Today rocked. We hit the beach park. Packed up an ordinary lunch of finger food, got that jumbo Sam's Club bag to hold the beach toys, lunch, tent, kick board, water and beach blanket. Marie had to carry her floaty and Ty had to walk across the sand. *gasp* Hey, we all gotta help when Momma is schlepping two big bags. But we made it!!! The kids cracked me up. Ran to the water, got wet and immediately came back for food. Food that they would've turned their noses up to at home suddenly was magical as it was at the beach. My favorite was Ty's apple. First of all, he stole it out of the lunch box. I was going to cut it up into slices for both of them. Secondly, he had to eat it in the water. Well, fumble-fingers drops the apple in the bay. No biggie, he picked it back up as it bobbed in the waves and took a few bites when, splash, down it goes again.
Marie feasting!
Ty eating his apple. The fruit is submerged.
We played and played till Ty fell in. At that point, he took a break for a while on my lap while Marie tried to swim to Power Island.
We hit the park and Ty started to fall asleep on the swing. No way, buddy. We flew back down to the blanket and popped up the nap tent. After a drawn-out, public battle, Ty crashed in his tent. Marie didn't mind...
Once he was up, we all went swimming again. The kiddos thought it was great to both hang on to Momma. Their favorite was getting spun around in the water as I sang, "Let's Twist Again..." Marie kept coming around and staring in my eyes, laughing and smiling, which I thought was so sweet until I realized she was looking at herself in my sunglasses. I went under and then I plopped her under once briefly. She couldn't believe it and didn't know whether to be thrilled or angry. Then a little kid started stealing the sand toys so she was done with the water.
We warmed up with our towels.
Then, the pick up. Well, the tent gets back in the bag within a minute. Toys - sent Marie on that mission. The only difficult part was the swim diaper. If you have taken one of a child, you understand. They don't remove easily, especially on the beach blanket and especially when they are filled with more than just sand and water. And this part made my day...I had brought along Marie's safety scissors. Grabbed those puppies and two snips later, the aforementioned pooey diaper was free from the toddler. Two more minutes and we were packed and on our way.
Like I said, today rocked.
The kiddos and I have been home together all week. We have had great, amazing weather, some nice company, but still...about 5:15pm, we are stalking the front porch waiting for Daddy to come home. I *may* hype it up some but they do love their daddy! I back off at this time for his and my own good. It's ALLLL Daddy!!! I think, giving the evidence above, Daddy plays with them a little differently then I do. He could breathe, he says. No worries. 
Ty is indeed a full-blown toddler, no baby in there! He does enjoy his "chores" and insists, firmly, loudly, that he do it! "I DO!!! I DOOOOO!!!" One of his favorite tasks is feeding the cat. Good job, Ty. Take that thoroughness with you on your road in life and you'll do fine.
Marie is giving up her nap. Not sure who this is hardest on. If she naps, she is up quite late. No nap, no fun for anyone some days. Additionally, at times, she is waking in the middle of the night and has a vast number of fears: the fan, the dark, the possible disappearance of stuffed animals. This results in her sleeping late, very late, some days. This AM she slept well past Jim's departure and was stricken upon waking because evidently he had promised some magical breakfast experience. We made due with some old waffles and shredded chocolate on top with a splash of whipped cream. She recovered. 
Some days, they are indeed exhausted in the late afternoon. This was Marie's idea of a "fun game" to play about 4:30 PM. See... no nap!! See... toddler who wants to do everything "Sissy" does. See...where the HECK is Daddy???
