then made a U-turn at the next light, headed back to my house to grab a few beach toys, snacks, and blankets and then headed off to DAYTONA! I am a wild woman!

THE STORY GETS BETTER!

We arrived to the beach just after picking up some Happy Meals at McD's and began lathering the sunscreen on. Then Avery needed a rubber band to put her hair up and out of her face. I tried to pull a hairpiece out of a tight fitting tube that it was in but had no luck. So I grabbed my key to try and pull out the culprit that was giving me fits. AND THEN IT HAPPENED...

MY VAN KEY BROKE IN HALF!!!! HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN?

My key has been giving me trouble for awhile when trying to open van doors and start the car. Believe me, it wasn't much force used to break the stinkin' thing! I was just as shocked as you might be. Now WHAT?

Well, I decided that since we were at the beach, we would deal with it later (after the kids got to play for a bit)! Play first, right?! I did call Jarrett and had a couple of ideas going but nothing concrete except for Jarrett leaving work and heading to Daytona with a spare key.

I did call my friend Jessica to tell her I might not make it for our dinner that we had planned together with the kids. Once I told her the reason, she said, "hey the beach sounds like fun!" After she convinced me that she really did want to come to beach and play, and not just do a huge GOOD DEED, I was excited at the idea and gave her Jarrett's phone number to meet up with him to get a spare key!

I now have a friend to join me in a few hours and will have a key to start my car!

So, finally, here are the beach pictures:

My little cutie with her new bangs! Her hair just will NOT stay out of her face.

(she wasn't featured too much in the last post, so I have to make up for it)!

Profile Shot

Our spot on the beach!

Great picture of those kids, Cassie!


Morgan and Annalise were off getting water for their man made pool!

Avery and Jordan

The girls loved playing in the surf!

The waves were great!

Another cute one! Morgan was in the mood for pictures again. What has gotten into her?

After a few hours Jessica arrived with her kids!

Joshua loved his FIRST beach trip and loved the taste of sand!


What beach trip is complete without B&W photography?

LOVE IT!!!

I guess that's what you get with a potty trained child that doesn't have a diaper to fill in the extra space.

Ready to jump the next wave!

Strike a pose!

Cool Picture!

Abby helping her brother!

Allison loved the water!
A postcard picture!!! Avery will do gymnastics anywhere!

A picture of our kids LOVING the beach!

Cassie HATES the beach and I LOVE it! Besides the key episode which actually turned out successful (THANKS SO MUCH JESS), we had a BLAST! I can't wait to kidnap these kids this summer for more trips to the beach!

I will definitely check the stability of my key before heading out next time!

Avery, have your rubber band in your hair before leaving!

Caramel Apple Flakey's and More!

So I told you there would be more on creative recipes from the girls! Avery asked if they could make up their own recipes and then cook! I said, "SURE! That sounds like FUN!" So, they all created their ingredient list and off we went to Publix!

Morgan, looking for the better deal (got to fit some homeschooling in there somehow)!

Physical Education Class!

Nothing to learn here except that Pepperoni in any recipe can be YUMMY!

Next, we head home and began preparing our food!

Morgan is flouring the pan for her Caramel Apple Flakey's!

Ingredients: Caramel Sauce, Apple Pie filling, Puff Pastry, Whipped Cream, and Sugar

Annalise is creating Cheesy Pepper Dogs!

Ingredients: Croissant Rolls, Pepperoni, Hot Dogs, and Cheddar Cheese

Avery is getting ready to bake her Strawberry Cookie Surprises
Ingredients: Sugar Cookie Dough, Strawberries, Whipped Cream, and Cream Cheese

Look at that oven!!!

Next is Avery finishing up her surprises!

And my cooks don't leave the kitchen till the cleaning is done!

Ta Da! The Chef's are Ready to Eat!!!

( I have to say that they were seriously ALL delicious! I will be making ALL of these again one day! I was very surprised with the outcome of the Cheesy Pepper Dogs....QUITE TASTY)!

Let them Play!

I have the wonderful privilege of taking care of 2 of my nieces while their parents are out of town for a few days! Each time I get the opportunity to spoil them, I DO! That's what Aunt's do, right? Unfortunately, I am not a RICH aunt and can't afford to do much, but I still know how to have fun!

So, off to Downtown Disney!!!

Here are the girls playing in the splash area! FREE!

Then, after drying off, we went to make a "My Little Pony!"

Nope, we didn't buy them. We just played! FREE!

Here are their ponies!

We brought our own lunch instead of buying expensive McDonald's Hamburgers! FREE! (kind of)

Hand in Hand!

CrAzIeS!!!

Cute!

They were loving the picture taking! They looked for every opportunity!

Next stop was Ghiradelli's! NOT FREE! (it was my one SPLURGE for the day)!

And before leaving, the girls wanted to dig for fossils at T-REX! And of course, get more pics opportunities! You should be proud Cassie, Morgan came up with most of the pic poses!

On our way home, we stopped at the craft store to get PAINT!!!! We will be making a big mess this weekend! We also went to the grocery store for each girl to pick out items for their VERY OWN recipe creations! More on that to come!!!

First Swim of the Season!

My sweet friend, Sunday, invited us over for the afternoon to swim in her neighborhood. We haven't been swimming yet this year and the girls were READY! The water was a little chilly but didn't take long to get used to! It was nice and refreshing!

Aaliyah and Allison (she loved those goggles)!

Annalise loved her goggles too and actually used them to SWIM!

Jakob had fun jumping and splashing!

Cutie Pie!

Avery, as usual, the first one out (SO COLD)!

My sweet friend and her son, Jonah!

All the girls!

Annalise and Mommy!