Splash pad

The parks department opened a new splash pad recently. Since it's so hot here...this will get much more use than a regular park will during summer. 

These fun buckets would slowly fill up and then pour onto your head!

There was water running down these slides so the kids would shoot off the end. We had some sore tushes today!

All in all, a thumbs up. Gage brought his water gun and loved being able to shoot anyone he wanted. There were big water cannons the kids could shoot people with all over the place. Walking through the splash pad...you never knew when a kid would nail you with a water cannon. Little stinkers! But, it got crowded very quickly after it opened..and the big kids were kind of rough. So...we had our fun and then went out for ice cream :-)

Hot beach day

So, savannah likes to dig in the surf line and find these little clams and put them into a bucket. She calls them "slurpies" because they dig down into the sand and put a little straw looking think out that she thinks they slurp something up with. She probably had 200 in the bucket but they all burrow down in.

It was hot this day, so we put our pop up shelter up for some shade, dug a big hole, and let the Kids go crazy. I taught them the wonder that is making drip castles. They loved it!

Of course Adam had to make the biggest one of all!

And while they played, Adam and I actually sat IN BEACH CHAIRS, relaxed, and drank some coronas.wow. I don't think we've ever done that before with the kids. They are growing up!

Zoo...hangout...etc.

A non- beach day. Well, we went to the beach for a morning stroll...

but then we went to the zoo. The consensus is that the zoo is getting boring for everyone.

So..we went to the hangout! After having lunch..the foam party started!

And after that...we watched a stunt dog show that the kids absolutely loved! Next up...ice cream...and a trip to the giant souvenier store where gage got a new shark stuffed animal to add to his shark family, and savannah for a stuffed mama & baby dolphin. And of course I had to buy some big starfish, sand dollars, etc because I can't resist them!

Beach sunset time

This is the best time of the day at the beach...just before sunset. Got sole great pics of the kids...

Adam caught a crab...everyone was terrified to touch him. Those claws hurt!!

And the kids made a "we love dad" sign inside a giant heart for Adam. But...they asked me to take a picture to give Adam on Father's Day and to "erase it from the sand" :-)

Beach...pool...beach

This is the first time these guys have slept in bunk beds....they LOVE them! We had a "lazy" morning sleeping in until 7:15!

After breakfast..we hit the beach early!  There were the usual beach shenanigans...wave jumping for savannah...and daddy-burying for gage.

But...we decided to bury gage too...and to give Adam some seaweed chest hair ;-)

On the way back to the condo..we walked through the gauntlet of flip flops...over the board walk...and then hit Gage's favorite part...the foot shower. I think we could play in the foot shower alllll day!

 The condo complex we stayed at had big bins of "complementary beach toys" - probably things people left behind. Gage loved these goggles..but I swear they made him look like an old man with a big nose ;-)

Savannah has been doing this trick for years. Gage finally joined the fun too!

Savannah is old hat at this now :-)

Dads are the best, aren't they?

Beach

We snuck in a trip to the beach! First stop...Tacky Jacks! 

Tacky jacks is on the harbor in fort Morgan...so we always cruise the docs for a while after dinner...even though the kids are terrified of falling off the sides since there are no railings :-)

Back to the condo...and just in time for a sunset walk in the beach. Gorgeous!!

Of course...Adam can't just walk by this big branch we found on the beach. Noooo...

Gage is in cheesey smile mode lately!

Beautiful way to end the day...

Mule day

Reading the paper this morning...and I see that it's the 26th annual Mule Day and Chickenfest in a town about 30 min away. Well, we HAVE to go to that, now, don't we?!?  

First up, a fun old police car.

Next up...tractors! Gage thought grandpa pauly wouId appreciate these!

Next, we came upon a some hound dogs. Blood hounds...coon hounds...hounds of all kinds. This guys name was Boceifus ...I bet he has quite a howl on him!

Then..we saw a sign for the old gordo jail. We anxiously rounded the corner and found this!

But...we asked and we were directed to the real old jail. It even has a sign. I was expecting a real OLD cell. Built in 1914, this had to be good...

Hmmmmm...this is it!? It's now someone's office. Not quite what we were expecting!!!! But, hey, these random things are what keep our little adventures interesting, right?

Next up....the mule parade! We got some shaved ice, found a shady spot, and waited for the main event!

There was a tractor parade an hour later...so we passed the time by riding the  most defunct looking carousel I have ever seen! You could not pay me to get on the other rides! They looked like death traps!

We could not wait a whole hour for the tractor parade. It's 88 with a real feel of 103 today..dripping with humidity. We were melting! But, as we got to our car...the parade started. So, we enjoyed it from the icy cold a/c in our car...as we guzzled cold drinks that I thankfully packed In a cooler.  

I couldnt help wondering how long this old fellow has owned this tractor. This is a Farming town...half the men there were wearing overalls. I have a feeling he's been driving that john Deere for a long time :-)

We liked the "piggy back ride seat" on this one!

This was a true, small town, southern festival. The only thing that was shocking was that they were selling roasted peanuts instead of boiled peanuts (which look like little cat turds, and taste like them too!).