st. clements island

today we packed up the troop again (minus the crabknocker and the one that said "sorry, too early") and headed out to the first landing in Maryland!

this was on our bucket list, our passport, and there's a lighthouse there, so it's pretty much a recipe for wonderful.

the museum is actually neat to see. they have several "touch zones," dress up clothes, and dolls.

fits perfectly.

franks was nervous to ride the boat, so daddy brought her a life preserver.
she didn't stay nervous for long.

nervous nelly wanted a life preserver too, of course.

these cute friends had fun all day.

she's looking at me! and smiling! what in the heck of the world?

the island is only half a mile from the mainland, so it's a quick and easy trip.

there was just a leeetle bit of bird poo on the dock. they dropped us off at the closest dock to the museum this time, which meant that we had a 1/2 mile, very muggy, very slow walk to the lighthouse and beach. every other time we've come, they took us to the boat dock by the beach, which was so much more convenient.

after a quick snack, matt took the girls to the beach, so sarah and I quickly climbed the lighthouse before going to save ellie (and matt) at the beach.

not the prettiest beach, but it will do in a pinch.

the island is gorgeous. I know the life of a lighthouse keeper, and family, was hard, but oh how beautiful a setting for some hard living. it's the cutest little island.

taking pictures of Frankie is fun.

"ok, pose normal."

"now, really pose normal."
oh these model girls.

and someone got brave! will wonders never cease?

there's that model again!

all the kids took a turn ringing the fog bell. addie went to town on it and rang it several times quickly. we had to ask her to cool it.

love them.

it was so muggy and hot. thankfully, it was also cloudy, so the sun wasn't blazing on us, but the oppressive humidity, blah!

addie and laney are pretty whiny on the ladders. hope they don't take after me with my fear of heights, but it's looking that way.

we cut our trip about 30 minutes short because addie started to not feel well. at first she was just laying on the grass saying her head hurt, then she full on started crying. all's well that ends well though, because not only were we able to get a ride on this helpful little golf cart, but we then found out that they decided to close early because it had started to sprinkle.

we had to wait around for the water taxi. adeline is learning to love me. :) i'm gonna try watching her again... sometime soon when we are all back home.

her big sister already loves me, so it's bound to happen.

someone's not nervous anymore.

we came home and threw everybody in the bath. we washed addie quickly, put on the pj's, and gave her some medicine so she could lay down. she went to bed still feeling fine, fingers crossed she stays that way. the rest of the day was a movie day. chris went fishing again with brian after work. i'm glad he's found a hobby, I just hope it's all on the level. I couponed at target and finished listening to my 62nd book, the secret history, which was interesting and kept me entertained. such a nice change from the duds I've been listening to. matt and I finished off the night watching a section of harry potter, which he's never seen. how did I marry someone that doesn't love movies? i'm sure I don't know, but 9 years in and I haven't changed him yet, i'm not sure there's any hope. we're making it work somehow.