Happy New Year!

I know I still need to blog about Zachary's fifth birthday party and Christmas but we just got back from the beach yesterday where we spent New Years. It was so much fun I wanted to post about it while it is all still fresh in my mind. The five of us went (this includes our dog Simon), John, Sarah, Sophie & Dixie, and of course, Martin & Linda. We got there late Wednesday afternoon. The wind was pretty strong so it was super chilly. We wanted to shoot off fireworks for New Years but it was just too windy. Having a fire cracker come down on the roof would not be a good way to start the new year. We grilled burgers and had a yummy meal. The kids played a lot and all three slept well that night. Thursday's weather was much better. Sarah and I took the girls in town to go to a really neat park. They had a blast climbing up all of the stairs and going down the slides. This post would be twice as long if I put in all of the pictures of the girls playing together. So I will add a few slide shows. The first one is of Addie & Sophie at the park:

That afternoon the weather was so nice we sat outside while the kids played in the sand.

The guys (including Zach) collected all of the drift wood in the area and piled it up for a bonfire.

That night we lit the fire and roasted marshmallows and made smores. Zachary likes all three (graham crackers, marshmallows & chocolate) but prefers to eat them separately. We did get him to take a few bits of a smore though. The many faces of Zach....After dinner Jason and John put on a spectacular fireworks show! Fourth of July Addison didn't like the fireworks so much, they scared her. This time she really enjoyed them. She sat with Pop and ate graham crackers and ice.I asked Zachary how loud the fireworks were. He said they were this loud.Zachary & GrandmamaJason & John resting after the fireworks display.Throughout our time there Addison and Sophie played really well together. The first time they've truly interacted with each other. First they played on some chairs then in the blinds. It was so funny because one would shake the blinds and make the other laugh. Then the other would do it. I've made another slide show of all of this... Friday was yet another beautiful day. The guys collected more driftwood to make an even bigger fire. This time the girls and I watched the fireworks inside. They really enjoyed the show! Dixie on the other hand did not. She does not like the noise of the fireworks and paced around the house with a tennis ball in her mouth.Simon just chilled out.After the fireworks we had a yummy dinner, boiled shrimp. I actually ate them. They were really good. We had such a good time at the bay for New Years! Hope everyone had a great one as well!!