Litchfield Beach 2009

I can't believe our "Litchfield Vacation" has come and gone once again! We had a fabulous time - but I think the kids had more fun than we did (since they didn't have to cook, wash dishes, do laundry, pack the beach stuff, etc, etc, etc.). Taking 7 kids to the beach (or anywhere else) is a lot of work! Now, we need a vacation from our vacation! :)

We spent lots of time at the beach this year - I think we only swam in the pool once or twice. Kylie finally got "into" the beach and the waves. She was a little too brave for my comfort level - mommy isn't a huge fan of swimming in the ocean.

And Jake spent some time in his baby pool at the beach - splashin' around.

Love this one of the girls - it reminds me of how little my Kylie Bear really is....

The Dekels and the Monroes brought kites which all of the kids enjoyed - especially Kylie.

Here's the whole gang. Yes, I brought my tripod. No, I didn't bring the "beast" - only my point & shoot camera.

And the James Gang...

Kylie and Ainslee got to sleep together in a BIG bed (made by pushing together the two twin beds). It was a treat for them, and we only had to separate them once. Kylie didn't use her pull up all week - with only 2 accidents.... (more laundry). I can't even count how many times she has told us she LOVES Ainslee since we got home. She even asked us to "ask the builder" to make a bed for Ainslee in her room. :) She also requested that we "ask the builder" to build us a bigger house with a bigger yard - so that we can have a pool. Ha!

The kids had lots of fun playing together - and Jake joined in the dress-up fun when Sophie decided he needed a fashionable head band!

On Thursday we had our Chef, Tom Mulally, make us dinner at the house. It was AMAZING! He sets everything up, cooks, cleans, and serves the delectable food! Scallops with Risotto, Jumbo Lump Crab on a crostini, Filet & Sea Bass.... my mouth is watering just thinking about it! The kids were in bed and we enjoyed great food, champagne and lots of laughs. We all showered for the occasion too....

In true Crystal style, a comparison pic:

Litchfield 08

And Litchfield 09

ahhhhh, gotta love school.....

And the great thing is, Kylie loves school too! :) We started back on Tuesday and it's a good thing for all of us!

The last few weeks have been tough, being tied to Jake's schedule, no school for Kylie and quite a bit of rain - we were house bound more than I would have liked. But, some of us coped by napping......

Imagine my surprise when I came upstairs to join Jeff for a nap while the kids were sleeping, and I found Kylie napping on her chair in our room. I snuck in for a quick picture (no flash, hence the dark, blurry image). Even after she saw me, she just rolled over on the chair and kept on snoozing!

When Jake woke up, we brought him in our room and Kylie cuddled up with him and Cinderella (her other baby).

We've had several "firsts" in the last few weeks. Jake had his first bath with Kylie (he LOVED it), he also had his first Gerber PUFF (he LOVED that too), AND he is doing his first crawling motions - unbelieveable! Nana has been here to witness everything this week and all she can say is "He's such a happy guy!". Yep, that's my Jake, not much of a cuddler, but very happy indeed.

Speaking of Nana, Kylie was so happy she came for a visit. As soon as Kylie woke up from her nap Kylie promptly went into Nana's room and sat next to her on the bed and did some light reading while she waited for Nana to wake up. Yes, a Sandra Brown novel. Book Club (aka the Mableton Literary & Gluten-Free Snack Society) here she comes! Ha!

And some Daddy Love. The playdoh nose was, of course, his idea.