At the Beach

There's not much of an agenda when we're at Sea Ranch.  I love it.  If you want to go down to the beach, it's super close.  Sometimes we'd all go together, and other times we'd just go with our little family.  It's so nearby that you don't feel bad staying only twenty or thirty minutes if you want, because there's always tomorrow.  It really is the best.

Noah loves digging in the sand and making it fly in the wind.

And doing it with a cousin is even better.

Too bad we didn't realize he was being eaten alive by sand fleas until a few hours later.  Poor guy was a mess that evening, but didn't seem too bothered.

How cute is cousin Brennan?

It was tradition when the Boyce kids were growing up to build a big sandcastle at the beach, with Grandpa Pebley leading the way (and probably doing most of the work).  Now that some of these guys are dads, they seem to want to carry on the tradition.  It was on our list of 'musts' for the trip.

They worked hard and for their first attempt without Grandpa, it turned out pretty good.

 But they've already got all kinds of ideas for next time.

Grandpa's Birthday

Our first full day at Sea Ranch was filled with celebrating Grandpa's 60th birthday. 

It started with breakfast: 60 pancakes, 60 strawberries and 60 blueberries.

Grandpa was very willing to share.

His gifts were some of his favorite things; 60 of each, of course.

60 golf tees, pieces of black licorice, pistachios, salt water taffy, were just a few.  He even got a CD of songs from the 60's.

After dinner we put candles on 60 cupcakes and worked fast to get them lit.

Grandpa's birthday seranade was memorable and pretty hilarious.

The gift giving wasn't over yet.  Grandpa got 60 personalized golf balls with phrases that the family thought up.  He was pretty excited about the new rangefinder that he can use for golfing too.

He liked the messages we came up with to put on the golf balls.

After that each of us took a turn reading from a list we composed of 60 things we love about Dave.

Some were funny, like he does an amazing Donald Duck impression, and has a love of jumping into cold water.

Others were sweet, such as when he was a kid, he cried when the Yankees lost the World Series, and he loves playing with grand kids and making them feel special.

And many were just very telling about what kind of a person his is.  For example, he always knows who your friends are and asks about them when you call, and he cares unselfishly for his parents.

Celebrating Grandpa was a great way to start out a week full of fun and good times together as a family.  We sure do love him.

love these guys

We spent seven days together in Sea Ranch last week and had an amazing time.  

We filled those days with so many memories, a ton of pictures and a whole lot of silliness.

A New Norm

Things in the Hall family changed dramatically today.  My dad moved into a memory care center.  It was not a smooth or rosy transition, but we know that the decision we've made as a family is the right one.  And we're hoping that before too long, Dad's anger will turn to understanding and greater contentment with where he is.

Yesterday Noah and I spent all day with my dad, and Nate joined us in the evening, as my mom met with the staff, reviewed medical care and set up his room.

Most of the time we are with him my dad is distant, non-communicative, and very consumed by what's going on in his head.  While he still had his moments, I couldn't believe how conversational he was: sharing stories, commenting on the news and telling jokes.  The best part was how interested he was in Noah.  He was so happy to share his eggs with this little moocher.

 It's been months since Dad initiated play with Noah, but these two had lots of good times together.

 

I felt like Heaven was sending us a little tender mercy so that the last memory of Dad at home would be a sweet one.

I was just thinking last week that it's hard to remember what my dad used to be like.  His behavior and care has been so consuming the past few months.  It seems to have practically blocked out the decades of good times and memories we've had together.  And that's heartbreaking, because who he is now, is not who he was or will be one day.  But some of that came back yesterday for me, and I will be forever grateful.  

Sharing the News

After the ultrasound we headed home, and I baked up some cupcakes to share the news with our family.  We texted those who couldn't be there and let them in on our secret.

Everybody took a turn guessing the gender and then we all bit into our cupcakes. 

Our little guy will even out the score of grandkids, making three girls and then three boys once he arrives.  I'm not sure how Noah will feel about a little brother added into the mix, but he definitely didn't mind a sweet treat to celebrate the occasion.

A Fun Fourth

Our Fourth of July celebration consisted of a simple, fun time together.

How cute are these cousins?

There were plenty of water wars in the swimming pool.

Olivia and Sammie took up defense in the spa.

Abby and Noah were pretty content to just watch the battle.

Noah always has a smile when Sammie is around. 

  And she has turned in to quite the swimmer.

We had a delicious barbecue followed, of course, by fireworks.  They certainly didn't disappoint.

Nice work there Tyler, K.C., and Annie. 

 

This guy set a new late night record for bedtime, but wasn't about to miss out on silliness with cousins and his first fireworks show. 

 

A Little Brother!

The ultrasound today confirmed what we had been hoping for: another boy is joining our family!

 

This little guy put on quite a show while we took a peek at him.  He wiggled his toes, opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue, and even gave us a thumbs up a few times. 

I'm excited for Nate to have two little camping buddies, for Noah to have a little brother and for me to have all of the boy clothes in the right season ready to go for this little guy.  We are so blessed!