Auntie Time

Mom and Carlee have been trying to get some sewing done while we're in town, and I took the kiddos to the beach for lunch yesterday so we'd be out of the way. Now, I know you don't usually associate a picnic on the beach with winter coats and hats, but hey in Nome you strike while the sun's shining so we bundled up and headed out! The kids seem to be strangely immune to the frigid water and plowed through the shallows finding all sorts of treasures... little harmless jellyfish, tiny krill, a hermit crab, and countless starfish; yellow, purple and orange.

A starfish nursery :)

Shaina's baby starfish

On the Nome beach there are almost no shells, but there are colorful pieces of glass or pottery that the sea has sanded to smooth, small pieces; mostly brown, green, white or blue.

Katie LOVES searching for beach glass!

So this is actually not from our picnic, but I love this picture of Caleb with his hands in his pockets. He loves to walk like this. :)

Unfortunately, our happy beach romp didn't end so blissfully. By the time we left, Caleb was screaming and cold, Wesley was bleeding and crying, sand, wind, cold water and snot were mingling into a gooey mess all over little faces and clothing, and Auntie Dani was about to curl up right then and there on the beach in a fetal position, muttering maniacally to herself, "Overachiever! Overachiever!"

Aunt Dani should not bite off more than she can chew.

But hey the first 3/4 of our time was awesome and I recovered sufficiently from the trauma to play a rousing game of Twister with the kids before bed.

(This pic is a CLASSIC Wesley picture! The little drama king gets so intense when he's telling you stories...those big blue eyes get wide, his arms flail, and his little lips purse...)