Beach babies

Though hurricanes and tropical storms tried their best, nothing could stop Conner and Lizzie from flaunting their beach bodies all over Atlantic Beach this week. It was the first trip for the twins to the beach and they loved it. Conner really loved the sand, even would roll in it to be sure that sand reached every crevice in his body. Lizzie didn't like how the sand ruined her pedicure so she insisted to be carried to the water each time. She did like to lay out on beach towels and anytime she can wear a swimsuit she is happy. It was quite a change from my previous experiences at the beach, which pretty much entailed throwing a blanket on the sand and rotating my body every hour to get all body parts done to a deep crisp. This time no sunburns were had and most of my time was spent picking up kids every time a wave knocked them down, finding the prettiest sea shells for Lizzie, and making sure Conner didn't eat his weight in sand. All in all, a great family vacation. A few highlights captured in pictures:

Let's go to the beach already!This look picked up a lot of girls at the beach!As soon as Baywatch introduces a child lifeguard, Lizzie will be their first pick for the roleLizzie caught up on all of her trashy beach reading

Wine for my sisters

My friend Meredith brought me this wine the other night, and it was just what a middle child would love. A wine that bestows attention to all those women who feel deprived as a result of being a middle child.
And the label has a spot on drawing of the dynamics between the sisters. As you can see, the middle sister is much cooler and hipper than her other two sisters- something I am sure most middle sisters can attest to being a correct depiction. Well, this wine got me thinking, what wine would best fit my older and younger sister. Here's what I envision:

Older sister Meg:
A simple, yet sophisticated wine. It would have to be a red wine. And as I said a simple wine, no blends for her. Probably would have a nice balance between sweetness and acidity. And of course it would be vegan! And I would call it Karma Police for two reasons, 1) Megan really believes in karma, and 2) she is the only one of the three sisters who has been in trouble with the police (which is shocking if you know the three of us!).

Younger sister Lauren:
Definitely a white wine. And it would be a wine that surprised you upon first sip. I imagine a type of Riesling where you are expecting a sweet, syrupy wine but are pleasantly surprised to find it a bit dry and maybe a little spicy (a Riesling from Washington as opposed to the North Carolina Rieslings). And I would call it Karma Cameleon for two reasons, 1) karma matches nicely with the name of Megan's wine, 2) Lauren has the ability to easily blend into the situations she is placed into, like a chameleon (though I am sure Lauren has no clue about the song I am stealing the name from!).

Snaggletooth!

I don't know what has been up with my teeth lately but I have been spending a lot of time of the dentist. A few trips were for routine things such as cavities and cleanings but today something out of the ordinary happened. I was there for a filling (I know seems like I have a lot of cavities but Mom, I swear I haven't been eating candy and I'm brushing my teeth at least twice a day)- anyways while I was there I mentioned to the dentist that I felt something on my top tooth. It seemed there was something stuck on the top of tooth and it was also stuck in my gum. I thought it might have been some cement left over from dental work done the previous week. Well, the dentist took a look at it and told me that she thought it might be a piece of bone. She then proceeded to numb me up and removed the bone. But what we thought was just a piece of bone was actually a small tooth growing, with a root and all! I hope that is the last time I find a stray snaggletooth growing in my mouth! And I thought it was just a popcorn hull stuck up there!

The funniest part though occurred when I told Chris the story and he proceeded to tell me a story about his childhood baby teeth not falling out and his "double snaggletooth"!

Monkey see, monkey do

Conner and Elizabeth are really into parallel play right now. And their favorite person to imitate is the other one, of course!

Spaghetti and meatballs!

Enjoying a Sunday night meal of spaghetti and meatballs.

Things we are into...

What we are into these days:
*disclaimer: Chris did not give me any input on his list, I just write what I observe.

Chris:
1. Working, working, and then spending weekends working
2. Reading medical articles with big words in them, mainly about lungs and phlegm
3. Coming to grips with the fact that the Mets aren't going to make the playoffs again this year

Erin
1. Road biking
2. Granola
3. Teaching the kids all the essential dance moves, such as the cabbage patch, running man, and the Carlton.

Conner
1. Saying uh oh, and that's about it
2. Pointing and grunting at items instead of attempting to say the words
3. Chasing the dogs around the house, cornering them so he can proceed to torment them

Lizzie
1. Learning new command words so she can more effectively order Conner around
2. Fooling mom into thinking she is ready for potty training

3. The Corsica collection at Baby Gap

Lizzie does the Carlton

Sometimes I'm naughty

Rafting down the Nile vs. Tweetsie Railroad

Last Saturday we finally got brave enough to take the kids to an amusement park of sorts. While we were braving cowboys and Indians fighting to save balloon man, my sister was rafting down the Nile fighting off crocodiles and snakes. I think both my sister and I had moments of terror during our trips, but we both survived and lived to blog about it. See( http://home.olemiss.edu/~mshannon/Megan_Shannon/Peace_and_Carrots/Entries/2009/7/11_Sit_back%2C_relax%2C_and_enjoy_da_Nile....html) for my sister's blog about her rafting trip down the Nile.

The amusement park we went to was called Tweetsie Railroad and as the name implies, the main attraction is a real, live train. We took the train around the mountain and saw a staged scenario of cowboys fighting Indians to rescue balloon man, who was captured for ransom by the Indians. While the acting was worse than what is seen on The Hills, I was really proud of the kids for not getting scared of the fake gun shots. They must be immune to the sound of gun shots, growing up in Clemmons and all :). The kids also went on the carousel, some airplane ride, and on a small train into the mouse mine. But of all the attractions, their favorite thing was the slide on the playground. Not even a fancy slide or playground, pretty much your run-of-the-mill park playground that is about 1/2 mile away from our house. But isn't that how it always goes!

Conner, Chris, carouselNotice the train in the background, that's TweetsieLizzie training to be a fighter pilot