Picture day, haircuts, and the beach.

Monday was picture day at school, and we had either missed the flier or completely forgotten about it in the whirlwind of clamoring kids and progress reports and field trip money and artwork that is after school pickups. And, Monday being what it is; our will to fight outfit and hairstyle fights having dissipated roughly ten seconds into the week; F+F showed up to picture day like this:

The school director asked me if I wanted to take them home to change. 

Um, no thanks. We usually just roll with it, rainbow socks and all. Get ready for some sweet Christmas card photos.

A long week followed, with a break for playground time and Sammio's specials and yet another new pool (hope springing eternal in the "plastic longevity" realm),

followed by the usual Saturday morning madness, which included ballet (and this reminder that we are going to need a lot of practice before spring recital...)

plus "kid dates" for pedicures and haircuts, respectively;

and finally Mom & Dad got to insist on a late afternoon lunch date at the kicka$$ food truck rodeo at Hugger Mugger Brewery. (We heart local, especially when it's wood-fired and/or small batch. Although I'm a tad concerned with how at-home Finley looks seated at a bar.)

We had a solid laugh about a tired Ford, possibly the only person we know who can maintain this terrible tantrum face while eating artisan pizza.

Saturday night saw us surviving a tornado warning at a Woodpeckers game, our favorite weekend enetrtainment and the highlight of Ford's young life,

before making a late night run for the beach. (We had a friend's family Memorial Service near Camp Lejeune and had decided to make a road trip out of it.) Seth drove late at night through terrible storms, but we woke up to relative calm at deserted Onslow Beach.

Shoulder season turns out to be our beach jam, since it was cool (for here) and breezy, and F+F only required 7 coats of sunblock.

They "surfed" and flew kites with Dad

before passing out in the car, only to revive post-memorial service to stuff their faces with barbecue and leap into the water with clothes on at the reception following.

I hope someone does that at my funeral.

And now it's Monday again, which started with uninvited "workout buddies"

and ended with my showing up at home to Seth having built a garden with the kids, who are so excited to grow their own 'matoes. (While I hope fervently they didn't inherit my black thumb.)

My favorite photo of the week, though, is this one, of Seth and the old Desert Eagles crew at Reid's change of command Friday. They don't get the gang back together often, but I love it when they do. Definitely not a bad looking crew.