Happy (late) Fourth of July! We went to Cape Cod, like we try to do every year. I missed 2014 because I was so pregnant I couldn’t imagine being more than 10 minutes away from the hospital. And then I didn’t have a baby for another 3 weeks. Good times.

Our Massachusetts relatives really know how to throw a party, especially if you are a kid. They rent a big inflatable water slide so I barely saw Evan or Caroline the whole day. I eventually bribed Caroline with salt water taffy to come down to the beach and take some pictures with me, but no one else fell for it.

We stayed super late this year to see the fireworks, which was a mistake. They’re fireworks. Boom, flash, oooooo, aaaaaah. And then an extra 90 minutes of traffic to get off the Cape with three incredibly exhausted children and two very tired adults. We made it home but it took me two days to recover from my completely non-drinking related hangover. I think that makes me a real grown up, which is way less fun than being not a grown up.

Please enjoy a ton of photos of our day:

The parade every year includes a ton of the floats/marchers throwing candy. Like, tons of candy. So much candy. The lady sitting next to us was really worried about her grandkid (kid? great grandkid?) getting enough candy – and by “enough” I mean she felt like he deserved ALL the candy. She kept shoving him in front of my kids (and their cousins) and saying “You have to be faster! Don’t be afraid to get in front of kids! Grab it!”. For the record, her kid was significantly bigger than both of mine and just ONE KID who definitely did not need a zillion Tootsie rolls, Dum Dums and pieces of Double Bubble.

Since my kids aren’t allowed gum (I’m not a meanie, they just don’t understand how to now swallow it) I had them walk over to her kid and give him every piece of gum they picked up.

And then she STILL shouted at her kid to be sure to grab as much candy as possible. Some people are just not good people. I’m really glad I only had to sit next to her at a parade and not live or raise my children next to her in real life.

This is Caroline pretending to swim. She asked me to take a picture.

Fun with glowsticks!

Tired, tired Caroline. Honestly I think the kids have been tired ever since. I put them to bed before dark tonight, so hopefully they sleep in and maybe we’ll have a less melt-down filled day tomorrow.

Hello. It is summer.

Sunday:

Morning lap naps because we have no where to be

Sports!

She’s very good at selfies

Monday:

Our Mystic day started at the aquarium

Then I tied my baby to a chair to eat grilled cheese…

Then Caroline decorated a whale at the seaport

Tuesday:

I’M A BIG KID

LOOK AT ME BEING BIG

Being a big kid is exhausting

Wednesday:

That whale is definitely trying to eat her

Caroline thinks sitting is boring

LINC THINKS SITTING IS VERY EXCITING

Thursday:

Bed stealer

Perfect

One Caroline to push 3 babies. She’s got it.

Friday:

So grown

Evan is doing is presentation about Seaport Camp and explaining his picture looks like that because he “only works in black and sometimes very very dark gray”.

Babies do not have good table manners

Saturday (Happy Fourth!!):

The Mayflower!! Linc is unimpressed because he knows it’s a replica.

Matching dresses are awesome

We stayed up waaaaaaay too late

And on that note, I am going to bed. The weekend was fun but exhausting and NO ONE has taken a real nap in more than a week. I need at least 6 hours of sleep in a row if I have any chance of functioning this week. Good night!

I love minor league baseball. I mean, I love major league baseball too, if I get to actually go to the game in person. But major league baseball games are a) expensive b) far away and c) expensive, so I mostly stick to local minor league games. Our team here in town has changed names at least 3 times since we’ve lived here. First they were the Gators (maybe?), then they were The Defenders (I’m sure about that one), now they are the Connecticut Tigers. I appreciate that they make it family friendly. And cheap. Sitting in the first row right on the 3rd base line make the game much more fun for the big kids.

Poor Linc though. Baseball stadiums aren’t exactly baby-friendly, especially for a baby who just started walking and climbing steps. I felt like I spent most of the game wrestling an angry, wet badger. He did seem to like the baseball food, which kept him partially entertained. I mean, who doesn’t like licking the salt off of soft-baked pretzels?

After the game the kids got to run the bases, which they thought was neat. At the end they each got a coupon for free Ben & Jerry’s, which I think is neat, because I can make them share one scoop while I eat the other. Win win.

Photographic proof of our fun and/or eating:

Running away…

Linc thought this game was super fun.

I think that mascot was hitting on my husband.

Linc also thought this was a fun game (despite his face not looking so fun).

I have taken a TON of photos over the past week. I know you’re probably thinking “Um, but Suzanne, you ALWAYS take a ton of photos, why is this new information?” Really, I haven’t actually been taking photos. I’ve been trying to get used to wrangling 3 kids. It’s kind of been kicking my ass, especially in public. Even with Linc tied to my body I have a hard time, because he’s either grabbing the camera or his weight changes my center of gravity and I have a had time balancing to get interesting, in focus photos. Besides the

Besides the photo I take every day for my 365 project, I’ve hardly been doing any creative or documentary photography. This blog was built on me sharing photos of our adventures, so it’s really been suffering from that loss. Bebehblog started with a crappy point and shoot camera and evolved into somewhere I learned, shared and grew with my photography. I am hoping I can get back in the habit of documenting our lives with more than just my iPhone.

We went to the zoo with some of our favorite friends on Saturday to celebrate Z’s 4th birthday. Caroline and Z are like two animal-loving peas in a pod, so they a great time. We all did, because hanging out with friends is the best.

You would think my kids would be over goats by now, but you would be wrong.

Flamingo impression.

LOOK AT THIS MONKEY. LOOK AT IT.

New zoo exhibit: Wild Gingers.

I just stopped in the middle of this post and thought “How did a photo of Baby Evan get in here?” The family resemblance is STRONG.

Linc’s first time getting to ride on a horse, and an up-and-down horse at that! He loved it.

Dance recital photos!! Caroline is in a Saturday morning combo class, where they learn both tap and ballet. For the recital this year they did a tap routine to The Good Ship Lollipop. Their costumes were very sparkly and patriotic. It was basically the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen.

Caroline isn’t what you would call a naturally gifted dancer. She doesn’t seem to have an ear for music or beat or some extraordinary talent for learning steps. But what she lacks in God-given ability she makes up for in enthusiasm. She LOVES to dance. She dances all the time, sometimes to music and sometimes to music only she can hear, sometimes to songs she makes up and sings out loud for everyone to enjoy. Her joy and confidence when she dances is why I signed her up for this year’s lessons and why I am probably going to move her to “real” dance lessons in the fall. If dance is going to be Her Thing, I want her to have all the opportunity she needs to become very good at it and I don’t think the Parks & Rec class is going to do that. But for this year, it was perfect.

These photos are from both dress rehearsal and the night of the show. During dress rehearsal, Caroline mostly looked at her feet and fussed with her itchy costume. During the actual performance she did MUCH better at the looking up and smiling part, but she lost her place in line and then tried to rearrange the girls around her. She just took them gently by the arm and moved them to the “correct” spot on the floor. She was wrong. Completely wrong. But it got a huge laugh from the audience and one little girl she moved told her mom Caroline was “so helpful”, so it ended up OK.

I am posting way, way too many photos here, but just pretend you are her grandmother and REALLY want to seem them all. Thanks.