Chincoteague 2015: The Rest of the Vacay

The pony round up brought other festivities to town, like the fireman's carnival.  We misjudged our nights and ended up going after it poured all day.  Some of the rides were not operating due to standing water; however, the kids got on enough rides for some thrills.

The slow moving train did not provide enough thrill-
they asked Daddio to take them on the Himalayan type ride

That ride went FAST.  They were going so fast and the bar
covered their faces, so I couldn't tell if the kids were terrified or loving it.
As the ride slowed down, they were definitely loving it.

Braylen felt like a big boy going on his first "roller coaster" :)

In awe of the Ferris wheel

30 minutes is about all I handle of being ADD flashing lights, moving rides, and bratty kids.  Back home for a snack and bed!

PJs and Popcorn!

Let's not forget one of the main reasons we went on this trip- another beach vacation!  Chincoteague is an island, but not on the ocean, that's Assateague.  We loaded up the vans for a 15 minute ride to the state park for the beach.  The oldest two were in the ocean in the entire time, Evie and Naomi were happy playing the sand and ocean together, the moms sat and chatted, the dads built a massage ditch, and Braylen did his own two-year-old boy thing.

Big kids:

4 year-olds

Jumping waves together :)

cutest wedgie on the beach

Dads doing what dads do best: entertain the kids

Two tough guys + 2 metal shovels = huge hole in 5 minutes

Braylen and Daddio out in the ocean.  That boy
seems to be up for anything as long as Daddio is with him

Hubba, hubba

And this guy.. gosh he makes me laugh

rolling into the hole, complete with sound effects

Hiding from the waves?

Flying in belly first

No fear.

Waiting for a wave like a beached dolphin?

The end result
(along with full on tantrums due to exhaustion)

And of course no photos of the moms... who are forever the photographers :(

But wait!  There is just one to prove we were there... eating masses of ice cream :)

Back to the beach... we obviously had a blast there.  The driving to and from the beach is not for us though.  We are too anal about cleanliness to be sweaty, sandy, and wet in our van. Thankfully Tim brought his pick up truck or I think Jason might have gone over the edge taking our sandy beach cart and toys home in the van.  We have definitely been spoiled living beachfront the last few years.  Despite the drive-to-beach issue, we would not hesitate to go back to Chincoteague should we get invited again :)

Nothin' but LOVE for Michelle and Tim.

Chincoteague 2015: Pony Round-up

This week at Chincoteauge is the big wild pony round-up; the event where the northern and southern herds living on Assateague Island are rounded up, paraded through town, and some are sold to control the population.  Our family wasn't able to partake in all of the events due to Jason's work schedule (boo to "I can't take any more time off"), but we got a nice taste of what happens during this week.

The southern herd of ponies was rounded up before we arrived.  On Sunday, the northern herd was bought down the beach to be penned up with the southern herd.  The website said it began at dusk; we took that as 6 o'clock departure would be plenty of time.  We scooped the kids out of bed in PJs and went to the beach.  So did everyone else on the island

Not quite what we were expecting... a line of red taillights for miles

At least we saw a beautiful sunrise!

Fortunately, the ponies have to be paraded down the road we are all sitting on, so all the traffic was cleared before the ponies arrived.  That gave us plenty of time to park and get in position.

Masses of people out early to see the ponies!

Here come the saltwater cowboys with the ponies!!

If you would like to see the video I took while holding Braylen, be warned.  My commentary is rather annoying; however, the comment from one of the cowboys at the end is comical.

The beautiful sunrise did not lead to a beautiful day.  It started to rain as we walked back to the van.  Then it poured pretty much the rest of the day.  So so thankful for our DVD player while we sat in the van for 40 minutes waiting our turn to leave the parking lot.

Part two of our pony experience was seeing all the ponies in the corral after the two herds were merged.  Evie could have stood there all day watching them.

The ponies are all different sizes and colors.  It was fun to be apart of this annual event.  After we leave, the ponies will swim across the channel, have a vet visit, then be paraded through town before the auction.  The ponies swim back home on Friday.  The firefighters in town serve as firefighters as well as the "saltwater cowboys".  They take a lot of pride in their ponies!

Chincoteague 2015: Dream to Reality

It finally happened; we went on a friend beach vacation!  I have been suggesting it for years only to get the same old excuses.  I was flattered and overjoyed when the Richard family invited my family on their annual vacation to Chincoteague.  It is really hard for me to say no to a vacation, especially with friends we rarely get to see even though we live 30 minutes from each other.  Unfortunately, Jason has to work to fund all these vacations I agree to, so we had to keep our second beach vacation to 4 days.  The four days we had were fabulous.  Just look at our house!

A four bedroom house with plenty of room for 4 adults and 5 kids
(and all our crap)

AND this playground on the property!

There were so many places for the kids to play within eye sight of the adults; it made it convenient for the kids to stay busy while the adults drank beer relaxed and caught up on each other's lives.  Besides the playground, the dock 50 yards away, was a huge bonus.

In the distance is a small boat... with two dads...  trying to catch crabs for the first time

We had to laugh when we arrived at the dock, we found our first live crab without any work!

A blue crab up close and personal!

The real fishermen going out to crab.  Notice the serious looking rubber boots, gloves, pants, bushel baskets... that's true crabbing right there.

But wait, who is that?!

Two ecstatic dads with ONE crab!!

The kids took turns going out with the dads

Uh, boys, we have the paddles on the dock... talk about up the
creek without a paddle!

Paddles on board, holding on for dear life

Braylen and Daddio's first crabbing experience together!

Meanwhile, the girls caught a few crabs just putting the net in with a chicken leg

It was a fun morning for all.  We learned that we can't leave crabs in water... they die.  Luckily we bought crabs the night before from the real crabbers so we had our fill of yummy Chesapeake Bay crabs!

The 5 kids were great together:  Evie attached to Naomi, who is also four.  The two older Richard kids did their thing and Braylen tried to fit in as best as he could.  The older kids were so kind to him when he destroyed their puzzles or Magna Tile creations.  

Buddies playing on a rainy day

Cuties

Bikes, races, stomp rocket, chalk, digging in the sand... we did it all at the house.  Now onto our adventures away from the house....

It's Like Riding a Bike

For weeks Braylen has insisted to "ride my bike".  His version of "ride" was to push his trike around the neighborhood.  Amazingly, he had excellent control navigating around the corners while running behind it.  He was having fun "riding" so you can't knock his definition of "ride"

I think after our beach trip with the cousins, he realized the big kids all SIT on their bikes.  He has taken up more of an interest in sitting on his trike.  My kids are blessed with Daddio's athletic gene and have both picked up pedaling quickly.

Here is Bray baby at 2.5 years old.  Yippee!!

My children are talented in navigating strollers and bikes.  I have corrected their steering skills very few times on bikes or pushing strollers.  Thank you God for giving my kids that skill at an early age; walking along side my bike riders is an enjoyable activity!  Poor Braylen is rather frustrated that he can't go as fast as Speedster Evie.  I think his little trike's pedals can't keep up with Braylen's fierce pedaling.  I'm sure Daddio will happily move onto a 2-wheeler for better bike transport on the bike rack.

My legs and back thank you my dear Braylen for learning to pedal so quickly.  Here's to a fun lifetime of riding a bike!

VBS 2015: Everest

The church we now attend (and love!!), Crossraods, orchestrates an enormous VBS each year.  It is well known in the community, bringing in almost 400 kids!  I first heard about it through MOPS and couldn't wait for Evie to be old enough to attend.

A glimpse of the scale of VBS at Crossroads

This year was the year!  I am thankful I was able to sign Evie up with her best friend from preschool, Zachary, because that size of crowd is intimidating; she had one familiar face in her little "crew".

Evie's big friend looking after her

Nothing but love for these two

I think Evie spent most of her time looking like this

One of her crew guides, Grace

She's 4, a young 4.  Grace sent me pictures to prove it wasn't all thumb sucking

Get these two a room!

Evie told me she loved "the gym part" at the end of every day.  The music is quite catchy.  Parents are invited to the gym portion at the end.  3/5 days Evie was being held and sucking her thumb, BUT(!) I did witness the day she stood and did a few hip shakes and arm movements.

The VBS CD blared in the van all week.  Evie showed me her true self in the van :)

No matter Evie's participation level, I am pleased she was able to tell me each day the message of the day.  God has the power to heal, comfort, provide, forgive, and love us forever; God is so powerful!

And clearly she was quite cozy with Zachary.  Preschool love.

Already counting down to VBS 2016!