Back to the Beach

Well, I'd say we had an eventful weekend.  Pretty good overall, but man, was I ever tired on Monday!

First, let me start with earlier in the week, as we noticed that Carter's loose front tooth (which has been ever-so-slightly wiggly for many months) was finally getting to the end stages.  It was bugging him a bunch when he was eating, and while it wasn't exactly hanging on by a thread or anything, it was getting looser.  I also noticed that his permanent tooth was already coming in behind it (just like Jacob's did).  We were close enough that I snapped some pictures one morning, just in case!

See the tooth hiding behind the left middle?

I really just wanted to capture his full baby tooth smile one more time, just in case...and while you can't see the bottom teeth well, how handsome is he with freshly combed hair and a big grin?!

On Friday we decided to go to our favorite gluten-free pizza place since we hadn't been there in a while.  Usually we get two pizzas so we have one for leftovers, so it's always nice to have that handy in the days that follow!  We had a busy weekend otherwise, so I figured that might be our best chance.  We had a tasty dinner at the restaurant and brought home some cookies, too.  Back at home, the boys settled on the couch to watch some TV, and all of a sudden I hear Carter say, "My tooth came out!"  He'd said that jokingly once or twice, so initially I wasn't sure, but sure enough, he pulled it out!  I think the pizza must have helped it along, because he did complain about it hurting as he ate. 

It's gone!

Proud kid!

He was very excited to leave it under his pillow for the Tooth Fairy, and came into our room first thing the next morning to show us what he got!  I'm definitely still adjusting to seeing that gap in his mouth, however short-lived it might be.  The tooth next to it is just a little loose, and no sign of its replacement yet.  I actually ran into a co-worker at our summer outing last week and her five-year-old had five missing teeth!  All four bottoms and one top were out, and there didn't seem to be any sign of them growing in.  Poor kid!  Teeth are so funny like that, though.  I'm mourning the official end of his babyhood, even though he hasn't really felt like a baby in a long time.  But those baby teeth are usually so hard-fought coming in that it's sad when they go.  The transition to the big kid smile has begun, and after going through it with Jacob, I know it's bittersweet--you get to see what their grown-up smile might look like (braces not withstanding), but you lose yet another link to the baby they once were...and God knows those links go quickly enough the older they get!

On Saturday morning I was rushing around just trying to get us packed up and ready to go to Buffalo for the rest of the weekend. My family reunion (#1 of 2) was Sunday, and Jacob was begging to go to the outlet mall to get sneakers before his basketball camp started this week, so we opted to go up Saturday and get in the mall visit before sleeping at my parents', in order to have a slightly closer vantage point to get to the reunion early-ish on Sunday.  It used to be even better when we stayed at Craig's parents' since they're only about 20 minutes down the road from the camp, but sleeping there is complicated now so the hour drive would have to do!  In between packing and food prep and all the other things on my list, I ran outside for a few minutes (initially to chat with our neighbor who was in the midst of a moving sale--guess the rental will be rented again!) and noticed the butterflies (and bees) swarming our coneflowers.  They were all over the place, and luckily one wasn't too skittish for me to get close enough to take pictures.  I kept waiting for it to open its wings to show the orange inside, but these were the closest I got!

A little peek!

As you may know from my issues with the butterfly garden at Strong Museum, I still find butterflies to be a bit too bug-like.  They're beautiful enough that I can usually just focus on taking pictures, but any markings that are too moth-like tend to freak me out.  This guy had a creepy white body, but when I let myself look at the outside of his wings, I was stunned by the detail.  And somehow my phone captured it.  Click to zoom in!

Stunning, no?

We finally got on the road sometime after 2pm, and opted to make Kohl's our first stop since we both had $15 in Kohl's Cash to spend.  It was rather challenging for both of us to spend it, but the kids were surprisingly cooperative as we searched.  Eventually I settled on bike shorts (which were my original target), a super cheap black cardigan, and a new casual watch to replace my old one whose protective clear plastic face fell off during our Lake Placid trip.  Bonus points--the one I picked actually fits my tiny wrist, which almost never happens!

We stopped at my parents' to drop off luggage and then headed to dinner at Mighty Taco.  That was actually more harrowing than it should have been as Jacob panicked about his usual choice.  He said it wasn't healthy enough, but then also expressed concern about getting taco meat on his Raptors' jersey, so who knows what the bigger issue actually was.  After a bit of a standoff, he settled on chips and guac (which he didn't even know for sure he liked but insisted he would eat--and he did like it and eat it).  Then it was off to the outlets for a tour of the major sports brand outlets - Puma, Nike, Under Armour - and finally Foot Locker.  Craig and Jacob both found some things--including Jacob's basketball sneakers, which I have given up the fight on--and then we headed back toward my parents' house.  However, Jacob was a bit hungry again at that point so we took a detour to Platters, the hometown chocolate factory that is now a coffee and ice cream hotspot, too.  Craig got dairy-free cookies and cream, his first "real" ice cream cone in ages, and Jacob opted for lemon ice.  Carter and I got treats from the chocolate store instead.  After that, I quickly ran into the Walmart across the way to pick up the ingredients for my salad for the reunion.  By the time we got to my parents', it was after 9pm and I think everyone was pretty exhausted.  After catching up with my parents, Carter went down fast and we were all in bed well before 11pm!

We were off just before 9am on Sunday morning so we could make it to church at the camp at 10.  I enjoy church there, as you sit outside among the trees and you can hear the waves from the lake.  The service itself is generally a bit of a wildcard, as sometimes there are visiting pastors and sometimes it's just camp staff.  It's always a very low-key, simple service, but this one actually included two baptisms.  The kids weren't thrilled to sit there, which doesn't bode well for the next month as Sunday School at home takes a break for some construction at that end of the building.  Anyway, once church was over, we unloaded our stuff from the car and the boys were all excited to go off and shoot hoops.

Eventually the reunion got rolling, with some tasty food and good company.  I was thrilled to see my uncle for the first time since a pretty serious bike accident a month ago.  He was riding in a charity bike ride (my mom also did it, but on a shorter route), and he and his friend somehow collided.  He broke his femur near the hip, some ribs, and completely destroyed his elbow.  With the help of a lot of titanium, he is shockingly mobile.  He uses a cane and has a contraption keeping his elbow mobile but protected.  He's generally an exceptionally energetic, positive person, and he's been through hell with this, but he's motivated to get back out hiking and doing all sorts of active stuff, so it's good to see him well on his way.  Perhaps even more exciting was when his sweet new granddaughter (who was only about a week old when all this happened) arrived!  I hadn't seen her yet in person, so I was thrilled to get a chance to hold her!

Say hi to sweet little Lucy!

She was so precious!  Babies are just so great...and maybe even better when you can hand them back when your arms get tired!  Haha!  She just snoozed and stretched and was generally so sweet.  She and her year-older cousin Emmy are going to be best buds in a year or two, I have no doubt.  It's amazing seeing your youngest cousins go through these life stages--of my three youngest, all of whom are sisters, two are married with babies and one is newly engaged.  It's so amazing to realize we're all grown up now and getting into the ages I remember all of our parents being.  But yeah, nothing is like a tiny baby!

Eventually I had to hand Lucy back and follow my own crew down to the beach.  It was an overcast day (though I did still manage some very mild sunburn, somehow), and the waves were huge--probably as large as I've ever seen them there.  The bigger problem, however, is that the lake levels that have wreaked havoc on Lake Ontario have also caused trouble on Lake Erie, and as a result, the beach was half its normal size.  Normally there's plenty of room to play, maybe 30 feet from the back wall to where the water comes in, but it was so much smaller.  If you counted from the wet sand to the back wall, it was probably about 10 feet at most.  That left most of the rest of the beach a rocky mess.  That beach has always been rocky, but in recent years there have been swaths of beach that were better.  But all that was left had lots of rocks and debris.  We still managed to play, but it wasn't quite what it once was. 

Craig took this and he has no idea why Jacob was holding his slides or what his facial expression was about...but it's funny anyway.

The waves were big enough that I was almost nervous to let Carter fill his buckets.  And a couple weeks ago there was a news story about how a dad died from a broken neck after a wave knocked him over, so I was cautious myself.  These waves were probably nothing compared to what did that, but still...I don't think I would have let Carter out swimming, even with a flotation device.  He happily constructed in the sand and collected rocks, even after Craig and Jacob headed up to participate in the family Corn Hole (beanbag) tournament.  I spent a lot of time letting the water wash over my feet while I scoured the rocky sand for beach glass.  I only found one piece this time, which was a bummer, but better than none! 

We were just about ready to start cleaning up to head back when we started feeling some drops.  Sure enough, I could see rain shrouding the land jutting out into the lake about a mile away, and I knew we were about to get hit.  Of course, we had beach toys scattered everywhere, a blanket and towels strewn about, and piles of rocks that the two of us had collected.  There were buckets still full of wet sand, and Carter had his beach shoes off and caked with sand.  As the rain poured down harder, he got antsy and I sent him up to shelter, though he didn't have his shoes on and I was never going to get them on his feet in that rain.  I frantically cleaned up the toys and threw everything in the bag, and then figured out which rocks we wanted most (Carter had his favorites and I was bringing more to edge for our flower bed) and hauled them up as well.  I was rather wet by the time I made it back into the building where the family was hanging out (which, I might add, is different than the shelter where we've always been for this reunion.  The camp has a Sunday brunch now in that shelter, and we are in an actual building that's more centrally located.  The new location is actually the spot of one of my fondest memories at the camp, when I was at a retreat in college and a friend played a group of us Five Iron Frenzy's "These Are Not My Pants" for the first time after our retreat dance party.  We were crying because we were laughing so hard.  Priceless.).  Anyway, once out of the rain I dried off and cleaned up a bit and found out that I won the "Guess How Many Gummy Bears" contest (I guessed 322 and it was 315).  Once Carter and I were out of our wet clothes and I had collected our food dishes, it was time to go!  The rain had cleared up by then, so it was an easy stroll to the car and a pleasant ride back.  And the extra leftover pizza came in handy at home!

Overall, it was a fun weekend with some quality family time.  I'm not sure I've recovered yet since I've had a mild headache all week.  Work is making me a little nuts, and Craig is leaving tomorrow for southern California, where there's a major national box lacrosse tournament that he's covering.  It'll be a challenging few days, but luckily we're going back to Buffalo this weekend for another reunion, so that will kill a little time that I'd otherwise be spending trying to keep the kids away from each other.  With August on the horizon I feel like I'm getting back into that mindset where I have a million things to do and I barely know where to start.  I'm off work on Friday but still have to haul both kids off to their respective places that morning, and I have some considerably less fun things to do with my time that day.  Hopefully I can be productive and take some of the mental load off, but I know how those days usually go.  Never a dull moment this time of year, I guess!