Notes From The Shoe: BEACH!

We made it to the beach!! Matt’s conference is officially over, so his fun has begun (the rest of us have been shamelessly enjoying ourselves since we got here).
I’m going to mostly post pictures, but I do have to mention a few things. Firstly…Benben is swimming! He finally decided to let go of mommy and trust the water wings. So much so in fact, that if you try to touch him while he is “swimming” he will let you know in no uncertain terms that TOUCHING BEN IN THE POOL IS NO LONGER ACCEPTABLE WAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!! Hannah has also made major progress in the swimming department-she can swim without water wings. She dives under and jumps in with perfect confidence and seems to understand how to tread water when she gets a bit tired. And mommy? Is looking forward to a summer not spent clutching a toddler in the pool. Maybe this year my legs will see the sun.
Caitlin and Matthew have had fun as well. The highlight for them is always “casino night” when they get to gamble and stay out late (we are awesome parents). Last year they had great luck and managed to bid and win an ipod, and this year was just as good. Matthew kindly let Caitlin use his fake bidding dollars to bid on a brand new Kindle which she won! He came away with a cool squirt gun and $60 in cash as well, so he was happy. Daddy and Mommy enjoyed the open bar, Ben found a girlfriend and a great time was had by all.
And I’ve saved the biggest news for last…We bought Matt a boat!!
I use the term loosely.

However! It is a boat (says so on the box) and therefore fulfills my obligation to put a boat in our boat garage at home. (Matt should have been more specific if wanted a boat with a motor. Or one that you don’t have to inflate.)
He’s actually thrilled with the purchase and took the kids out this morning at low tide to the sandbar that is just a bit out of swimming distance. They came back with some terrific treasures and plan to go again tomorrow-and I won’t forget my camera.
Here are some pictures of the rest of our trip…