Louis Beach Trip 2011

The first week of July we headed down to Dauphin Island, AL for some Louis time and relaxation on the beach.

It was our 1st year to go to this spot, and I must say we were pleased. Practically had the whole beach to ourselves.

The 10 hour drive from Shreveport wasn't that bad. Kids did really well. Tom and I got along.. most of the time :)

Pulled up to the beach house a little before dinner and the fun began.

Here's a smorgasbord of pictures from our week.

(We took a couple of "excursions" and I'll do a separate post for those.)

(like the low light and spots all over my lens?? can't wait for my camera to get back!!)

Margaret Gray loved the beach! They hit it off from the start.

Henry and the beach got along much better than they did 2 years ago when he wouldn't even touch the sand.

The 1st morning... Margaret also loved what the humidity did to her hair.

A bunch of beach pics:

Mary Pat- the buckets were a hit!

Didn't quite turn out like I wanted it to.

PawPaw and PatPat joined us for the last 2 days.

PawPaw organized his traditional treasure hunt.

Henry still talks about Pirate "Red Beer".

Alice and Margaret getting their pirate's booty.

It was pretty hard for the cousins to sport their pirate dinosaur hats for the pic... was quite windy.

The 7 cousins who were at the beach the entire week with PawPaw and PatPat.

Gabe, Arden, and Isabelle were there the 1st few days. We missed Evie, Jackson, and Dillan!

And here's a bunch of family pics:

L-R

Addie, Isabelle, Alice, MG, Ella, H, Gabe, Arden, Sam, and Thomas

No one was crying this year!

L-R

Kate, Brent, and kids

Us

Alex, Jim, and kids (one more on the way due in Sept!)
Ross, Jenny, and kids

We had a great time and are blessed that we have family to enjoy a vacation with!

Lagersen Cousin Time

The kids got to see their Lagersen cousins briefly last month.

The 1st visit was with Liam. My sister was coming through town, so we met at a McDonald's for breakfast. Henry was confused why we were going to Old McDonald's, but quickly figured out it was for food, folks, and fun.

Sarah shot these pics with her phone:

They had a lot of fun running around together.

Margaret Gray didn't want to stop playing to get in the picture.

Then, on our way to the beach, we stopped in Shreveport for the night.

We went over to Elizabeth's so H & MG could play with Madeline, Sarah Grace, and Emma ...

.... Then headed on to Madeline's "art show".
She had been at art camp that week.



And finally, went to dinner to celebrate Liam's birthday.
It's a family tradition to go to a local hibachi restaurant... it's real kid friendly (not really)... but tradition is tradition. Henry still talks about the food being on fire.

Kids looking in the fish pond while we waited for our table.

Yay for cousins!

Margaret Gray- 18(ish) Months

Some things I want to remember about our little girl:

Nicknames- MoMo, Mo, Mosey, Goose, Goo, Sister, Sissy, Sissy Gray

When she wants a turn or a bite, she points to herself and says "MoMo". (I need to mention that this is my least favorite nickname and the one she goes by the most. booo.)

Loves taking a bath and sporting bad prom hair

Likes to point out our families' "seats" in the car and at the dinner table. For example, will crawl up in Tom's dinner table chair and say "DaDa".

Sometimes gets upset in the car when I'm strapping her in, and points to the drivers' seat and cries "MaMa"... already wanting to drive.

Says "Hot" even if something is cold. When she says "hot", she lifts her hand up... a result of when she burned her hand on my hair straightener and she learned what "hot" meant.

TALL!! We haven't gone to her 18 month appt, but at 16 months, she was 34 inches.... off the charts.

Tries to carry as much (of whatever) as possible. This is particularly interesting when in a toy store and she picks up as many stuffed animals as can fit in her arms and walks around... ooo, wee- you should hear her when I try to put them back.

Goes to bed around 7:30 and wakes around 7ish. Naps are between 2-3 hours. Sometimes I think she'd prefer having 2 naps, but I selfishly want the kids sleeping at the same time. Poor thing- sometimes I'll be making lunch, and she'll get her blanket and piggie and come lay on the kitchen floor (yucky)

Likes puzzles

Loves shoes, purses, and jewelry... doesn't matter who they belong to.

Doesn't have any dress up clothes (yet), so MG asks to put on her brother's clothes as well as her dad's. Came home one day and she was wearing a pair of Tom's boxers as a skirt.

Likes to pick out what books are to be read to her (its funny how I realize how many choices I didn't give Henry). Her favorites right now: Good Night Moon, any animal book, Brown Bear Brown Bear,
BaaBaa Black Sheep & other Nursery Rhymes, Big Red Barn

Funny about food- will love something one day... the next-not interested.
Loves Quakers Oatmeal Squares and asks to eat them all day long.

Does well with a spoon and fork.... most of the time

Its been so fun to watch her language grow. When asked to say a word, she usually whispers it. Some of my favorite words she says are: dinosaur, purse, Henry,milk, night night. When putting her to bed she'll say "Dada mmm-wah" or "Eh-eh mmm-wah" telling me she wants to kiss Tom or Henry goodnight.

Random- given the choice- would rather walk in the grass than on the sidewalk

LOVES her piggie. Also has much affection for her blankets and now is more interested in her baby doll.

Favorite toy-her shopping cart (thanks, Whitesides!)

She'll do anything she sees Henry do. Yikes.

Favorite movie- The Ballad of Little Joe (a Veggie Tales). She gets really excited- clapping her hands and says "Joe! Joe!" Its how she says "Joe" that's really cute.

Likes Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Elmo, but they don't always keep her attention.

Isn't much into singing. :( Even though I swear she tries to sing a song from the nursery at church. Does like nursery rhymes, though... so I sing those to her.

Has joined Henry's and my air band. She plays the drums. Girl can rock out to some Coldplay.

Has gotten better about participating at Storytime at the Library. She loves getting the stamp on her arm at the end and if you ask her who gave it to her she'll say "Bob" as clear as day. (The guy is kinda strange, but he keeps her attention)

If you ask her how old she is she'll hold up 1 finger and say "Du". Half credit.

LOVES animals... in particular- cats, dogs, lizards, horses.


Super snuggly when she is tired. I love this.

Ok- enough of the random facts. We love you, Margaret Gray!

This was her "hat".

Felt like I needed to include a video, too

Back to Baseball

We haven't been to a Rangers game as a family since Opening Day back in April. But thanks to the numerous tickets we just purchased so that we can have rights to buy postseason tickets, looks like we'll be going a lot now.

We were lucky to go to a historic game Sunday night- tied for the hottest game at the Ballpark. 105 degrees. Nice.

Somehow we have coupons for the kids' area, so we took the kids to hit a couple of balls before the game started.

And checked out the gift shop.





During the game, we enjoyed some kettle corn...



.... and dollar ice cream night.

18 week belly shot

Here's to the Rangers making it to the postseason!