Normally you think of a dozen eggs or a dozen donuts or bagels. Or a dime a dozen. Well, here I give you a dozen cousins!
At beach week this year we had 12 little grandchildren. As you can see there are four of them who are new to the beach this year. They were not yet born when were were all together last year. Aren’t they the cutest dozen you have ever seen? I think so.
After taking a round in the canoe the kids got out to do a little swimming in the bay. Katherine had seen Gabby in the water already and wanted to go in. Here they are having a good time.
Gabby is a little fish. And so flexible! She picks up her foot and brings it to her face as if it were nothing! (I think she must have stepped on a shell or something there and was examining her foot.)
They are so brave. Me, I’m a chicken. One year there were a lot of jellyfish in the bay and since then I haven’t liked to venture past my knees into the bay. Maybe I should get over that fear huh? But, I’m also happy standing on the shore taking their pictures.
Here’s a series of them playing in the water.
Look! A mermaid sighting!
Mermaids Lucy and Gabby having fun in the water.
Alan and Katherine. She really really loved going in the water. She just had to have the floaty.
And they’ve had enough.
Playing at the bay beach:
Katherine is adorable in the way-too-big for her life jacket. Check out her extremely curly hair. Just like her dad the salt air does wonders for her curls! It is so very cute!
Uncle Rich taking some of the kids for a tug in the tug boat…I mean raft.
A series of pictures of Alan and Katherine that I love.
Our videographer-slash-really-cool-uncle Manahi rarely gets his picture taken so I snapped a couple of him in action. (I wonder how that picture turned out…)
I love this one of Samantha and her cousins in the raft.
And after a very fun morning I think Samantha is done and ready to go back to the house for some well earned lunch!
Back at the Beach house:
Joseph was being really cute, looking around, listening to sounds and just happy so I grabbed my camera. You can see the extreme interest in his face. He really wanted to be part of all the fun!
He had his first smiles this week. I think starting this day even. Here is a glimpse of one. They were hard to catch and I didn’t manage to. Mainly because when he did smile I was busy scooping him up and giving him hugs. My heart just melted! I think he was inspired by his (only a week older) cousin Derek who was plenty smiley!
Note his shirt says “A Dozen Cousins”. He is the 12th grandchild. There were four grandchildren at the beach this year that weren’t born yet last year – Ainsley, Levi, Derek and Joseph. It was an amazing year for grandchildren!! (And for the grandparents!)
And yes, he has a suntan. It is really cute but I realized I needed to be more careful of him in the sun the rest of the week.
For PC, Gabby had homework to research an insect and learn about it’s society. Then make a video or some other media form about what she learned that also included the participation from her family. She researched ants. Here is her video and her findings are below.
Warning: The videographer was sitting atop a major ant who was warding off attackers from the nest while the video was being shot. So the footage is a bit shaky. :)
Here are the facts about ants that she learned:
1. There are many different kinds of ants such as fire ants, leaf-cutter ants, and honey ants.
2. Ants live all around the world, especially in forests.
3. Some ant predators are bees, wasps, hornets and humans.
4. The queen ant is not the only ant in the colony that has wings. The drones also have wings.
5. Leaf-cutter army ants (major ants) can cut through a leather boot.
6. There are 22,000 species of ants.
7. Minims are the smallest Leaf-cutter ants and care for the fungus gardens for the brood.
8. Minors are present in and around the columns and are the first line of defense for the colony.
9. Mediae ants are generalized foragers who cut leaves and bring them back to the colony.
10. Majors are soldier ants and protect the colony from intruders and also participate in other activities like clearing the main trails and carrying bulky items to the nest. (I think this is so funny – of course a soldier ant would be called Major Ant. haha!)
11. Worker ants and minim ants work together. The minim ant sits on the worker ant’s head to ward off attacks from the phorid fly which tries to lay its eggs on the ant’s head.
This morning we were getting ready to go to Samantha’s preschool field trip and I was explaining to Katherine that we were going somewhere to play. Samantha and I both have orange preschool t-shirts that we wear to field trips. The last and only time we wore them was to the pumpkin patch in October. Katherine came along on that field trip as well. She remembers the playground they had there.
So, she hears, “we’re going somewhere to play” and she see’s our orange shirts and asks excitedly: “we’re going to pun-kin patch?”
me: “no, we’re going to Bounce U”
Katherine very excitedly: “Yay! Bounce me! Bounce me!”
I thought that was so funny. I’d heard Samantha say the same thing when she was telling daddy about her upcoming field trip a few days ago.
“We’re going to Bounce Me on Thursday for our preschool field trip.”
Gotta love those little minds.
For those who have read my previous post you know I have a lot of money to raise. I have a few ideas and hope I can implement them.
First, I just want to say I am doing this because I want to do something big this year that means a lot to me. Something that will not only help me to get in shape but also have meaning. I had previously wanted to do a marathon but in light of current family events, I want to do this thing in Susan’s honor. We love her and will miss her greatly.
If there is anyone who would like to join me I would love to have some camaraderie. You can join as a crew member - $90 fee, 4 day commitment but no fundraising commitment, or as a walker - $90 fee, 3-day commitment and $2300 fundraising commitment. This one is in Philadelphia October 15-17, 2010.
I am eager to raise this amount not only because it will be a great thing for a great cause but also because if I don’t meet it I won’t be able to walk it.
I also hate to just ask for money so I am offering a couple services for each donation. See below (there are two):
Valentine’s Cakes!!!
For the month of February to anyone living in NJ/Newark DE/Elkton MD area.
For your $25 donation I will bake you a 10 inch heart shaped cake! If I get enough orders for Newark/Elkton I can bring several up. This is great for Valentine’s Day but why not celebrate Valentine’s anytime of the month. I won’t guarantee a Valentine’s delivery but depending on schedule and how many orders I get I’ll do my best.
Please make a selection from below and email me njladybug2@verizon.net or via facebook:
Cake flavors: chocolate, white, strawberry
Icing: chocolate buttercream, white or pink vanilla buttercream
I ask that the donations for these be submitted online. That will make it easiest for all. You can click on the link at the side of my blog page or search for me at The3day.org.
Please pass the word to your friends. It’s for a great cause!
Honor/Memorial Banner!!
For those who don’t live near me as well as those who do, I will be carrying a banner in the walk that will have personalized hearts attached to it. The banner will be a light fabric with appliquéd hearts that I will carry around my shoulders while I walk (like a hug). I will probably make a small quilt with it after the event to remember it by.
$25 will buy a heart that I will either send you so you can write a note or I can write it for you.
The notes are to honor those who have survived cancer or who have been taken by it. I am not picky as to the type of cancer – cancer is a killer/scary/terrible/life altering force in whatever form it takes – but do know that the donations are going to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure fund. I will carry those names and notes with me for all of those 60 miles.
For any of Susan’s family who want to donate, and anyone else for which there are several people wanting to honor one person, your personal note to that person will make this banner even more meaningful.
If you would like to send me a name or a note please email me njladybug2@verizon.net or via facebook.
I ask that the donations for these be submitted online. That will make it easiest for all. You can click on the link at the side of my blog page or search for me at The3day.org.
If you have mulitple names to submit – offer whatever you wish for them after the $25 and let me know how many. Note: you can make payments via a payment plan for 2-4 months.
Please pass the word to your friends. It’s for a great cause! I’d love to include names and notes from your friends who know someone. Ask around in your wards or at work.
It is official. This year, I'll be participating in a very special event called the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure.
I'll walk 60 miles over the course of three days with thousands of other women and men. Net proceeds from the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure™ are invested in community-based breast health programs and breast cancer research. The research funded focuses on decreasing breast cancer incidence and mortality in the next decade.
I've agreed to raise at least $2,300 in donations. So I need help. If you can, please consider making a donation. Keep in mind how far I'm walking - and how hard I'll have to train. You can donate online by just clicking on the Donate link in my 3-Day for the Cure widget on the side of my blog page and it will link you directly to my donation page. Or go to The3Day.org and search for me. You can donate anything you like. You can even do a payment plan if you’d like to donate more and pay over the course of 2-4 months. And don’t forget to check on your employers donation match policy too! You can also call 800-996-3DAY to donate over the phone.
Without a cure, one person will die of breast cancer every 13 minutes in the United States. That's why I'm walking so far. To do something bold about breast cancer. I hope that you'll share this incredible adventure with me - by supporting me in my fundraising efforts.
Thank you in advance for your generosity!
