Sweatt Beach

We're FINALLY getting some summer weather. It was 87 today! So we met some friends at a small local beach on a lake. It was AWESOME! There was a roped off swimming area - went out about 30 feet and never got more then 3.5 feet deep - perfect for the kids. They had a blast playing in the sand and water, chasing the ducks and hanging out with their friends.

Feeding their ice cream to the ducks.

Silly girl.

My friends - Michelle and Wendy.

Treats from the ice cream truck.

Yep - I ate it all!

According to Michelle - she's thinking "why does Wendy still have ice cream? Where did mine go?"

Two 2nd Places at NHMS

Last weekend, Steve raced a double event at NHMS. He and Kevin took off and had their own race, really. 3rd and 4th were a good 10 seconds behind them at the end of each race. Here they are battling for the win. Kevin took home both checkered flags - so Steve had to "settle" for two 2nd places. =)

The podium both days - Kevin, Steve and Jim Regan, 1st to 3rd.

Re-living the race with the tech steward.

2nd place finish!

Serious pose.

This will be used for blackmail some day.

"Well... you know... if I hadn't spun with 4 laps to go... I might have dive-bombed you on the last lap and taken the win!"

Waiting to be released from impound.

Explaining to his dad - the chief steward for the event - why he spun. (Good thing 3rd place was 10 secs behind him!)

Izzy and Jacob with Kevin's two checkered flags.

Josh - Kevin's oldest, "watching" the race.

If you ever wanted to know how to fit a SRF race car (which is 13 feet long) AND a passenger car together into a 20 foot trailer, this is how! This contraption lifts the nose of the SRF off the ground....

... then you park a Smart Car underneath it.

You should have seen the crowd checking out how this guy fit both cars in the small trailer.

Kids

Well - I guess it's a rite of passage. Izzy did this about 1.5 years ago, so now it must be Emily's turn. She got into my make-up and tried putting the mascara on. If you look closely, you can see it all in her hair as well!

There's no denying it - these are definitely Steve's children. They ASKED ME to make them an obstacle course with cones that they could race their bikes through. 4 and 3 years old and they're already autocrossing down the driveway!

4th of July at the Beach House

We spent the 4th of July at Steve's Grandma's house on the beach in Marshfield, MA. The weather was gorgeous and we had a wonderful time.

We took the kids down to walk along the seawall while the tide was out.

Throwing rocks in the ocean.

Further down beyond the seawall is a jetty/beach where we played in the sand.

Emily was the only one that would walk into the ocean with Steve.

Daddy and daughter.

Digging in the sand.

Ahh... the feeling of sand between your toes.

Burying Zach in the sand.

Kept getting deeper each time. =)

Izzy to the rescue to help pull him out!

Emily with her Great-Grandfather's brother. I think that makes Wuzzy her Great-Great-Uncle?

Grandma and Grandpa hanging out on the porch.

Emily devouring the watermelon. If you see all the rinds on the table, I think she's on piece #5 when this picture was taken.

Just a little watermelon juice on her chin. =)

Starting the fireworks.

Chris and Alex starting a tank-war.

The kids loved watching their "cousins" set off all the fireworks. (Chris and Alex are actually Steve's cousins.)

First time with sparklers.

Yes - that's crazy Uncle Douglas helping the kids play with fire.

By the time we got home, Emily was so exhausted, I sat her on the couch and she just passed out. If you know Emily, you know this is rare. Zach will sleep anywhere, not Emily. I stripped her, put her in her pjs, and carried her to bed - and she never woke up!