Beach Trip

I guess one of the reasons I haven't been blogging is I have been doing things.  The school district here was on spring break this past week, so Ian had the opportunity to invite a friend over.  I took them to the beach on Monday so they wouldn't spend the entire day on the Wii.

I'm also working harder on taking the kids out...we were inside so long this winter and Lula was in even longer because I wouldn't take her outside last summer!  Taking seven kids, two of them babies, out for adventures takes practice.  People say they don't know how I do it.  I have to practice, starting with a short trip to the park, a quick trip to the beach on a work day, a trip to the zoo with other adults as backup...remembering two sizes of diapers, back up clothing for spit up or blow out emergencies, baby bottles and water bottles...you get the picture.

Lula LOVED walking out in the water....but she had to be careful...the crabs were very active on Monday!

This picture is of Ian pulling his hands OUT of the water when a large crab went on the offense when Ian tried to pick him up:

I've seen and taken lots of pictures of splashes from objects entering the water, but I've never seen water splash like that from an object exiting the water.  Ian was moving FAST!

Ian's friend is an only child, so hanging out with us is an adventure for him too.  He includes the younger siblings in the fun and has a special place in his heart for Daniel.

 Fiona is getting pinched by a little crab in the picture above....

 ...and the two crabs in these pictures were caught fighting!  Evie saw one crab grab the other's claw and crush the exoskeleton with a big CRUNCH!

 You can see the wound in the picture above.  It's on the crab's left claw, by the first joint.

Always the joker, my son, throwing Ninja Stars...