Fun with Bloggers, and Amelia's Best Day Ever

Well our meager vacation this year was a trip across state lines to visit some old friends, as well as some new ones.

It was a fantabulous trip. We got to spend some time with the Traveling Bosleys (fourteen moves in ten years they tell me). We got to meet Suzer and her family. The kids got to play (and argue a little) and play and swim and play. Amelia experienced probably the single greatest day of her young life. E5 had fun too, playing with Rose and Maya and who knows how many other kids. But then again, he has fun everywhere.

On top of all that, we went home with a car so full of baby stuff that e5 and Amelia could not see each other in the back seat. (THANK YOU MORGAN AND SUZER!) We now have literally everything we could possibly need for a baby, except a crib.

Amelia's Best Day Ever started with a swim in the hotel pool. She actually tried to drown herself when I took a step and a half to set her glasses on a nearby table. She and Daddy both learned valuable lessons.

Anyway, not much gets Amelia more excited than water. Her as-yet-unspecified condition makes her crave stimulation - touch, sound, visuals, etc. - and water gives here all of those.

But we found something that was just about as good. A nearby mini-golf / bumper-car / arcade place (Fun Fore All, I think it was called?) had so many blinking lights and spinning displays and flashing things and buzzing noises and beeping sounds that Amelia could hardly contain her glee. She ran from one to the next, staring, grinning, laughing, running, giggling. Eventually she wore herself out and had a little siesta in one of the booths.

Then that night, after filling our bellies one more time, we went back to the pool for another swim. I tell you, if only we could communicate the necessities to her, she'd be a natural swimmer. she's got the arms and legs going, the breathing (or not as appropriate). She couldn't get enough trips around the pool.

Anyway, here's a selection of photos from the trip. Sorry, no pool pictures. I didn't want to leave the camera unattended while we were swimmin'...

No, I'm not a Drama Queen.
Whatever do you mean?

This is the best vacation EVER!

Can we get one of these for the house?

Look Daddy, I found a new friend!

How you play is... that you push the button,
and... you see the thing, and it does something...
and then you win!

I don't need no stinkin' fork.

Crash!

What in the world is that thing?
How does it work?

Is there anything cuter than a baby in a swimsuit?
Other than possibly a baby in a swimsuit
holding a stuffed chicken...

Gratuitous vacation photos

This was our first actual vacation in, um.... a long time. We went to Isle of Palms, South Carolina to stay with some relatives. Here are some cute kids who came with us...

Chaos Girl, anticipating the next wave

Chaos Girl, attacking the next wave

E5, making a sand castle

E5, enjoying a boat ride.

E5, realizing he's being photographed

Chaos Girl, debating whether to dive in

Me and Chaos Girl

... and e5, realizing he's not in the picture

Chaos Girl, after a long day of fun

E5, admiring some fish

Chaos Girl, preparing to fire on enemy ships

E5 was alternately camera-shy and camera-jealous, so it was harder to get good shots of him. Chaos Girl had a smile on her face the entire week. He loved the sand. She loved the water. And the sand.

Lots of fun. But I think we're all glad to be home...