Why Crafts should always be supervised....

The other day I had a friend over and the kids were all running around crazy so I pulled out some markers, crayons, stickers and paper for them to do crafts with at the kitchen table-sounds pretty harmless I was thinking....
First they found the glue sticks, then the glue bottle.  Still going ok minus some popsicle sticks glued down to the table.  My friend and I were talking in the family room.  We couldn't fully see them but could hear what was going on.
I stepped into the kitchen to check on them and noticed the scissors (not even sure where they found them) were out and Lauren was cutting her hair.  Definitely something lots of kids do but it could go bad quickly.  Luckily she just made some "bangs" before I got in there, and cut some hair underneath the rest so it blends in without being noticed.  Who knows where she was headed!

Before......

A couple days later we went and got her hair cut, and I think it actually turned out really cute!

....and after

Lacivita Beach Week, July 2011

Notice the beer and chicken bone....

Two years ago when we all went to the beach I decided to change the name of the trip from beach vacation to family reunion because with two kids it was no vacation.  I remember telling Lauren, who was almost 2 at the time, that I was going to throw her in the ocean and even though I really wouldn't do that I was close:).  Fast forward two years and I might actually call this trip a vacation!  Even with having three kids there this time.  It was fun to see family that we don't get to spend a lot of time with and my kids love playing with their cousins, aunts, uncles, etc.

We had some rainy days in the middle of the week but that allowed plenty of time for crafts and games.  The rain did make the walk to the pier a little more stressful but Jason saved the day by getting the car.  Judy kindly gave us an umbrella, but little did she realize that one umbrella and 4 kids is not the best mix-everyone wanted it:).  I did venture upstairs sometimes to find my kids watching a whole new slew of tv shows, and to their dismay, I usually ended up bringing them back downstairs.  One of the cousins quickly learned to turn the tv off when I got to the top of the stairs...

Cousins hanging out upstairs

Of course, there was plenty of food, like always. Edited to add-Ok, I knew we ate a lot but just started going thru the pics to see if we had any with food and there are a ton! Here are some.....

Taco Night

Grilling.  I'm not even sure what was grilled

because it rarely made it upstairs

Jason making shrimp burgers.  I think thats some firefly
in his cup....

Needless to say, he really loved the dessert....

"Everytime I put a slice of bacon on the
plate it disappears!"

She managed to eat the whole burger.....

Yes, we even bought a deep fryer and had fried Ice Cream,
Onions, Zucchini, Chicken Nuggets, poppers, French Fries, hash browns,
and many other "not-so healthy" items

Fruit Kabobs, Thanks Holly!

A. Lynn making breakfast

We also had a great time playing in the sand, walking to the pier, swimming in the ocean, playing softball, volleyball and bocce ball(game is better than the drink!).  Jackson learned to ride the waves in-thanks for the lessons uncle Mike! 

And, for the parting question--who is coming next year??