Thursday, August 13, 2009
Four at the 4th and Hello Duckies
Victoria very nicely posed at par 4, just because she's still 4 years old. Very soon I'll have a 5 year old little girl. We're still working on that grin as it's a little cheesy.
We're on round two now. Victoria has a yellow putter and white ball.
Say hello to the duckies. They had their own spot on the grass next to the pond or under one of the bushes when the sun was really hot. The ducklings were adorable and made good photo subjects for me.
Labels: OC2009
We've Lost the Hat
We're still on our first round of golf. Victoria still has the sunglasses but she's ditched the hat by now. Looks pretty hot with those pink cheeks.
We played three rounds. I can tell which round we're in by the color of her putter and golf ball. :) First round was red putter and green ball.
Labels: OC2009
Golf Victoria-style
The title says it all... :)
Labels: OC2009
Hmm... Some More Golf
Labels: OC2009
A Golf Day
From our vacation at the end of July. We played miniature golf for a while in the late morning/early afternoon.
Labels: OC2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Last of the Wave Jumping
Unfortunately this was the end of the wave jumping. Victoria and Daddy spent a little more time out in the surf. Victoria started complaining of sand in her swimsuit and started pulling at the swimsuit bottom. I took her up to the hotel bathroom next to the pool area. Cleaned out her swimsuit, patted her down, had her go to the bathroom, then went back to the beach. We'd no sooner gotten there. She went in the surf once or twice and she came back to me crying that it hurt. She was near hysterical and inconsolable, sitting in a beach chair just crying her eyes out. I packed up as much as I could from the beach and dragged myself and Victoria back to our hotel room as fast as I could. We were no sooner in the room than I had her stripped out of the swimsuit and into the tub. She was so much better once she was under the shower spray. I turned on the water for the tub too so once we got the sand off her, she could sit in the bath and play.
No beach for tomorrow. Will have to find something else to do.
Labels: OC2009
Car Park and Castle Walls
Okay. So here are all of the cars parked. There's Lightning McQueen, Sally, Mater, and Doc. All up there on top of the mountain house.
Here's Daddy making very nice, very perfect castle walls to circle the mountain. Victoria is digging in there with him, getting a lesson on how to get the right kind of sand for molds.
Sigh... Look at that so not-crumbly line of walls. Of course I don't take the time to get really nice looking castle walls so I shouldn't complain that Jeff's look better.
Labels: OC2009
Enter... The Cars
I suspect this picture is Victoria telling to to come on, come play. I got down on the sand to play with the cars too.
I'm trying to remember all the cars names this year. They've changed from last year. The red one is Lightning, of course. The purple one is Sally. The train is Mater, I think. So here all the cars got stuck in the dirt and Mater had to come along and unbury them and tow them out of the sand.
Of course, if we were going to play with the cars, I needed to create a car park, a road, and a mountain/castle/headquarters. Here's Lightning McQueen motoring down the road toward the mountain house.
Several of the cars have made the trip from the car park along the road. Now they're being parked on top of the castle.
Labels: OC2009
Hold On, There's a Victoria at the Gates
While Victoria and Daddy are playing in the surf, I build sand castles. I can stay near the shade and dig in the sand. I have fun. This one isn't too elaborate. Most of my time was spent digging down to get to wet sand and building up my sand castle mound. I tried decorating it with the starfish mold but it didn't turn out too well. It broke up from the angle.
Even more fun is watching Victoria knock down my sand castles. Here comes Victorizilla again. There go the castle gates. :)
Ah, and here's a leap to be proud of... right to the top of the castle to knock down the towers.
Victorizilla grinning proudly at her destruction skills on top of the destroyed castle.
Labels: OC2009
Wave Jumping and Sandy Girl
I had to include this picture here. Not only can you see how high Victoria jumps when she's wave jumping. Also, take a look at the waves rolling in from beyond them. Daddy got quite a workout holding onto Victoria.
My sandy girl... she needed a wash in the water bucket before getting some lunch.
She was very good about cleaning up. She didn't want to litter the beach. And, more importantly, she didn't want the pigeons and seagulls getting her food. So long as she pointed out which garbage can she was heading toward, she could walk over on her own.
Labels: OC2009
A New Day and Back to the Surf
I think I saw the dolphins just about every day that we were at the beach. I rarely had my camera at the time or I didn't have the right lens on. I saw them before we headed down to the beach and grabbed the camera. Even with the long lens on I couldn't get very good pictures. There were a lot of them out there. A couple looked like they were young dolphins or calves.
Victoria didn't want me taking pictures. She wanted to go to the beach. And she threw quite the tantrum about it. She kept shaking me or my arm. I'm surprised I got as many good picture as I did with her antics going on. I finally gave up on the dolphin pictures.
Victoria wanted to hit the surf as soon as we got down to the beach. I think I made her wait and help me set up our spot on the beach before she headed to the surf. LOL! So impatient. She finally dragged Daddy down the beach after I released her from "helping". The surf was definitely rougher today. Still as much fun for Victoria. She showed no fear.
Look at those waves coming in at them. Victoria's practically up to her waist in the surf.
I'm not sure if she got knocked down by the surf or if she's ducking down to get wetter. The boogie boarders were having quite a day. You can see one of them riding a wave into shore. Another couple years that will probably be Victoria if she keeps loving the beach as much.
Labels: OC2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
End of the Day
I like this picture here. Victoria is helping me build the sand castle. Well, she's doing the decorations for the sand castle. Daddy is flying the kite in the background.
Here's Miss Helpful...
LOL! Guess we should be glad she didn't tangle up the kite's tail from the looks of this picture.
And, Destructo Girl at work destroying the sand castle. LOL! How about the height on that jump as she dove onto the sand castle?
Labels: OC2009
Sea Horses and Sand Castles
We couldn't fit the big orange sand pail in the car to bring with us this year. So we bought a couple different ones at CVS on our first day going to the beach. One was a kit that included a pail, shovel, sifter, frisbee, and seahorse and starfish molds. Victoria rather liked the larger molds. She's trying out her hand with the seahorse here.
Turning it over and patting it a couple times to get the sand to loosen up. About to reveal the finished product.
Lifting off the plastic and checking out how the seahorse came out. I didn't think it was too bad. The tail might have been a little crumbly.
It did not pass the Victoria test though. So, there it goes. Knocked down to be done again. The beauty of working in sand.
I'd been working on the rest of the castle for a while. The sand was starting to dry out and sift back down. Still, it was a rather nice castle. Victoria did a good job decorating it with seahorses and starfish in between towers and walls. You can sort of see one of the starfishes in the lower right hand corner of the picture if you squint real hard.
Labels: OC2009
Another Day to Fly Kites
Helping to get the kite up into the air.
She needed some direction from Daddy before she was able to figure out how to help. And, there it goes.
Daddy get the kite up off the ground and flying.
Victoria taking her turn at flying the kite. I love these pictures of her. You can't see it in the long pictures. In some of the closeups she has such a grin on her face.
Labels: OC2009
Lunch and Destruction
Some yummy yogurt for lunch. She really likes those Go-Gurts. I must say that they're a good thing to pack in our lunchbox for traveling. She still eats her Dora or Diego yogurt at lunch at home or school.
She was really good at taking care of the trash while we were on the beach. She really didn't want the seagulls or pigeons coming down and taking her food.
She was also let loose a little bit. So long as I knew where she was going and could keep an eye out, I let Victoria roam a little farther afield this year. It was a little busy for her to go too far. But, she enjoyed being able to run out onto the open beach areas.
And, of course, another sand castle bites the dust. She did help a little to build this one before knocking it down. I enjoy the faces she makes as she's destroying them. She has soooo much fun.
Labels: OC2009
Victori-zilla
While Victoria and Daddy played in the surf, I built a sand castle. Okay, so I didn't extend the mote all the way around the castle. And, some of my walls were a little crumbly. But, I liked it.
Here's Victoria getting a gander at my castle. She wanted to be able to knock it down. That's all she was waiting for.
And, of course, I told her to go ahead. Here's Victori-zilla at the gates to the castle.
Another picture.. Victori-zilla climbing up castle mound to smash the buildings at the top. She had a blast. What took me quite a while to build, she knocked flat in minutes. Can't begrudge her the fun. I can make more sand castles.
Labels: OC2009
A Second Day of Surf Jumping
She headed straight for the surf as soon as we got down to the beach. She barely stopped while the guy set up the beach umbrellas and the chairs before dragging Daddy down to the surf. She had just as much fun today. There were plenty of smiles from her.
Labels: OC2009
Love That Smile
She's just loving being in the surf.
Labels: OC2009
Sand Baby
Here's Victoria sanding herself. She'd pour sand over herself and then run over to me and tell me that she needed to wash off in the surf. I'd respond by telling her that I'd dump a bucket of water over her head. She's squeal and run away. Then go back to sitting in the sand pouring sand over herself. Silly girl!
I have no idea what she was doing in this picture. I just find it fascinating from the pose. Most likely... she's dancing to her own tune.
Hmmm... definitely sand baby here.
Labels: OC2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Sand and Kites
Labels: OC2009
More Victoria in Surf pictures
See my little daredevil there... She's in pretty deep. That's waist high on her.
I managed to capture some of the actual wave jumping. She gets some good height on that jump.
Carting back some water for Mommy. That's kinda heavy.
And one of the funniest antics from Victoria... laying down in the surf, using a frisbee to scoop water into the bucket. Of course, it was just an excuse to be in the surf.
Labels: OC2009
Surf Baby
The waves were pretty strong today. I got some really cool pictures of some of the larger ones cresting.
Victoria has turned into a surf baby. That was the theme of the day. She wanted to jump waves. Get a load of that grin. It's a good thing that Daddy likes to wade out into the waves too.
Not too tough there. Not too high.
\
Getting in a little deeper there. Waiting for the wave to come in.
I'm pretty sure Daddy had to shepherd her back towards the beach. She's inch a little farther out each time to meet the waves.
Labels: OC2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Travel Day and Arrival
Traveling to Ocean City Maryland on Sunday. Victoria is engrossed watching the 101 Dalmations Patch's London Adventure. We picked up DVDs for her to watch when we were shopping on Saturday getting ready to go.
It was pretty hot when we stopped as Smyrna for a rest break. Victoria had just finished a Backyardigan's episode so she was ready to get out. She spotted the park from the fountain and we headed over there. She swung a little bit but couldn't get on the seesaws this time. Too hot. We got a bottle of water out of the vending machines before heading out again.
We decided to stop at the Dough Roller for dinner before heading to the hotel. Victoria wasn't too enthusiastic about a picture at dinner. I interrupted her word search. Overall, she did pretty good at dinner. She didn't like their toasted cheese because the cheese wasn't orange like at Ruby Tuesday. Guess I have a cheese connoisseur on my hands.
However, she did like getting a toy at the end of the meal. She picked out a jet plane. We waited on the sidewalk while the bill was paid so that Victoria could play with the jet without getting underfoot.
It was a good thing we stopped for dinner when we did. We were just getting in the car when the first rain drops hit. We were in a good downpour driving the last couple blocks to the hotel. The good news was that we could settle in and watch the rain without having to head back out. After a long day, we managed to get Victoria settled in bed around 9pm and we kicked back and relaxed for a couple more hours before calling it a night.
Labels: OC2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Second Day at the Beach - More Beach
Just adore that face. And, so many expressions now. Every once in a while I get lucky with a closeup. That wouldn't really be today though.
Down in the hole...
Looking for seashells. Victoria will pick up any fragment of a shell. We've quite a collection of broken seashells from this trip.
I thought this was a very cool shot of Jeff walking into the surf.
Labels: OC2009
Second Day at the Beach - The Beach
Digging out a nice big hole in the sand.
The bucket is now halfway full..
A nice full bucket, packed and patted....
Ahh, my work here is finished...
Labels: OC2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Second Day at the Beach - The Morning
The view from our balcony at the hotel.
The walk to breakfast at Happy Jack. Yum. Yum.
It rained on the way back to the hotel. So I tucked Victoria in and let her watch a couple cartoons on DVD.
The first plane in the Airshow was the Harrier. Very cool view from the beach.
Labels: OC2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
First Day at the Beach - Thunderbirds
Lucky happenstance... we were in town the same week as the Ocean City Airshow. The headliners were the Thunderbirds. Victoria and I were on the miniature golf course when the show started. I think it was just practice runs before the Airshow officially opened. Didn't matter. It was still thrilling to watch the aerobatics overhead. And, fun for me to take pictures.
Labels: OC2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
First Day at the Beach - On Our Own
We were on our own for this round. Jeff had to take a conference call back at the hotel. Victoria and I headed over to Jungle golf to play again. We stopped on the way over and had a Pink Lemonade from the vending machines. The concession stands at the Jolly Roger were just opening.
Had to take a picture of Victoria on the 4th hole. It's that whole 4 year old at the 4th Hole thing... she really liked the idea.
In case you can't tell, she's cheering me on here. 'Go Mom Go!
She started getting a little impatient. She'd walk ahead to the next hole sometimes while I played out the one I was on.
Here's a view of the Jungle golf course. It's a little shabby and could use some work, but still fun to play.
Labels: OC2009
First Day at the Beach - Treasure Golf
Here she is... I have not idea what she's talking about but I took her photo anyway.
Nothing like watching Victoria play miniature golf. She has her own way... it's more like field hockey miniature golf. There are lots of sweeping motions.
And, hey, here's me...
and Jeff...
Yes, we were actually there playing miniature golf too. Most of the time the pictures are of Victoria because her antics are so much more fun to capture. But, we had a good time playing too. We kept score the first time we played at Jungle golf. After that, we didn't pick up a scorecard.
Labels: OC2009
First Day at the Beach - Jungle Golf
Some photos of how Victoria plays miniature golf. :)
Teeing off....
Lining up a shot....
Gripping the club....
Close up of the grip....
Labels: OC2009
First Day at the Beach Part II
Walking to find breakfast. Daddy and Victoria are standing near the sign for Higgins Crab House. We ate dinner there that night.
We found Flat Jacks Pancake House several blocks down the street. Victoria did the color by numbers and here's she's working on unscrambling letters. Pretty good. She's spelling P I E herself. By the way, breakfast was delish. Jeff had eggs, I had french toast, and Victoria had chocolate chip pancakes. Yum!
Victoria wanted to play miniature golf. We passed several courses on our way to breakfast. We stopped at Jungle Golf in the Jolly Roger Amusement Park. Here's Victoria's lesson on the first hole. She wasn't impressed. Victoria has her own unique style of golf.
Labels: OC2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
First Day at the Beach Part I
Arrival in Ocean City around 10:30 pm. So excited to be here. But, exhausted by the trip. Victoria was out like a light as soon as we tucked her in.
Showing off what a "cool" girl she is in her shades.
Looking out on the ocean and beach in the morning.
Heading off to find breakfast. Here's a cool view of our hotel.
Labels: OC2009
