12th Annual Grandma Beach Memorial Weekend

This 4th of July, we opted for a 'staycation' and we stayed at Tarpon Point, where we were married.  Things were a little more chaotic this trip with two boys to chase around though!  Night one was catching up with family, pizza in Holly & Doug's room, and scoping out the snook light on the dock.

I dressed the boys in coordinating outfits, but couldn't get a photo of the two of them together no matter what I tried.  My best attempt was to catch them from behind watching the fountain.

Meanwhile, inside, Big Brooks was all smiles for the camera while he tried out his new game of sticking out his tongue at Aunt Holly.

 

Connor couldn't wait for day 2.  He just wanted to fish.  Going fast on the boat was also a must.

(Connor and I call eachother 'eye twins.'  I can't get enough of this picture.  This is the face I will remember always.  When he's grown, I imagine I will still see him as my freckled, green eyed, sweet boy.)

These boys & their Nana.

(Sorry to capture your wind blown hair, Mom!)

Naps on the boat are a breeze.

It's rare Connor gets to be near Noah while Noah is sleeping, but when he gets the chance, he is so sweet & caring.  He just wants to lay with him and holding his hand.  It's really the sweetest thing to watch.

My tiniest little Lovey.

When we got to the beach, I took the opportunity to get some shots of my handsome nephews.

Getting a photo of these boys together is also my greatest challenge!

Are they not the cutest little babes in their hoodies?!

Modeling like a pro.

Connor was itchin' to fish.  Once he got the go ahead, he was thrilled.  

It was seconds before he had his first fish on.

I love his love for fishing.

We headed on back to the hotel after fishing, the kids caught a cat nap on the way in, & then hopped in the pool.

The newlyweds

Alyssa & Jordan

Goobs.

Water cameras are a brilliant invention.

My sister may have enjoyed the water camera a little too much.

This little guy enjoyed his nudity while we were in our hotel room.  He's been interested in using the potty, so we packed his frog potty & took on potty training while when we weren't out & about.

It was more work than it was worth, so by the end of day 2, we put his diaper back on.

The boys were now dressed in their patriotic attire & the countdown was on until firework time.

Connor and his Papa.

(I have so many variations of this photo from over the years & its so strange to see how much C has grown).

I had my camera on me as we walked the docks, so it was photo op time!

 The Sherms

Nana, Papa & 2/4 of their grandbabies

Can we ever get a photo of us 4 smiling?! 

I'll try again in another year or so!

The Brewers

On Day 3, we ventured out on the boat for a tiny fishing adventure with Nana & Papa.

Connor reeled in 12 fish that morning.  He was SO thrilled.

Snapper, sheepshead, and a blowfish were among his catches

When it was time to go check out of our hotel room, C helped Papa drive on the way in.

When did my little boy get to be so big?

Summer time pool fun

My boys have mastered the dreaded 'cheese face' like no other, so when I want new photos of them, I have to be creative.  I have a closet full of photography props from my sessions, but my kids wouldn't sit still for me if I tried waving candy above their faces!  My best bet to get my kids to smile together in a photo or get the non-nostril-flared, non-squinty-eyed, painful smiley face is to confine them in a location that makes them happy.  Successful location #1-- the pool.

Well played, me, well played. :)

Noah loves the freedom of kicking around with his swimmies on in 2 feet of water.

Connor loves when I say "poopy pigeon."  Classy, I know.  It's either that, or he makes me shake my hiney.  I opt for option 1 in public places.

Just keep swimming.  Just keep swimming.

 When it was time for me to hop in and play with them, we made a game out of using the waterproof camera.  For a good 20 minutes or so, this water bug was fully entertained by going underwater & having me take his picture each time.  We got some good laughs!

And it's 12:40am just like that...off to bed, I go (with my chlorineeee hair, as I opted to upload photos and blog instead of showering). There's always tomorrow!

Kid Fishing Tournament!

This was Connor's 3rd year in the fishing tournament & I think it was the best one yet!  He is old enough to hook & reel in his own fish & I think he loved it!!

Huge huge thank yous to Nana & Papa, who come with chairs, snacks, bait, fishing gear, and lots of love every year!  Connor finished the tournament with 5 fish total & won himself a new fishing pole & bait bucket!  It was a great day!

He's changed so much since his 1st year.

Pre-fishing photos.

Cheese face from the goob.

Connor's favorite people!

About 5 minutes into the tournament & he had his first fish!

Snuck in a family photo :)

Snapper #2

Fish 3 was a blowfish & the boys were attempting to get him to puff up for our photo, but the little guy wasn't interested.

Me & my tiniest little Lovey!  He was such a trooper hanging there for 3 hours.

Noah was content hanging with Dad and getting a large dose of watermelon & chips.

The Pringle Monster

Another awesome tournament in the books!  So so grateful to share this tradition with my kids!  I'm thinking next year, we may have FOUR family boys in this tournament.  It should be interesting!

Finally some more blog posts...

I want to apologize to my devoted readers

(aka G.G.),

for my lack of posting in the last month!

I've been rather busy with my photography ventures & I've been slacking on taking photos of my own kids.  It doesn't help that Noah is moving non-stop, whines when I pull my camera out, or I'm busy holding him which makes it tough to lug around my big camera.

Here are a few photos I've managed to take on my phone (one day I will find time to dump a bunch of videos on here).  Noah is a hilarious little booger, so I have oodles of videos of the boys together lately.

Connor is waiting on me to play Mario Kart (my promised bonding time with him while Noah's napping), so I have to be quick.

About a week ago, we headed up to the Causeway with Nana & Papa to get out & explore.  Easy, cheap entertainment is finding shells, seeking out critters, and running from the rain clouds.

Noah thinks he owns the town.  Literally.  He's the most independent---I do everything myself---kid.  He will insist a particular person hold his cup while he drinks it.  He will prefer a different person put his cup away.  He demands ice cream all day long.  C & I have to refer to it as our code word, "cheeseburger," so Noah doesn't know what we're talking about.  He's very particular.  He won't hold your hand anymore.  He's Mr. Independent.

And these two.  After a long week with the boys while Matt was traveling for work, I ended the week with this beautiful sight in my backseat.  No denying that these boys are brothers.  Rubber necks and all.

Connor is begging me to go play.  Sorry G.G.! I promise to keep up with my kid picture taking/blogging more!!  We have the kid fishing tournament this weekend, so promise to get more then!

Spontaneous beach trip!

At first, I thought we'd do the pool.

Then, I thought we'd do the Causeway.

Then, I checked with Ki to see if they'd like to join us.

When they noted they were already at Sanibel, our quick trip to the Causeway turned into a trip to Bowman's beach from 8:30am-12:30pm!  It was a beautiful day with wonderful company!

Noah was content with his shoes on at all times (not a fan of sand), bouncing between throwing shells in the water, and devouring some goldfish crackers on the shore.  He was a busy body to keep happy, but he was happy!

This water bug spent a good amount of time shell and sand dollar hunting!

These cute kids were in my perfect models :)

Connor adores his play time with Deb.  He was happy to show off his baby sand dollar.

When all else seems boring to this goob, I put a sea pen to good use & wrote the alphabet in the sand.

He was thrilled to point out his letters to me.

Noah was wiped out before we got back to the car & Connor even snoozed in the backseat on the way home.

Both kids were content all morning, I got some fresh air, and we were surrounded by some great family.  It's hard to beat days like this.  Here's to early bedtimes for all now!  I'm wiped out!