The Blessed Beach Week

This past week my side of the family headed to Virginia Beach for our annual beach week. It was wonderful. Here are quite a few pictures, which are very out of order (sorry), outlining what we did throughout this past week:

We played in the pool (Taylor)
We spent time with cousins (Carly and Brooklyn)
We had a sandcastle building contest (Ryan, Tay, and Ashby)
The Team Hatch castle- They won the award for most affluent castle due to best use of helicopter landing pad and airplane runway
The Team Scott castle- They won the award for best interior design due to the use of sea shells and sea weed.

The Team Johnson castle- They won the award for Best use of props. Check out the drawbridge, the fence, and the fire pit in the back.
(More of the building process Stacey and Taylor)
The Team Stringham castle- They won the most zen like castle because the area was combed well with a plastic rake.

We judged the contest (and maybe it was a little too bright so Aaron had to wear my sunglasses, and maybe he looked awesome)
More building (Mema and Poppy)
More building (Ellen and Don)

We had a birthday party for Carly who turned 6.

We took lots of pictures of the grandkids (Emma, Taylor, Carly, and Brooklyn)
We were mesmerized by the trash truck
We may or may not have face planted in the sand...

We took awesome family photos

We placed flowers in our hair and then forgot they were there when people started taking pictures.

We laughed a lot (Emma Lu)
We went to chick-fil-a.
We took a girls picture (Mema, Ashby, Stacey, and Me)
We watched dolphins in the ocean (Taylor, Emma, Ashby)
We went for midnight swims and looked sexy at the same time (Ryan and Aaron)
We spent a lot of time in the hot tub once the kiddos were in bed.
I hit my 30 week mark.

We partied... maybe a little too hard (Emma)

We dipped our feet in the sand, and let the boys take over (Brooklyn, Carly, Ryan, Emma, Aaron, and Taylor)
We coordinated outfits without even realizing it. (aaron and taylor)
We spent more time in the hot tub (Aaron, Mema, Ashby, and Ryan)
We spent time laying in the sand.
The men golfed.
The women had a book club. (We read Push Not The River, it was definitely a great read)
And maybe we went in the hot tub during the day with the kids.

We also ate our weight in junk food, and had a jelly belly taste test contest (Stacey beat us all).

I'm incredibly sad that the week is already over and i'm pretty sure i've already started my countdown to next year's beach week. Now its back to real life, sad day.

Thanks fam for an awesome week!

Keebler

Blast those Keebler Elves and their remarkable cookie making abilities. Their small nimble fingers have concocted a delicious combination of m&m's and chocolate chip cookies that i find very difficult to resist. And by difficult, i mean impossible.
Okay, so maybe my will power just sucks OR maybe i can blame the baby... Yeah, the baby was the one that wanted 14 Rainbow Chips deluxe cookies in less than 24 hours... Actually i don't think it counts as a craving if you're prone to this type of behavior BEFORE you're pregnant. Dang it.

Random Thoughts

Well, i apologize for the lack of blogging. These past couple of days (or this past week or so) i've been randomly busy, with random things. Nothing blog worthy, which leads me to my post today about random little things that i've been thinking about.

1.) On Saturday Aaron and i fly to Virginia Beach to be with these people:I'm so excited that i can barely contain myself. Unfortunately, i think i've mentally checked out of everything else. i know on saturday i'll be on vacation and i seem to forget that i need to get through the week first. Oh well. I'm excited to do something different then my regular routine and see family members who i haven't seen since Christmas. Did i mention that we'll be at the beach?

2.) I had a doctors appointment on Monday. I got to see the little babe and see her little heart beating. At one point the doctor was like "Oh look, there's her eye. Do you see the black circle?" I stared at the screen and tried to cover for the fact that i had NO idea what the doctor was looking at, so i was like "Oh yeah... there it is..." Hey, those black wavy lines are confusing.. . but feel free to pass judgment. I also learned that the baby is transverse meaning that she is laying side to side across my belly rather than head down or breech (head up). My doctor didn't seem too concerned, but i did learn via the magic of the internet and my mom, that if the baby stays transverse then a C-section is the only way to deliver. Stellar. Move baby, MOVE!

Here's a picture of me at 28 weeks (7 months)3.) I'm way too emotionally invested in the bachelorette. If you haven't watched monday's episode DON"T continue reading. I was so mad that Ed left. Honestly why couldn't Wes have left, and why does Jillian like him so much? I guess i'll my love will have to go to Reid and Kitpyn. I'm pretty sure i could do without all of the other guys. Maybe jillian will pull a Jason-like move and dump the guy in the end and hook back up with Ed... it could happen...

Alright, i should go do something constructive.

Summer TV

I love Summer TV. I might even like it more than normal TV. Three of my favorite shows are on right now and i'm basking in the glory of them. With all the other shows on reruns, i can focus on my favorite shows without having a Tivo conflict. Its fabulous.

First, is Wipeout on ABC. Its been a long time since i've laughed that hard when watching TV. If you have never seen this show i HIGHLY recommend it. You will not be disappointed. Did anyone see the second round where they spun the contestants around and then made them crawl through the spinning door? I was crying i was laughing so hard.
Second, is So You Think You Can Dance on Fox. For whatever reason i find this show much more interesting than american idol. I know, thats blasphemy. Maybe its because i have no idea what is good and what isn't when it comes to dancing, so i can't have an opinion, and therefore it is just pure entertainment. They just picked the top 20 and i can't wait for the routines next week. I hope Tabitha and Napoleon are choreographing.
Last but certainly not least is The Bachelorette on ABC. This is my first time watching the Bachelorette and i'm hooked. I can't wait for monday to roll around so i can watch it. Guy drama is very different from girl drama. The guys get more competitive and macho about the situation and the girls (when on the bachelor) get emotional and catty. Its extremely interesting. As per usual, my friend Chelsea does awesome recaps of the show on her blog.
Its a must read after watching the show, so check it out and share your thoughts!

I just love summer and everything it has to offer!

Last Day of the Second

Today is the last day of my second trimester. Weird. I feel like the first trimester took forever, getting to 13 weeks was like counting down to Christmas as a little kid (okay, maybe i'm over exaggerating the excitement). This trimester has just flown by. I think that once we found out the gender there was nothing else to wait for or look forward to, so time just went by.

There isn't much to report about this trimester. Aside from finding out what we we're having, and going to the hospital a couple of times, not a lot has happened. I will say though that this trimester has been fun in the sense that the baby has been moving around a lot. Its changed from little prods and kicks to huge movements that make my entire belly move. She loves to kick or move against anything that touches my belly. For example, i was feeding blake a bottle the other day while i was at work and the entire time he was on my lap she was poking him. She'll do that to my computer too. I've also transitioned from the "Is that girl just fat, or is she pregnant" stage into the actually pregnant looking stage. Its nice to have visual proof that you're pregnant and i don't feel so guilty parking in the "Expectant Mother" spot at the grocery store. I'm sure i'll be exit-ing the cute belly phase pretty soon and be entering the huge belly phase (the one that people don't really like, so i hear), but for now i enjoy it.

Here's a picture of me at 26 weeks. I was on second day hair, so don't judge me. My arm is also pointing toward the camera and making a pretty awesome optical illusion that makes the bottom half of my arm look huge and the top look really small... that, or i'm popeye... you never know. Goodbye second trimester, it was fun.

A Little Note

Dear Fresh Produce Open Market Place (i don't know if you have a real name),

You are one of the best places that i have ever stumbled upon.

Today I purchased:
2 fuji apples
2 ears of corn
2 yellow onions
1 head of broccoli
1 red pepper
1 head iceberg lettuce
1 head romaine lettuce
1 Bunch of green beans
1 Bunch small red potatoes

All for $6.24. I love you Market place. You shock me every monday with your extremely low prices and delicious fresh local produce. You put every grocery store i have ever been to, to shame. Thank you for making eating on a budget so delicious.

Your Loyal Customer,
Kara