An Update with Fake Photos

Due to a stupid technical thing that I won't even go into, the photos on my phone are not on my computer at the moment. I thought about just painting some word pictures for you, but decided that some old pictures that I awkwardly relate to our current activities would be better. Sounds fun, right?

Here we go!

The drive was not too bad, in that there were no unnecessary delays or really bad weather or illness or anything else that can so easily turn a not-so-bad trip into a REALLY BAD TRIP. I didn't even have to break out the ancient Game Boy.

Poppy even slept really well in the tent with me the two nights we were camping:

She wore her zip-up footie pajamas when she was actually sleeping in the real tent, and thus was the only one of us to not get extraordinarily itchy bug bites all under her clothes when we were camping in Missouri. Footie p.j.'s should be required gear for summer camping in the south.

We arrived just in time for garlic scape/strawberry/mulberry season (they always get ripe at the same time), so there's been a lot of berry eating going on.

Just like this, only with a lot more red stains.

It's been a remarkably wet spring and summer here at Blackrock, but we've had mostly good weather since we got here. This means lots of beach time.

No matter how sunny it is here, however, the light never has this white glare that we get in New Mexico.

Unfortunately, I am finding it much more difficult this year to take children to the beach, because now Poppy is very much a walking, active child who wants to be right out in the water, preferably right out where her brothers are. This is a big change from last year when she couldn't even crawl and was thus always safely stationary on the beach.

So I have to spend the whole time we're down there in the water holding her hand to keep her from going in over her head. Jack still can't swim, Charlie is not a strong swimmer, and I genuinely worry about what would happen if one of them needed my help while I was holding on to Poppy. I would have to just throw her up on the beach and hope for the best, which is . . . no, thanks.

For this reason, I told A. that I need a second adult with me when we go to the beach. So beach time is family time now.

That's okay with me, though, and it does mean that with everyone down there, there's no reason not to have a beach picnic for dinner every night. The children approve.

I made a conscience effort to do this because I saw that our forecast is calling for much more rain this week. In fact, it's raining now.

I'm going to the Not Quite As Small City today for my big thrift store excursion*, so I won't be here to entertain the children. I'm sure A. will have no trouble, and at least with the rain, he has a good excuse to not go down to the beach.

* "So, Kristin, what did you do on your vacation?" "I went to a thrift store to buy soap dishes and a coffee mug." Just like Club Med.