Video Monday: Brothers Inside and Out

If there is one thing that has become obvious to me this summer it’s this fact: Rory is going to miss his big brother when school starts again next month. They have been playing together practically every day since the middle of May, and while things aren’t always peachy between them, they do ultimately get along very well.

We’ve been spending lots of our time during the day playing up in Riley’s room. While you wouldn’t know it from all of the random crap toys scattered all around the downstairs of our house, Riley’s room contains quite a few things to play with, and Rory loves being up there with his brother.

In fact, things got a little crazy over the weekend up in Riley’s room, with Kenny throwing Riley through the air and onto his bed. I didn’t have my big camera up there with me so some of these shots are unfortunately blurry, but you get the idea. Fun was had.

Rory stood back and watched this happen, but then he wanted to be up on Riley’s bed too. He just wants to be close to his big brother, and he still reserves some of his biggest smiles for him.

 

The brothers have also been spending a decent amount of time playing together outside. It doesn’t seem to be as extraordinarily hot as summers in Louisiana usually are (but don’t get me wrong; it’s still pretty darn hot down here), so I can tolerate being outside with them for a little while here and there. Of course, playing in puddles just before dinner is preferable.

  

And turning on the hose always helps. It also doesn’t hurt to have a little brother who doesn’t really mind can’t do anything about being sprayed in the face. But remember, Riley-bean: payback’s a bitch. Rory could grow up to be bigger then you. Just saying.

 

 

Yep, no matter which way you look at it, these two are brothers inside and out.

I’m sure I’ll have to remind them of these days when they’re beating each other up or fighting over the tv or the computer or the phone, but I’m choosing to stay in the moment for now.

Those other days will surely be here way too quickly.

Happy Monday!

Pensacola 2014: Wrap Up

One thing about staying at our fun vacation house (aside from the bunk beds) that Riley misses being able to do on a daily basis is dock jumping. He loved jumping off the end of the dock into the water. Jumping into Nola and Nopsi’s pool just isn’t the same. So I put together three GIFs for your enjoyment.

Wonky potatoes.

Our time in Pensacola this year was fabulous. Having three kids under the age of 4 doesn’t exactly equate to a relaxing vacation, but everyone had lots of fun being together. (And we did manage to go through a bottle and a half of tequila, so there’s that.)

We found time to take family pictures on our last night, just before the kids had dinner and went to bed. As one might imagine, the whole process was comical…..

…..but we did get a couple of great group shots out on the back deck overlooking the sound.

We also got individual family pics, minus Nola and Nopsi, who declined a picture of just the two of them. Party poopers. The bottom picture of my little family is so typical but the top one ain’t bad at all.

And I did make sure to do our footprints in the sand picture again. Love this tradition that I started, even though it wasn’t my original idea.

This was the very last picture I snapped, right before we got on the road for home. I love that they get along so well.

And thus ends the beach trip recap posts. Thank you, Nola and Nopsi, for another unforgettable summer vacation. We all loved spending so much time together and had such a fun week.

Until next year…..

Pensacola 2014: Angels in the Sky

Most of our vacation was spent playing. Playing in the sand, playing in the water, playing on the outside decks, playing inside. Lots and lots of playing. Oh, and eating lots of snacks.

However, all playing came to a screeching halt early Wednesday morning when something very loud streaked through the sky overhead. Actually, what really happened was that Riley didn’t even blink, Kate freaked out and jumped into her mother’s lap, and all of the adults looked up to see what was going on.

This is what we saw.

The Navy’s Flight Demonstration Squadron, more commonly known as the Blue Angels, are based in Pensacola, and they performed in a huge air show the day we departed. (Y’all should have seen the traffic attempting to get into the city when we left that morning. Unreal.) Because of budget cuts, the Angels’ season was cancelled for a year, so this was their first big performance since 2012. Naturally, the crowds came out in full force.

And because we were there the week before the show, we got to see them practice. Three days in a row.

 

 

They flew early on Wednesday, so the kids got to see them. Riley was not nearly as taken with them as I thought he’d be. It was kind of a disappointing reaction, actually. And Kate was just plain scared. They were really loud, especially considering they flew directly over our house.

Their flight paths made for incredible pictures, but I was worried about the noise. They didn’t come out until mid-afternoon on Thursday and Friday, right during the kids’ naps. However, all three of them slept through every second of the Angels’ practice. Both days. Unbelievable.

We also saw a number of civilian planes practicing for the air show as well, flying in formation and drawing smoke pictures in the sky.

By Friday, there were loads more people in Pensacola Beach than there were when we arrived the Saturday before. It was very evident looking across the sound towards the bridge. So. Many. Boats.

All in all, we got to see the Angels run through their routine twice, and they were nothing short of impressive. We mostly saw 2 or 4 planes flying together, but we did see 5 and 6 for a bit one day. It is absolutely amazing how well those guys can handle those planes.

I loved that we were treated to this kind of lagniappe on our trip this year. And I love even more that we didn’t choose the next week to begin our vacation.

Sitting in that traffic would have SUCKED. It was reported that tens of thousands of people came out to see the show. Wow.

Last beach vacation post is up next. Are you tired of it all yet?