Snapshots of a

PERFECT day!!

The Smith family LOVES the beach! I decided that we were going to have a perfect DAY (meaning ALL day - breakfast, lunch, dinner - watch the sun go down DAY) at the beach. With much deliberation, we decided that we would head on down to our old stompin' grounds, Sandbridge (VA Beach) and enjoy the waves with some good buddies - yippie for a few hours with the Davies and boo-hoo for 0 hours with the Hines (next week, tee-hee). We left for our day in the sun a little after 6AM and returned back home at a little after 11PM. Our day in the sun was threatened by this:

Yes, that is the SKY from the time we got there until 1:30. We were not deterred (although, I did have a few temper tantrums within and shot nasty looks to the sky occasionally. Ben says I am circumstantially happy - ok...a little!). After lunch, however, the sun broke through and burned us all to a crisp - yippie!!!

Our set up:

Ethan's first findings

sandcastle time!

The best part of a cloudy day - an EMPTY beach!!

Run Ethan!

Kate getting ready to ride some waves!

SANDY KATE!

Lunch time! The sun is peaking through!

Eat it up...sand and all!

Pictures with mommy!

Sand crab - top right!

This is when the sunburn happened!

siesta!

Can I get up now??

TREASURES!

Ahhhh! Summer!

Slicker Than a Greased Pig

THIS

+

THIS

=

THIS

Last week Ben was out with the boys, I was playing on our computer, and KATE...

Ben thought I was watching her

I thought she was outside with Ben

Actually, she was in our bathroom greasing herself up with 3/4 of a container of Vaseline.  Not only was Vaseline 1/4" thick over her ENTIRE body, it was also all over the floor, all the drawers and doors, toothbrushes, deodorant, my brush...etc.

Oh my!  I seriously did not know where to start!

So here she is happy as a lark, a greasy lark!

Rub, a dub, a scrub, scrub, scrub!!

She's had greasy hair and silky soft skin for a week!

As for my bathroom???

Anyone know where I can get a new bathroom rug  on sale??

Here's a look at my first...EVER attempt at landscaping!

Ben and I decided that we wanted to put in some pretties in our front yard, so off I went to the library (since I have not the slightest clue about anything that grows) to begin my in depth research project.  I had the greatest time learning all this plant stuff!!  With much deliberation and help (THANK YOU, Mrs. Lapiska), THIS is what I decided on:

BUT FIRST... we have to clear out all the grass

 (bear with me, because I am SUPER excited about all this!  There are a billion pictures capturing every possible angle - but they're ALL pretty!!!)

So instead of just taking out the grass, my husband who LOVES a nice lawn, decided to transplant the grass to the barren volleyball court in the back (MASSIVE PROJECT).  But, it looks great now!

This is our first load of dirt - 

"13 bags ought to cover it"... WE THOUGHT!

We went back and ended up with 52 bags total!!  We were slightly off!

Here it is all finished - aerial view

I should have flipped the picture on the top horizontal to make the "L" shape

Lilac bush and Palace Purple

"Little Princess" Spirea

.

Hydrangea

Black-Eyed Susan Vine

These flowers line the front stairs.

It wouldn't be summer with out tomatoes!  

... and basil

Now for the back...  I know, I'm excited too!

My wonderful husband planted these sweet little pansies when I went to Colorado in April!

Still mourning the utter failure of last years pumpkins, I decided to fill this space with goodies from the yards of my friends:  

THANK YOU:  Joy and Don and Katrina!!!

This little rose bush root I snagged from the Hines is sooo happy here and has grown and grown.

This one...

not so happy here!

I love this and can't wait for it to take over the entire bed!

OK, so I know you dear readers could not have possibly enjoyed all those pictures as much as I did, but thank you for humoring me!  I have been surprised at how much I enjoyed this project and can't wait to do the other side of the house...NEXT YEAR!