Gotta love being a parent

Don't you just all remember the things you do for your kids??? Here's an example....



Yes, that would be 84 cents worth of stamps that she found and are now her "stickers". The things we do for our kids...I didn't have the heart to take them away from her...and now she is so proud of having the world's most expensive stickers.

The Beach

So, I know it's a little later than originally intended, but better late than never! Our trip to Nags Head, NC (aka: the Outer Banks) over the fourth of July weekend (my favorite holiday!) was a fun trip. Though it does seem that Misha has hit her terrible twos on this trip (a tantrum every 5 minutes!), we had fun nonetheless and I hope my mom didn't have too big of a headache (no, the two 8-10 mile back ups do not figure into that) by the time we hit home.

So, here's our room. Okay, so by the time I took this it looked like a mess, but it really wasn't that bad!

I thought it was nice to be able to buy groceries and only eat one meal out. Though, groceries were expensive down there considering the only decent grocery store is Harris Teeter.

Jer brought along the hammock he got for Father's day so that we could relax....

While looking at this view....

No, it is not zoomed! It was an awesome view and so relaxing to swing in that and listen to the waves. The beach was not crowded (unlike Ocean City), and was nice and quiet. Only the last full day did we get one or two weirdos or smokers near us.

The pool was small, but clean. Misha still isn't too keen on water, and certainly doesn't want her head or face anywhere near it.

But, here's a rare moment when we're ALL smiling, and in the water.

We bought Misha a bucket in anticipation of her wanting to be more on the beach than in the water, and so we of course built a sand castle.

Nothing too fancy, I know, but honestly, it's the most elaborate one I've ever built, even if it was completely with artificial aids than my own "artistic" ability (of which I have none...)

Have I ever told you how much I love watching Jer and Misha together? They're just the best of buddies, and I love how much they love one another.

Aren't they simply too adorable for words?!?!

Friday afternoon and evening mom and I headed to the outlets! (We were only a mere block away!) And who doesn't love the beach AND shopping?! Mom scored and got herself about four bags on a Wilson's Leather clearance sale, and I bought myself a leather jacket. Alas, no pictures of us spending away all our hard earned money, but I promise, it happened.:)

Saturday was another day for lounging and waiting for my favorite part of this holiday. We went down to the beach to watch the fire works! Alas, this was as close as we could get...

Okay, so I realized that these seem really close, but those were just some small ones the people on the beach were setting off...the "real" ones were way past this.

But, we did bring along some sparklers of our own...here's Misha being fully thrilled for the prep....

But, as you can (barely) see in this photo (most likely the only one my mom won't kill me for posting), my mom is the one with the sparkler, not my kid....

And she really doesn't like the sound of fireworks (they scare her a wee bit), and so, common sensically, here she is covering her eyes in our family photo.:)

But Jer and I looked great in this one!

Though the fireworks were disappointing (they always are after going to DC's for so many years...), we had a great time....and I won't even mention those two 10 mile back ups we hit on our way back to mom and dad's, one of which was still going on at 10:00 at night when we were heading to WV!

Hope everyone had a happy and safe fourth with fantastic fireworks!

I had fun with ours anyway!