Arf!

Brady had a starring role in the KG and first grade musical this week. He was really excited about the event and was so honored that all of his grandparents came to watch.

Brady, as Bernie the St. Bernard:

His class full of beagles:

hair cuts

Brady really wanted to wait to get a haircut until this summer, when we would do his buzz cut. I just couldn't handle it anymore! One more Justin Bieber hair flip and I was going to lose it, so I convinced them that we could do the haircuts now.

Look at that shaggy hair!

A little better...we started with a 7 guard on the shaver and decided we'd do more of traditional cut than a buzz...

Before...

And after:

Gymnast

Rudy is wrapping up two years of gymnastics classes this week. He really loves it, and it's amazing to me how strong he is!

Getting ready to push the Easy button, which is their reward for doing something good. (It's the simple things...)

Garden Tour

I'm still amazed every spring that I can manage to get a few things to grow...

Freakishly large broccoli leaves with teeny tiny florets...

Beach Pictures

Evening at the beach = perfect time for a quick photo shoot. James and I have been trying for months to snap a really great picture of the boys for our computer desktops. I think we finally have one!

Fashion Statement

Saturday night, we had a picnic on the beach after the kids had been playing in the sand for a while. Rudy didn't manage to stay dry, so we spent the rest of the evening at the beach without shorts on. We tied Brady's jacket around Rudy's middle to try to give him a least a little dignity...

Night Hike

We went on a night hike in the Nags Head Woods on Friday evening. It was the perfect night for an evening walk; the boys were a little scared to be walking through the woods in the dark but they also thought it was pretty cool. Our amazing guide also helped keep things interesting!

First, the fashion statement (totally worth it to reduce ticks!):

We were the first ones on this new path.

Amazing double rainbow

Crazy bright colors!

Looking over the marsh toward the sound:

Way past dusk into dark. We hiked back from here with red-lensed flashlights.

More tee-ball...

Brady's baseball game

Brady is playing in a machine-pitch league this year, and it's a whole new ball game (HA!). The games and practices are 2 hours long, rather than 1, which is pretty taxing at this age level.

His first game was pretty miserable: they lost about 15 to 1. Brady did get a few hits and got someone out, but it was a slow game. He was quite grumpy afterward, both because he didn't get to do very much and because he didn't get a snack after the game. (Which is really what it's all about, apparently....)

The second game was better. He hit two balls, one over the pitcher's head, and made it home twice. The score was tied, 7-7, going into the bottom of the last inning. The other team scored a couple runs, but no one bothered to put them on the scoreboard. Brady left thinking the game was a tie and I didn't see any reason to correct him!