Convention at the beach

I keep my dental hygiene license active in AZ.  It is just comforting to me to know that it's there. In order to keep it current, I have to take continuing education courses.  AZ requires 54 credits every three years.  18 credits a year, if you do some each year.  But...when you're not working, it's so easy to let time slip by. And all of a sudden it's time to renew. And I don't have enough credits. And I have to fork out big bucks for whatever classes are presented right this minute. And end up paying a $100 late fee.  All for a license I don't even use!

I was convinced that I was NOT going to slack this time.  And the easiest way to rack up the CE credits is to attend conventions.  In NC, our convention happens to be every May...at Myrtle Beach.  Lucky us!

Last time we attended this convention was in 2009. Caroline was almost ONE, Whitney was five, and Brandon was close to turning eight.  None of them were great swimmers.  Andrew had quite an adventure with them while I was in classes.  He blogged about it here.  I was happy that I was the one sitting in a classroom and that HE was in charge of those kiddios.

We had quite the opposite experience this year.  The kids are so much more independent. Brandon and Whit are both good in the water and Caroline seems to know her limits pretty well.  Plus, we've found a better hotel to stay at that we love. So this year, I was stuck in classes all day while longing to be with my fun family out at the beach!

I did get one afternoon off...so I should be happy for that instead of feeling completely robbed of sun and sand.  It felt so wrong to come home from three days at the beach and have my skin whiter than it was when we got there!

Caroline forgot to pack her swimsuits.

Don't think I can blame HER for that one.

Mom should have OBVIOUSLY double-checked

the four-year-old's packing job.  

Luckily, Whit was happy to share one of her suits with her lil' sis.

It makes my heart happy that these two have finally become friends.

Fingers crossed that it lasts.

 Look at all those mussels!

 Ready to hit the waves.

Yee haw!

Brandon and Whit spent quite a bit of time in the water.

Caroline was mostly content to play in the sand.

She likes to dance to the rhythm of the waves.

Or let the surf tickle her toes.

Eventually she worked up the courage and told 

her daddy that she wanted to try boogie boarding.

Go girl!

She got water up her nose on her second wave.

That was the end of it.

One evening after my classes, I talked everyone into

letting me do a little family photo shoot down on the beach.

I LOVE beach photos!

And all of that soft sand just SCREAMS for action shots!

This one cracks me up.

 Love this one.

I think this is my favorite.

I was losing light, but I love

the blurry effect it created.

Poor Andrew's back is bothering him again.

Nooooooooo!

Between that and his still-recovering ACL,

not a lot of action shots of him.

This is about as action-packed as it gets:

gingerly stepping off a two-foot drop-off.

Oh, and we also had a great time

 in the hotel water parks.

Brandon particularly enjoyed stuffing Whit

in the basketball pool.

I ended up getting 18 hours of continuing ed, which is awesome.  Done for the year!  I learned all about dental implants, periodontal surgery, OSHA guidelines, and drug abuse. While it didn't necessarily make me want to go back to work, it did help me remember how much I love all things dental. If I ever do go back, I'll enjoy it. 

Next time we do the beach convention, though, I vote that we stay an extra day so I can play more!

Science Center Field Trip

Ok, so I had just taken Caroline to the zoo two days earlier, but if her preschool class is going on a field trip the science center....whatcha gonna do?  Look at more exotic animals with her.  This time with friends in tow.  Caroline has a couple of really close friends at school, so it was fun to spend a day together with them and get to know their moms a little better, too.

  She's in a big class this year!

Her two besties from school.

Neither of them will go to her elementary. Boo.

(C was having a good hair day, huh?)

Tiger

 Wallaby

 Sheep hiney

Gorgeous peacock

(that C was terrified of!)

I always love to check for the meerkat on patrol

Caroline took over the camera for a while

and got this shot of a tarantula.

Creeps me out.

Petting a flea--

exactly what all 4-year-old girls like to do.

B's latest tricks

Brandon and has friend have come up with a new way to entertain themselves.  They set up his ramp on the street, sit on their skateboards, and ride down the hill. Hilarious. I probably should have made him grab his helmet, but didn't think of it until it was too late.  Next time.

This kid is so fun.  I hope he survives the teenage years.

Going to the zoo

Caroline has been begging me to take her to the zoo for the last several months.  We have the little zoo at the science center where we go regularly.  But I haven't taken her to the real zoo in....a long time.  Long enough that she doesn't ever remember going.  She was dying to see a giraffe and a gorilla. (The circus fulfilled her yearnings to see elephants!)  We finally had a free day so just the two of us headed down to the real zoo.

She was SO excited and SO super cute.

She dressed in a monkey shirt,

leopard print skirt,

and paw print socks.

She was SO ready for our African Safari!

 She also asked me to do her hair like a lion's mane.

I wasn't sure how to pull that off, so I told her I could do it like a giraffe's horns.

 She was happy with that.

(Here she is showing her giraffe face.)

 We got to see lots of Mommy animals in action.

Mommy chimp having a pretty intense chat with her little one.

Baby giraffe making smoochy lips at mom.

Piggyback ride for baby gorilla.

(They had baby gorillas!!!  Loved it!!)

Poor gorilla mom.

Haven't we all had days like this?
I wish I could have told her, "It gets better! Hang in there!"

Baby turtle hitching a ride.

It was a warm, beautiful day and Caroline and I had a blast.

I'm starting to get sentimental about her starting kindergarten in the fall.

I love hanging out with her during the day.

I'll totally miss it.

Other sights from the day:

I call this one, "Elephant and Reflection." 

Caroline loved climbing on all the statues and saying,

"Take my picture!"

The only thing that is just as cute as baby gorillas???

 Baby chimpanzees!!

It was my lucky day.

Upside down baby chimpanzee.

 

 We took a couple of rides on the carousel.

Do you think she liked it?

 They had a great play area, too.

 C showed off her hula-hooping skills.

Had a blast at the mud cafe.

And made some GIANT bubbles.

She loved following the sea lion as he swam by the window.

Zebras fascinate me.

And riding the tram is always a highlight, too.

I had such a great time that I'm already itching to go back.  And maybe take the rest of the family. Or maybe just me and my preschooler again. (I can only say that for another week!)

Mother's Day

One of my favorite days of the year!

This year, I got invited to Mother's Day Tea at Caroline's preschool.   Holy cow.  They went ALL OUT for us.  

It started off with a musical program where they sang songs

about how much they loved us and how adorable we are. 

Wouldn't that be nice to hear every day?  :)

 The kids were all so excited to have their mommies at school.

They presented us with cook books.

Caroline included her recipe for Diamond Cake:
First, use crystal eggs and drop them in a pan.
Then add a little oil and water. 
Then stir for about an hour.
Next add strawberry mix and stir for 1 more hour. 
Put jewels in, like sapphires and rubies. 
Put in the oven for about 20 hours. 
Take out of the oven, slice and then eat!

Scrumptious. (and painful.  and expensive.)

Look at our pretty flowers we got to take home!

And what a beautiful portrait!

It included a fill-in-the-blank questionnaire on the back.

I love those things.

Here's what Caroline had to say about me:

 My mom is 25 years old.  (I didn't even pay her to say that!)

My mom likes it when I hug her.

When I am at school my mom is sometimes studying and sometimes playing tennis.

My mom's favorite thing to do is play with me.

My mom is prettiest when she goes to church.

Look at all the goodies we came home with!

Such a sweet morning to share with my Care Bear.

On Sunday, I had another great day.

Andrew and the kids spoiled me.

They did their annual photo shoot with me out back.

Me and my munchkins.

B's catching up to me!

Andrew made dinner:  vegetable lasagna with rolls and salad.

Yummmm.

I loved B's "supermom" card.

He also cracked me up with his note that said,

"Mom, Thanks for the underwear.  It really helps."

Fun, fun day.

I love being a mom and all the lessons that I learn from my kids as I do my best to raise them righteously.