Beach trip

Ok, so Patrick has been super busy between preparing for classes he has been teaching or preparing for the annual trade show. My mom and I went for a quick trip to Sarasota this past weekend to visit GiGi(My Grandma)and Aunt Jan. We didn't get any pics of that trip though. Since Daddy has really been busy, he was in need of some QT time with the family. He decided a trip to the beach would suit us fine. So we packed it up headed off.
It was just what the Dr. ordered. We had such a great time. Although our previous trips to the beach were tons of fun they were also combined with chaos. All of which ended in us carrying two heavy babies along with a TON of beach gear. I would not trade those experiences for the world. The one that sticks out most in my mind is when the kids weren't walking but they were crawling everywhere. It was time to leave and I put Parker and Sydney on the blanket and then proceeded to pick up our beach umbrella. Well actually the beach umbrella almost picked me up. The wind caught it and I almost flew away like Mary Poppins. Meanwhile, Parker and Sydney headed off in different directions. It took me five minutes to get it closed while Patrick waved off the polite beachgoer who offered to come my way and help. I laughed so hard I cried. Anyway, this beach trip was quite different. It was the first trip where the kids were able to carry their own gear. Whewee it was nice. They didn't eat any sand and were very interested in collecting shells on our walk down the beach. Parker was son interested, he had to pick up EVERY SINGLE SHELL he saw along the way. HAHAHAHA! I had to capture it on camera. Patrick and I just can't believe how big they are now. Check out are almost two year olds!