A week in pictures

And nowwww it's time forrrrr...my annual post about our summer vacation! The pictures and people, for the most part, stay the same (haha) - the boys just get bigger! Last year Alex was just a baby, snoozing in his carseat and laying there on a beach blanket all nice and clean. This year...boy did he just want in on the action. Shovels! Sand! Swimming! Both he and Ashton played their hearts out at the beach every single day. We simply had the best time, there's nothing else to it. I got to go for some beautiful island runs, the men got up before sunrise to fish, Berg/Karen/Jayden came for a couple days and then Ben/Kari/Callie came for a couple days and overall, Ashton and Alex spent a perfect week in the sun with Grandma and Grandpa and GG. Oh, and we ate and drank really well. Oof.

This will come as a shock, but I have TONS of pictures. Very nearly an unmanageable amount. I've decided, for ease of your reading experience, to divide them into categories. Here we go.

1. Bugs

A huge bulk shopping trip is always necessary before hitting BI. The grocery store there is very expensive (and by expensive I mean $13 for a container of orange juice). So we like to go to BJ's first and Jason came home with this in addition to what was on our food list.

It's a bug kit! And that main gun there, with the yellow barrel? It's a vacuum. Sucks those bugs right up so you can put them in the MAGNA BUCKET and stare at them. Boy I couldn't wait to get out there to see what I could find! I was so excited, Jason really knows me well and gets me the best presents.

Pbbbthhh NOT. I was like no way on earth am I leading that expedition. Good luck. Thankfully Jason, Uncle Berg, Uncle Ben and GG all took turns going out with Ashton. Bug hunting quickly became part of the daily routine when we got home from the beach but before we had dinner. The house we rented has lots of rock walls and miscellaneous things for creatures to hide under and Ashton had prized trophies after every trip: potato bugs, centipedes, crickets, spiders, ants...you name it. National Geographic ain't got nothin' on us. 

I'm happy to say, no bugs lost their lives as a result of these backyard safaris. If you know any preschool age boys and need to get them a present, get them this. Ashton LOVED it. The vacuum gun may have had something to do with it.

2.  Beach

Quite possibly the most bulky category. We went every day to the same spot at the same time. We dug a lot of holes. There was a lot of sand. The boys (and when I say boys I include all the men in our group) were very busy and rarely even looked up. The pictures are not award winning, but nonetheless...

3. Boys and babies

This category has general combinations of, well, boys and babies. See how creative I was there? 

3a) In the clean: Jason gave Ashton and Alex their rinses after the beach every night in the outdoor shower (show me a vacation where I don't have to do bathtime and I'll show you a happy mama!) ;) 

3b) Boys and babies at breakfast: the kids ate all their meals at the island together.

3c) Boys and babies with GG.

3d) And in general, hanging out and looking cute.

4. Fishing

Grandpa and the men got up several mornings before sunrise to go surfcasting. Personally, I slept. The one time we all went to the inlet for cocktail hour, Ashton caught a flounder. He was initially excited but then petrified and said "I don't like flounder" about a hundred times over the next two days. (Incidentally, it was barely big enough to keep and despite life-saving efforts, it had unfortunately swallowed the hook so we took it home for Saturday night's fish fry :-/ )

5. Birthdays

Let's just say the fish (besides Ashton's flounder) weren't really biting last week so Jason and Ben hit the seafood market for Ashton and Callie's joint birthday dinner on Saturday night. Now, ALL Callie had to do was be born 2 hours later and she and Ashton would have shared an August 3rd birthday. But nope, she came on August 2. Fiiiiiiiine. So she was turning 1 and Ashton was turning 4 so we threw them a mini-party.

Alex was upset not because it wasn't his party but because I would not give him the dustpan. (What? He had no pile!)

It would figure that our last night was one of the most beautiful ones. We had an amazing dinner followed by a (shared) birthday cake and presents. Callie got new shoes, Ashton got a new Paw Patrol backpack and lunchbox, and all was right in the world.

5. Bye bye

Wow I'm sick of this post haha. Too many pictures! Too late now ;) When I think of the memories I want Ashton and Alex to have of growing up, I hope there are always summer weeks on Block Island for them to look back fondly on. Ashton's first official trip was 2013, then there was 2014, and this year I think he enjoyed it more than ever. At 4 years old his mind and his heart are totally open and his curiosity and zest for everything is just so...awesome.

To Block Island (and the Fagan House and Grandma and Grandpa and GG and Berg and Karen and Jayden and Ben and Kari and Callie) - we could not have had a better time. Thank you for another amazing week!! Much love, the Nills xx