Cape Cod

  

 Once again, we were lucky enough to spend sometime on Cape Cod up in Massachusetts the first two weeks in July. I spent many summers here as a kid and love being able to bring my family back to enjoy the same things. The boys enjoyed swimming in the water more this year which made beach time a little less relaxing for me since I had to constantly watch them. They also liked digging holes with Andy. He's holding a horseshoe crab here. We found lots of these around.

 On the fourth of July, all the kids, including my sister's daughter, Anya rode in the neighborhood kids parade. They did a great job waving their flags and looked very patriotic. This is us, in front of my aunt's beach cottage that we stayed in.

I like this one of Bryce at the National Seashore. We took a day trip here with my sister's family. Its a beautiful spot. One of the beaches looked very inviting if we had boogie boards, but not so kid friendly. This was a small pond near the visitor center that seemed a little less daring and we didn't need to worry that a big wave was going to come along and sweep one of the kids into the ocean.

 The boys also spent a lot of time at the creek in our neighborhood (more pictures below). Andy and Tyler spent about 4 hours over at Squaw Island one afternoon catching all kinds of stuff. They brought home these buckets full of crabs and sea snails. All of which died the next day and stunk pretty bad....

 My favorite time of day at the creek is the early evening. Here's the boys throwing rocks in the water.

 I like this one. Sitting on the bench at sunset and high tide.

 There are so many pictures of my family members taken on this rock that go back generations - to when my Grandparents were probably my age. I love that the tradition has stayed strong. We all love this place.

 Bryce and Anya were good buddies during their week together. Anya's about 9 months younger than Bryce. They played pretty well together. My mom got them these chairs to sit on at the beach. The other pic was taken on a little hike at the National Seashore.

 Saying goodbye is always hard, especially since we don't see my sister's family very often. I'm glad the cousins could spend a week together. We all miss Anya.

 One night after everyone else had left, my mom took me up to St. Andrews by the Sea. (a Catholic church) There's a gorgeous view of the water here and a plaque with my grandparent's name on it, I never knew was there. Bryce Richard is named after my grandfather, Richard Franklin. His name is listed on the plaque right under my elbow's shadow. Bryce wouldn't cooperate for the picture but I'm sure someday he'll appreciate it.

 We also went down to Hyannis Harbor to look at the big boats. My boys like this one the best cause it reminded them of a pirate ship. (Yes, they're in the pjs in all these shots cause it was after dinner and they'd fall asleep on the way home.)

Case in point. A long day in the sun always wore them out by about 8:00. Falling asleep in the car made bedtime very easy.