birthday report | the beach!

This post is about a week late, but I wanted to report that little Miss Z had a nice birthday celebration with us and her Gramma, Pop-pop, Aunt Betty Jean, and FLARMAS (that's an acronym for our clever NJ cousins - Fred, Lacy, Aubrie, Ruthie, Matthew, and Andrew Swartz.) Zoey remained in pretty good spirits throughout the festivities, despite the fact that she was sprouting a bunch of molars and also enduring a cold, poor thing. Here are a few pics of the birthday girl!

About to enjoy her first cupcake (on her actual birthday)

I think she likes it!

Opening up a few presents at her party the next day. She was BEAT by this time!

And, I am happy to report, the Smiddleton Middlewartzes finally made it to the Jersey shore, thanks to my Uncle Rich, who invited us down to Sea Isle for the day. This trip of ours took place just yesterday, and I have to say, I'm glad we waited. No sweltering heat or annoying crowds for us; we actually had the most gorgeous beach weather one could hope for! We enjoyed lunch on the pier, an afternoon on the beach, and an evening gorging on seafood at a restaurant on the bay.

The Smiddleton Middlewartzes in a rare family photo

The girls enjoyed themselves, though when I carried Zoey out to see the ocean, she literally cried every time a wave broke (not the reaction I expected from a girl who is usually quite brave!) Elliott didn't want to do much "swimming," but she loved playing in the sand with her new beach toys and collecting seashells with her Daddy. Thank you Unlce Rich and Carole for inviting us down and sharing a wonderful day!

Lunch on the pier (goldfish were rather appropriate for a day at the shore!)

I like this picture of us, despite (or because of?) the finger in the nose.

As long as you keep me away from that scary ocean, I'm cool.

At least Ellie and Ryan enjoyed getting their feet wet!

Hard at work building sand castles

Can the sunset (or my little lady) be any more beautiful?

The girls with Uncle Rich and Carole. That's actually a look of horror on Zoey's face - long day!