The Rest of August - Part 1

After writing about the beach, I kind of forgot to keep blogging.  If you read this AND like the updates, please nudge me to write again.  I forget sometimes even though I'm still taking lots of pictures most of the time. :)

The rest of August was filled with lots of things.  For Noah in mid-August, it was a bunch of firsts: (from top left to bottom right) lost his first tooth before school, rode a school bus for the first time, first day of second grade, and first soccer practice.



 I turned 31.  I still don't feel like 31 is nearly as old as I probably thought it was when I was 21.   Anyway, my mom was still in Maryland as her condo's settlement was delayed.  (Background: I don't know if I said this before on the blog or not, but my mom was eligible for retirement after working for 42 years!  After her joint replacements, I think she was ready to retire but wasn't positive until we moved.  She retired two weeks or so after we moved.  Then, she was going to move to Tennessee to live with us!)  She was really bummed to miss my birthday (she hadn't missed being with me for one yet!), but I told her it would be fine.  We'd celebrate once settlement was over, and she could move here for real.

Well, imagine my surprise when the doorbell rang, and I looked through the window to see my mom and Wendy (our "adopted" family member).  They drove down from Maryland for a long weekend for ME, for my birthday!  I felt so loved.  The funniest part is that, once I saw it was them, I freaked out in an unusual way: I didn't answer the door, circled around the house, and came back to the door to unlock it.

Once I got over my surprise, I gave them the in-person tour of the house.  They'd seen it through Skype and pictures, but this way was much better.  One of the best parts was when we -- all four of us -- went to pick up Noah from the bus stop.  He was shocked and happy to see Grandma and Aunt Wendy.  :)

 
For my birthday celebration, we went to dinner for the first time at a recommended restaurant: the Lakeside Tavern.  I loved it.  I instantly knew this would be a go-to restaurant for special occasions.  =)

Group picture:



The view:


Though Drew was being silly licking his straw, I love how sparkly his eyes are in this picture.


Wendy and my mom on either side of me:


The most recent family photo (with Drew as a blur but happy):


I had a delicious meal with scallops and a free dessert, too!




Once we got home, I got more cake, and my family sang Happy Birthday to me.

 

The Beach - Part 3 of 3

I got sunburned.  Badly.  I cannot remember when I have been that badly burned.  I'm pale and know it, so I am okay with single-handedly funding the sunscreen industry.  When I got burned on Tuesday, I was very uncomfortable and tried very hard to not complain and wear a sad face.  I'm sure I failed a lot, but thankfully it got a little better with each day.

This back story is why I'm wearing this many clothes (including a make-shift scarf from a bathing suit cover-up).  You don't need to tell me.  I know I looked amazing. ;)


I think it was Thursday or Friday morning when Steve, Noah, Drew, Karina, and I went on our shell hunt.




Drew was a little sleepy, so he snuggled his daddy a little.


Drew woke up some when he saw some dogs on the beach.





We kept on walking and found some shells.

 

 

 

 

 

 


By the time we decided to turn around to go back to the house, Drew had fallen asleep in Steve's arms.


Overall, it was a great beach trip and was especially sweet to spend time with our families since we moved to TN.

The Beach - Part 2 of 3

On Monday (I think!), we went fishing.  I didn't actually fish since I didn't have a fishing license, but Noah did (kids under a certain age don't need one).  Steve, Katie, and her boyfriend Kyle all bought licenses.  Honestly, I'm glad I didn't this trip because I enjoyed just taking pictures and talking with Noah.

Kyle was patient in showing Noah some things about fishing.


Here was some bait.


I loved watching Steve and Noah bonding over this fishing trip.
 


We had some interesting weather. Here it was nice and sunny with a little breeze.


Noah seemed a little more grown up holding a fishing rod and spinning the reel.
 

 

 
 
 
Steve enjoyed fishing, too.


It was nice to just sit and look around and watch the water.

 

 

 


We didn't see a lot of commotion, so I took pictures. This is a wristband to get on a public pier. We had to pay for it. I didn't really understand. :)


A momma and her not-so-little baby boy.

Suddenly, there was noise and shuffling feet and a whirring sound. Someone near us caught something!


It was a stingray that they released back in the water.


After checking out our neighboring fisherman's catch, Noah lasted about five minutes without making a catch of his own. So, we went for a walk to the end of the pier.

We went up onto the second level to get a good view of everything.

I didn't realize until we were up there just how many people were fishing.

Noah saw this little bird and started laughing.

He finally caught his breath and exclaimed, "Mommy! He's not obeying the rules!" (Do you get it?)


I took some pictures of the bait after we came back to try some fishing again.

Bloodworms! Yuck.
 

After seeing the bait, I decided to talk to Katie. As we started chatting, her line went taut. She caught something!


Can you see it?


Yep. It was an eel.


Katie caught not just one but two eels. Although, Kyle was thinking it was the same eel.


It was very moody looking in the sky.






Yet, you could see our beach house if I zoomed in from the pier. It's the salmon-colored one to the left of the taller green one to the right in the picture.


In the last post of the beach pictures, I'll show you pictures of the beach and searching for shells.