Crabs, Carbs, and Cards

I miss you!  I have been gone too long, and I have been a wee bit busy.  'Cause I have these sweet kids, ya'll.  I feel kinda like Carol Brady.  Except without Alice. You know when Kitty Karry-All turns up missing?  And then Bobby's kazoo is MIA?  And everyone sides and then you have to hold court to determine who started all the trouble?  Yeah, I know.  You have NO idea what I'm talking about.  'Cause your house is all calm and nice.  Well..summer came to a close, so now school is keeping our little Cindy and Bobbys busy.  heehee ; )

So.  Vacation now is like a kazillion times different with four.  Especially with a four month old on a plane.  With an hour wait on the tarmac.  Some crying in the air, and sweaty pits from stressing over what everyone else is thinking about you and your big family and your crazy plan to take all those kids on a trip.  Well, I can tell you it's a massive undertaking.  But..it was totally worth it.  I promise.  Not just the trip to the National Sports Collectors' Convention in Baltimore or the cheesecake that blew the day's carb limit to the moon (and back), or the days in the sand and shore with the family, or the ferry ride out to the Statue of Liberty, or the crazy separate shuttles to the hotel since we (and our luggage) didn't all fit in one..but even the mornings at the hotel breakfast and the silly days in the beach house shower.  Just what we needed..to be in even closer quarters for a while to make us appreciate our home (and separate bedrooms and beds!).

I could entertain you for days with all the craziness, but I'll try to keep a few things to myself.  ..You're Welcome! : )  Suffice it to say that I love my family, the rocks they sneak back home, the mountains of laundry, the piles of sand in the rental van (it's a ReNTaL! hahahaha), and the room keys we are still finding..

--Ok, I have to tell the truth.  I tried to narrow it down to five or six pictures, but it appears that I'm physically incapable.  I may just have to work on it for a few days. ; )  If you are a relative, you'll be patient with me.  ..and if not?  You can come back in a month and it'll all be over!  'Cause we've got the back to school bash, the first day of school, and so much growing baby.  And have I even told you Ethan lost two teeth?  Is that even possible at FiVe?  I'm thinking so..since there are two half-grown in already!!

K..here's the beginning of the onslaught. ; )  Get yourself a drink, and enjoy some of our memories..I'll start with our day in Baltimore with crabs, jellyfish, ships, a big rain, a few too many carbs, and some cards:

We started our trip in DC, then drove to Baltimore for the Baseball Card Convention..this is at the Inner Harbor.  Checking out an old cannon and what it could shoot!

Check this out.  Massive.

Only four could fit on the paddle boats, so Carter and I paddled our way to the air conditioning.  I think it was only a hundred humid degrees.  And the coldest air just happened to be in front of the Cheesecake Factory.

'Cause we like the air cold.  And our cheesecake chocolate. ; )

He's fast.

She's enjoying every savory morsel of her Reese's cheesecake.  She began with the peanut butter fluff on top.  FYI: this is 167 grams of delicious carbs.  Yes, it's a DAY'S worth of carbs for her!  Good thing she only ate half.

And then..the Convention began!  This is Honus Wagner's bat.  The one he touched.  Clay was in love.  He spent $88 *of his own money!* on baseball cards, and could've stayed till bedtime.

 The Convention was huge.  There were baseball cards, and they there were original jerseys/equipment, players signing, companies giving away freebies (we got three Upper Deck shirts!  Do you need one?), and we got to stand in line for redemptions (some mini cards for those new wrapper trade-ins.  I was incredibly reluctant to go..but it was fun to watch my boys with twinkling eyes.  That's kinda what vacation is for. : )

And tomorrow? (or when I get another ten minutes..)  The Beach!

oh, I left someone out of the pictures!  ..he's even wearing a crab ; )