Downward Dog

I am not entirely sure why the girls do this, but just before we left the beach each day, they both performed downward dog (Yoga move). Perhaps it is their Buddhist roots, or they may be trying to imitate mommy or daddy, I dunno. In any case, it is pretty comical. See for yourself...

Fun in the Sandbox

We had a really long day at the beach today, filled with lots of fun, sun, wind, sand, and more sand. I dug an even larger hole today, and proceeded to ring it with sand towers, a walled sand city of sorts. Digging in the sand is fun, and makes me feel like a kid again. The girls joined in as well, and we built the "bestest" sand Castleberry EVER!



Other things we did at what the girls insist on calling the "sandbox" (aka the beach)...stood in the water, ran around in circles, ate a lot of snacks (some covered in sand), and eventually got so pooped out that Vivienne passed out in the walled sand city. Unfortunately my camera was on the wrong setting, so most of today's pix were blown out and blurred. Damn shutter priority mode!!



We had fun.

Digging the Beach

We hung out at the beach again today, and this time we didn't see any bees. Nevertheless, Olivia's tummy was bothering her early on (they have both been fighting a nasty daycare bug) so we started off the second day wondering if we would be able to spend any quality time with the sand and surf. A little time passed and we were all enjoying ourselves, so things went well.

Mom and Vivienne (pictured) took a trip out to the water, while dad and Olivia chilled back at camp (~50 yards away). For some reason (bee aversion perhaps?), Olivia passed on visiting the surf today. She still had fun, and was later quite enthusiastic about constructing sand cakes with mommy and digging a giant hole with daddy. That's right, my big contribution of the day was digging a 3x3x2 (or similar dimensions) hole using only children's plastic shovels (and small shovels at that).



Here you see daddy and girls crouching in the hole. I later expanded the hole a bit and even built a sand slide which descended into the hole. The girls were totally hip to the slide.

Tomorrow...likely more beach time.

Oregon Beach and a Bee Sting

We are having a good time out here on the Oregon coast, where the girls have discovered a love for the beach. This is their first experience with the ocean (as far as we know) and they seem to love it. However, it didn't start out so great. Olivia's left foot had an unfortunate meeting with a bumble bee just 5 minutes after hitting the sand. We were walking through the tide and BLAMMO! OUCH!! She was OK after a few minutes, and now we know she isn't allergic to bee stings. I was stung by a bumble bee just the other day at home, so I know firsthand it hurt. I find it interesting that it was my first bumble bee sting ever (several honey bee stings as a kid), and then just a few days later Olivia met her first bumble bee sting. Oh well.

So, the girls are suited up and ready to conquer the beach again today! We will be bringing our heavy equipment (sand tractors) and doing some serious digging and perhaps attempting to make a castle. We'll see. Hopefully we don't meet up with any bees today.

Rainy Weekend for Two, in July?

The twins had their official 2nd birthday over the weekend, and boy did they have fun! They got to visit with Grammy, go to the aquarium (which involved the always popular ferry ride), eat cupcakes, play with their new doll strollers, and ride their cool retro trikes (with some assistance). What more could a toddler ask for? Oh yeah...two additional days off from school (aka daycare).

In addition to the fun and presents, the girls also got their wish that the sun would go away and be replaced by rain. Even in the Northwest rain in July is odd, especially the tropical variety we have been dealing with over the last several days. I guess Mother Nature was just trying to do her part to give the girls the best birthday a two year old could wish for. Or maybe it's global cooling that's to blame...

Piggies and the Evil Sun

The twins got their first pigtails on July 1st! They were quite thrilled with the process, and they affectionately referred to them as PIGGIES! They also call them PONIES! They now request them on a regular basis.

This picture shows the girls grumpily displaying their piggies. The grumpy facial expressions are the result of a run-in with their sworn enemy the SUN! I don't really understand why the girls dislike the sun so much. Anything, even a bright incandescent bulb, is annoyingly referred to as "SUN!". We asked the girls today, a bright, sunny and rare 95+ day, if they liked the rain or the sun. They quickly replied, "RAIN!". One of their favorite books is "Just a rainy day" which, by the way, is in need of replacing after MANY evening readings. I guess it was their destiny to end up in the Pacific Northwest.

In other news, rumor has it that Grammy (who lives in the phone, as far as the girls know) is coming for a visit from her new seaside home in San Diego next week. The girls are very excited!