The end of vacation...

Our vacation eventually had to come to an end... even though we would have no problem staying at the beach all summer! We left the beach Saturday (the 12th) once Mike, Michelle and Aidan came down to begin their vacation with Michelle's sister and family. Thursday to Saturday our friends Danielle, David and their little girl Briaunna came down. We had so much fun going to the beach and hanging out. The men went out on a boat and caught some crabs... then had to get towed back in when the boat wouldn't work and they were stuck in the bay. Of course Danielle and I thought this was funny, especially since they were out so long and left us stranded at the house without a car and with all three kids! =) Anyway, here are some pics of our time with the Shriners =)

The cutest picture just got even cuter, thanks to Aunt Mandy! =)

Aunt Mandy is WAY better at editing and photography than me. I've actually learned a lot from her in the past couple of months about aperture , etc. I love taking pictures, but never edit anything... mostly because I do not own editing software, and partially because I'm too lazy. =) But Mandy does an amazing job so I asked her to edit this picture so I can make it bigger and print it out to frame. She did such a great job and I just love this picture in black and white! Thanks again Mandy... visit her photography website to see more of her amazing work!
Mandy Sroka Photography

Possibly the cutest picture ever....

Thursday at the beach...

A family pic by a friendly stranger =)

Daddy misses work so he's digging holes on the beach =) Seems to entertain the kids... I call the deep holes "babysitters"... of course my little monkeys can climb out of ANYTHING... you should see them on the playground

Jakey on the beach... he loves the water even if it is -20 degrees =)

The princess =) Climbing out of the hole daddy is digging

Running from the water... just for fun! =)

Needless to say the kids were asleep within minutes of leaving the beach. They were so tired from playing, digging and walking around. Hope everyone is having a great week!

More pics of my biker kids...

Mommy's helmet =) She could barely hold her head up with it on...

Daddy's helmet... he kept tilting his head back too much and dropping it, which according to daddy makes it less efficient... so that ended the cute pictures =)

Article about my mommy =)

Check it out at the link below...

http://www.waynesburg.edu/index.php?q=News_and_Events/Current_News/KarenMcClure

My beach bums...

My little stud =)

I just love this picture... she always has either a baby doll, purse or blankie in her hand... even at the beach! =)

New pics on shutterfly...

...349 pictures to be exact =) I just uploaded everything I have taken so far this summer. They aren't labeled or in order, but feel free to look at them and order any if you love my children so much that you want to see their beautiful faces all the time! =)

thekanalysmithfamily.shutterfly.com

Happy Tuesday! And Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband! I love you!!!

Monday at the beach

Today we went to the beach down by the inlet/boardwalk. Grandpa came too and we had a lot of fun! After the beach we walked around the boardwalk and got some lunch at Boogs. When we were heading back to the car, Hailey passed out in the stroller. She hasn't fallen asleep in the stroller since she was a baby, but it was so cute! Here's a pic...

Isn't she cute? Here are some more pics of our day at the beach...

Mommy and Daddy's date night =)

Heather and Jason kept the little munchkins last night so Matt and I could go out to celebrate our 3rd Anniversary (2 days early). We took the motorcycle and went into Ocean City a little, then to Harpoon Hannah's. The wait was long, so we sat at the bar and order drinks and appetizers and played the trivia game on tv. It was so relaxing and actually a lot of fun just to sit at the bar. After that we went for a drive down to Selbyville and back to the house when my butt started to go numb from being on the bike for too long. =) Here's a pic Heath took of us before we left....

So tomorrow is the big day. Anniversary number 3! =) No big plans, just relaxing and maybe going to the pool or beach. We might have a nice romantic dinner and some wine out on the porch once the kids are in bed tomorrow night. Anyway, Happy Anniversary to us! =)

A few pictures from our Independence Day in OC

Happy 4th of July!

Happy (almost) 4th of July!!!!!

Jake, Hailey and I are at the beach!!! We got up at 6am, cleaned the kitchen and packed up. We were on the road by 8am, ran a few errands, and down here by 11am. After mommy unpacked the car (kids were in the playroom), we went up to the pool. They had a great time!! We had some PB & J for lunch, then naps! As soon as the munchkins are up, we will be heading for Northside Park to play until dinner time and until Daddy arrives on the harley. I've also gotten some laundry done... so it's been a great day! Aunt Heather, Uncle Jason, and my favorite baby nephew will be here later tonight. Then tomorrow is the 4th!!! And Saturday Grandpa and Aunt Maggie are coming to visit and enjoy the beach with us! I will post pictures throughout the next week of our vacation here in OC. It's our annual anniversary/family vacation week down here. Our 3rd Anniversary is on Tuesday the 8th... can you believe it?? Three years... seems like its been 15 =) I guess if you count from the beginning of our relationship, it's almost been 8 years! I love my hubby so much and I look forward to spending the rest of our lives together! Happy 4th of July everyone!!!!!

Biker kids =)

So I'm not sure how many of you are aware of this, but Grandpa got a Harley! Matt has so graciously been breaking it in for him while he works on getting his motorcycle license. It is a 883c Sportster. I even got to go for a ride on it! It was so much fun, but the only pic I have of that is on matt's cell phone. I have a cute pink helmet and all! =) Anyway, we went to the Harley store the other day just to browse around, and when we left the kids were given fake tattoos... pretty funny! I put them on last night and Hailey spent a couple of minutes trying to figure out this thing on her arm. Pics below....

Jake's is upside down. Apparently I wasn't paying very close attention! =) We are enjoying the motorcycle, and hope grandpa takes his time getting his license! =) The money it saves on gas is amazing enough... but it's also a lot of fun and exciting for the kids when daddy pulls up on it! I'll post pics of the bike later. Hope everyone is enjoying this wonderful summer weather! Drop us a "comment" or an email sometime!!

Ash

Family

Matt and I feel so privileged to live within 2 hours (or so) of most of our family. We were just talking the other night about how sometimes we wish it were like the olden days when family all lived in the same town and farmed/worked together. Matt, of course, being from Oklahoma, always dreams about his roots back in the country. =) He doesn't like living in crowded Anne Arundel County, and would much prefer a huge piece of land away from everything! Myself, being an extrovert and all... wouldn't mind that as long as my family lived on the surrounding land! I need people to hang out with and I would miss my family way too much!!!
Anyway, that tangent was just to say that we've had a great summer so far with family! We've seen the PA family at least once a month... if not every other week since spring. It's been so great for Jake and Hailey to spend time with cousins in PA and MD. I hope they are as close with their cousins as I am with mine.. especially my nessa bella! =) Love you my loe! =) Here are a few pictures from our time at the beach with aunt heather, then our time over Aunt Jen's yesterday. My camera has been dead, and I lost the charger until yesterday... so I've been slacking on the photos! =) Enjoy....

A message for Grandma =)