The Pool

 We spent a lot of time in the pool while we were at the beach last week.  All of the older girls have gotten pretty good with their swimming.  Us adults are now at the point where we can sit beside the pool and monitor them (as opposed to actually having to get into the pool ourselves).  The girls spent some time working on perfecting their diving skills.  They especially liked going after the diving rings that were thrown onto the floor of the deep end.

Cassie and Quincy brought their beaus to the beach- and we loved having them.

Melanie and her niece had a condo in the same building this year, so we saw lots of them.  Owen was especially glad that Emory was around- he likes having another boy to play with.

We had hoped to have Owen swimming by the end of the week, but it did not happen.  He has one tube remaining in his ear, and that continues to be an issue.  Hopefully this will be resolved soon.  It's getting to the point where he is too old to be wearing water wings.

The Beach

We have just returned from our yearly beach vacation to Fernandina Beach, Fl.  I have quite a few pictures that I'm planning to post, so I'm going to split them up. These first few were my favorite pictures taken on the beach or in the ocean.

Beach games like cornhole and ladder ball are always a big hit with adults and kids alike.

 Boogie boarding continues to be the kids' favorite beach activity.  The news was reporting the possibility of rip currents due to the previous week's tropical storm, so we made the kids wear water wings when they went into the ocean.

Brian decided to show the kids his boarding skills.

Fireworks

We celebrated the Fourth this year by eating hamburgers and boiled peanuts.  Later in the evening, the kids went to see the fireworks with their daddy.  I didn't go because we were leaving the next morning for the beach (and I was tired from packing).  Everyone reported that they had a great time and that the fireworks were good this year.  There was a family parked near Brian that had a little boy and girl. Olivia and Owen enjoyed playing with these kids while waiting for the fireworks to begin.

Mary Poppins

This year's kid-friendly show presented by the Peach State Summer Theater Series was the play "Mary Poppins".  As usual, we attended with Granny Mel.  Julianna was old enough to go this year, and Natalie and Audrey also joined us.  Prior to the show we had a delicious meal at Cheddar's.  The kids all loved the show and have been singing the songs from it ever since. We are always so impressed by the performance, and we love spending this time with Granny Mel.

Weird Animals

 This week has been a busy one- VBS week.  Our VBS theme was "Weird Animals".  Each night the kids learned that no matter what, Jesus loves them.  We also raised money throughout the week to help provide clean water for children in India.  I lead the "games" station for the third year in a row.  That's always a fun station.  The kids learned a lot and had lots of fun.  At the end of the week, Olivia asked if we could have VBS all summer long.  I don't know if the adult volunteers could handle an all summer VBS, but I guess that her asking is a sign of true success.

Meeting Addie

On the last day that we were in Delaware, Gary and Katie came to visit- bringing with them our niece Miss Addison Grace.  Yes, she really is as cute as she looks.  Needless to say, this little princess was not lacking for attention.










It may not look like it, but she was really glad to meet her cool Aunt Lealane (and I was happy to get that sweet baby sugar).

Of course, we were also happy to see Gary and Katie.  















 Here's Nana with all of her grandkids.

And here are most of the Sanders men.

Manassas

 Since we were already on the other side of D.C. (at the air/space museum), we decided to visit Manassas (Bull Run) Battlefield. We started at the Visitor's Center where we watched a presentation of the first battle on a light up map.  Brian and I thought it was cool- the kids not so much.  Fortunately for them it only lasted six minutes.  We then hiked a portion of the Henry Hill Loop Trail, which was the scene of much of the action during First Manassas.



There were a lot of markers along the trail that told us about what happened at each site.  There were also a lot of cannons, which the kids liked.

Henry House

"There Stands Jackson Like A Stone Wall"

It was at Henry Hill that Stonewall Jackson earned his nickname, so naturally there was a large statue dedicated to him.

 I never realized how big the battlefield was.  It was impossible to see everything in the time that we had.  We did want to visit some area from the Second Manasses, so after leaving the Henry Hill area, we went to Stone Bridge and hiked the Stone Bridge Loop.

This trail was awesome because of the variety of the landscape.  It started off by going over the bridge, followed by a boardwalk over a swampy area, then a climb up a hill, then a hike through the grassy battlefield area, followed by a trail through a forest, and ending with a path alongside Bull Run (river). We all really enjoyed the park.  I wish we would have had more time to spend there.