A princess party and DC

Just outside the Botanical gardens.

Pretty neat inside with plants and habitats from all around the world.

It was funny to see their display of "the west", Utah, and other dry states.

Showing how big the leaves were.

Jeff really waned to go downtown to see crowds at the Glen Beck rally on Saturday.

We did hear much (not that we could have with the poor coverage and set up of speakers...

and I'm not sure that Jeff wanted to...)

but we did enjoy the stroll.

Such a man! I love that Jeff carries H. He's good as golden in the Bjorn,

and with a big plate of french fries, who wouldn't be?

Luce ready to go to her Princess Class.

A girl in our ward, who is a ballet teacher, did a two day party/dance class.

The girls had a tea party, decorated goodies, made crafts and had some dance instructing!

She was super excited to go, and LOVED doing those fun girlie things.

Just after our Friday picnic.

Not only do we love going downtown for the entertainment,

but there are fewer bugs, and lots of green grass for running.

The kids were stoked to find this tractor and roller, just waiting to be climbed on.

While sitting on the roller, Luce turned to me and said

"Mama, you push us."

H is almost 6 months!!!!

Look at this stinker!

From my eyes, what I see an awful lot of!

I LOVE to hold Lucys hand, and she almost won't walk with out it. Yes!!

Monday, the kids and I headed to Mt. Vernon.

There weren't as many baby animals as in the spring,

but still the perfect place to stroll around.

We had our picnic lunch, and were enjoying the chips Luce picked at the shop.

The kids were as good as golden, and if it weren't for the (HOT) weather, it would have been

a perfect day.

Life's a BEACH

Its official. The Sanders Family, with our newest addition, has now had our

FIRST FAMILY VACATION.

We headed to Virginia Beach over the weekend.

The trip has potential to take as few as 3 hrs, but with traffic, well, can take as long as 6!!

The kids and I kept busy with Library books, Lucky Charms

and animal flash cards on the way down. They did stupendous, and we were thrilled when

it took just over 3 hours.

We couldn't help but make the most of the lounge chairs provided!

We stayed in a FABULOUS beach front hotel.

Greeting the morning sun, although at this point was well beyond morning.

This is the site I came to find after my glorious sunrise run on the beach.

Thanks to the thick shades you can pull over the windows the kids slept till nearly 8 every day.

I was nervous about sleeping all of us in one room

(Luce in her own bed and the boys both in pack n'plays)

but everyone did superb! They all sleep through the night anyway, so it was just a matter of us all sleeping in the same room.

Anxious to hit the waves.

Neither Luce or Chars took to the sand as I had hoped.

They naturally are not messy kids, (don't like to be dirty. I ask, what kid doesn't like to get messy? Really.) so the sand is their worst nightmare.

That didn't stop me from building a man hole for them though.

Perfect beach food! I always crave fresh foods while on vaca. so lucky for us

I had prepared ahead!

Here he is, the man himself. Neptune.

They have an AMAZING sand sculpting contest in Sept. called

the Neptune Festival.

Check it out, and perhaps we'll see ya then!!!

Miles and miles of glorious beach! We had great weather, all but the day we were to leave.

Warm days, cooler evenings with a great breeze (oh, and no mosquitos!!)

Making some sand castles. Our hotel is the one just behind us.

This was just after we'd seen about a DOZEN dolphins swim past for the second time!

Magical.

Our hotel was a DREAM. It had 4 swimming pools! Two of which were kid pools, equipped with tube slides and two lazy rivers! SO FUN!

They had a theater, kid zone (free babysitting) and free dining for the kiddos!

It was a delight.

Are you KIDDING ME!??!?!

We spent lost of our time down at the board walk.

After our dinner out on Saturday, we strapped the kids into one of the beach bikes!

SO FUN!

There were hundreds of people out. Walking, dancing, biking, swimming, dining..

it was a total party. There were bands, magic shows, and a great deal of laughter.

This bike was so much fun. The kids had a blast, and we all enjoyed the wind in our hair.

(well, everyone but Henry)

Trying to get a better view of the ladies.

Doing some people watching and running on the boardwalk.

On our way home we stopped in Richmond.

This is the ORIGINAL sculpture and ONLY sculpture George Washington allowed

plaster to be placed directly on his face.

This is the original, of which hundreds have been casted after.

Oh the way home...well, what happens in the car stays in the car,

but for a brief moment, this is what it looked like.

Yes, we did hit traffic.

Yes, the kids had snacks, snacks and more snacks.

So many that Lucy said "we're having a lot of snacks today"

We made it though, with so many memories of our first family vacation!!!

FIRE!!!

Right across the street from our library,

same location the YEAR ROUND farmers market is held, is a fabulous park called

Cherry Hill Park.

Thursday nights in the summer, they have free concerts.

Jeff and I enjoyed the music while the kids enjoyed the playground.

Win for everybody.

Lucys first date.

Not exactly the one from her dreams, and I'm sure much more noisy then she'd prefer.

While finishing our shopping, the kids noticed this beauty out the window.

We approached the truck to get a closer look,

and a fireman stepped out and let us have the grand tour.

He was SUPER nice, let the kids wear his gear, and showed them the interior

and explained how things worked!!

This helmet weighs nearly 10 lbs!!!

Both the kids usually plug their ears (as seen) when they hear sirens,

but I think this helped bridget the gap between scary and just noisy.

Times a flyin!

We've made it official.

Henry Jack Sanders

He was blessed on Sunday.

VERY sad for me, that no one but Jeff took part in the blessing.

No uncles, no grandpas and no great grandpas.

Lucky for me, he did look darling in his little outfit I made.

Oh how we love this baby!

I guess I don't feel like my kids are that close in age, its just how it is. But, when I look

at a picture like this, they really are all babies!!

Lucky me.

Not shown in the picture, the HUMIDITY!!! wow! Can't wait for the nice fall breezes!

What 7pm looks like at the Sanders home.

This is one of MANY times our power has gone out (for over 6 hrs!!!) and the best we can

do is sweat it out together, in the great out doors.

This is why I love Jeff. If he want to do something, he does it.

Even if that means taking a nap, ON THE COUTER, at 10:30 am. on Saturday morning.

Let your imagination run wild with this one.

Our popcorn picnic. The kids love popcorn, and don't usually have it.

So when we do, its got to be a big deal.

Oh, the people watching here is great.

If you can't get the candy open, just eat the wrapper too!