Back to Normal

Time to get back to normal life I guess. Started back at work and Maddi started her first day at school. She was very excited, clearly.

Trip to Ocean City

We had a wonderful time on our trip to Ocean City, MD.

Saturday
Ok, so it didn't start off too well. Saturday was pretty much the day from hell. Maddi woke us up at 4am from a sleep that wasn't really going all that well anyway. It was storming all night...loudly. Brett took her downstairs to try and calm her down and that is when he heard the water gushing into our basement. Our basement is prone to water, although this is only the 3rd time it has flooded this bad. I know that may sound like a lot, but if you saw the basement, you'd be surprised it didn't happen more often. As I listened to the storm I knew it was probably flooding but couldn't bear the thought of looking...

To make matters worse, we were supposed to leave for the airport at 7:15 so timing was not good. The water was actually coming not only in, but up from the drain in the basement as well as Brett's tub that is down there.

You can see all of the mud coming up into his tub.

Pretty good amount. This was after it began receding. Thankfully our washer and dryer are still working.

The rest of the day wasn't really any better. Our flight was delayed (which was good initially because it was delayed enough that we were actually able to make it to the airport to get on it) so we were going to miss our connection in Philadelphia. When we got there it took forever for US Airways to check our bags since there was a problem with their system. (There is always a problem with their system.)

Then, we finally got on the plane and pulled away from the gate. At that point the pilot got on to tell us there was a mechanical problem and we were going back to the gate. Come on.

When we got to Philadelphia, our connection had actually NOT left as it was delayed too. I was super excited and we rushed to another terminal to see if we could get on. The only problem is they had already changed us to another flight into Salisbury so our seats were gone. Frustrating. We were not confirmed until 8:50 which got us in at 9:30. Not too bad I'm sure most of you are thinking, but when you are up at 4 am schlepping your crap out of water and traveling all day with 2 little ones, it makes for a very, very, very long day.

We were able to check in as standby on a 4:30 flight that ended up leaving at 7. Three people before us got on standby and then they told us there was no more room but the gate agent said he would check with the pilot. We were traveling on a turbo prop so they have some wiggle room on seats based on room for luggage and the weight of the plane. When the captain came in to check us out, I think I looked so freakin' pathetic that he let us on. At first he said there wasn't room for the stroller but I sold him on how compact I could make it so he let us take it on. I probably would have left it at that point quite honestly. I was that tired.

Ok, at this point I was REALLY happy to be on the plane, but we sat on the runway for 1/2 hour. This meant we would be on the plane for 1 full hour and since it was over 100 outside, the plane's system could not output enough air conditioning. So, I sat with the two kids (Brett was in the back) on a plane for 1 hour that was about 95 degrees with no air circulation whatsoever. By the grace of God they both slept (or were passed out from heat exhaustion, not sure which but I didn't ask questions) and I just reminded myself that we were on a plane so I needed to be grateful.

It could only go uphill from there though so we were excited for vacation to begin!

Sunday
We continued our summer vacation theme of HOOOOOOOOOT. Needless to stay, we actually stayed inside all day and truly relaxed.
Owen enjoyed playing with the lego dinosaur habitat that Gigi bought him.
In the evening there was a storm that blew through which cooled things down considerably. We went to dinner and were even able to sit outside! I figured it was best to try and do a nice dinner at the beginning of the week when the kids were fresh and not crabby from too much fun. It was so yummy.

A little peek into our bedtime routine:)


Monday
The weather was absolutely perfect. If you could bottle it you would have been able to sell it for a million dollars. Low 80s, light breeze, no humidity.
So, we headed to the beach!
Maddi's first trip to the Ocean:)Owen had lots of fun building sandcastles.
Brett also dug a hole down by the water and Owen thought it was just hilarious to stand in it and sink. Ok, so we though it was pretty hilarious too.

One of the highlights of Assateague is the wild horses on the beach. Here is a mommy and her baby. So cute.
In the evening we just hung out and relaxed. The kiddos enjoyed some time together. Owen had fun with his lizzards, snakes and frogs that Gigi bought him at the grocery store.
Tuesday
Another award-winning day at the beach.
Burying Daddy, so much fun!In the evening we went to the boardwalk to people watch and let Owen ride all of the rides. He's a daredevil in the making for sure.

Fun on the hot air balloon ride

Fire engines are cool!!!

Owen loves to drive already:)

The merry go round is a classic favorite.

Fun on the airplane ride

Owen's first roller coaster ride. He insisted on going on this ride. At first he was smiling and about half way through he had enough, began crying and wanted to get off.
Stepping it up a notch, Owen went on one of those rides that shoot you up and then drop you down. Of course neither event was very fast on the kiddie version. On the way down they bounced. Owen went on by himself and the ride operator thought he was so cute he gave him two rides for the price of one!

To take it even further, Owen wanted to go on the tilt a whirl with Gigi. He had A LOT of fun on this ride.

And last but not least, he went on the Ferris Wheel with Gigi.
Maddi enjoyed her first trip to the boardwalk too:)
Wednesday
After a few days of nonstop excitement, we took the morning to rest. In the afternoon we made a trip to the neighborhood pool.

Maddi was very excited about the pool

Owen enjoyed swimming all on his own again. He could even touch in one part of the pool which he thought was great.
Thursday
Thursday was a marathon shopping trip for the girls. My mom, Maddi and I went to Rehoboth beach to shop in the town and at the outlets. We shopped for 10 hours!!!! So much fun. Maddi is already a pro.

The boys stayed home, played in the pool and back at the house. They made this cool track around the dinosaur habitat. Brett is so good at these things.

Friday
Friday was back to the beach to dig more holes. This one was further up on the beach so it actually stayed a hole and Owen thoroughly enjoyed playing in it for hours. May need to think about just digging a hole in the backyard for his enjoyment...

We introduced Owen to sand crabs for the first time. He thought they were great!

After the beach, Owen took a moment to read to sissy. Wish I had captured more because it was so sweet.

Saturday
We took a morning trip to the pool before we left to go home. Owen enjoyed a yummy waffle breakfast first though!

Trying to get Maddi to talk

Thankfully our trip home was much better than the trip there. Although apparently when they were moving around our trip on the way out, they cancelled Brett and I's return flights. Nice. They were lucky there were still seats on the plane... And we were lucky that the Salisbury airport is super small and the people are so friendly. The ticket agent was also the gate agent so at least we knew the plane wasn't going to leave without us.

Thanks for a great week Gigi!!!

A Little Nature

Yesterday we met up with with one of Owen's best buddies Jay and his brother Ben for a fun day at the Nature Museum. We had never been there before so I was really excited to see what it had to offer.

The boys really enjoyed the tree house area where they could run wild.
There was a "Green House" where the kids could operate things and climb through a tunnel. Notice the tongue action Owen inherited from Daddy.
The butterfly exhibit was great. The boys really enjoyed the waterfall.
The water area was a big hit of course.
Not only was Owen sticking his head in the water, I also caught him drinking it. Gross!
There was a turtle on exhibit which the boys thought was hilarious.

Perhaps Owen's favorite section though was the wall with all kinds of bugs. Owe is also obsessed with bugs so he was pretty excited when we got to this part.
Here he points out the Luna Moth (knows this from one of his books)

Last but not least, Owen enjoyed a good game of chase the seagull on our walk back to the car.

It was a last ditch effort in my attempt to salvage what left I have of my stay at home mom break before going back to work. Thanks to the Conkin family for such a great day!