the beach!

we got the chance to take the babies to the beach on Sunday- what a fun day we had! we, as knowing parents, had little expectations of the day. we mostly hoped for a chance to let the babies feel sand, see the ocean and maybe grab a corn dog for ourselves. everyone did beautifully! the babes LOVED the beach- loved the sand, playing with their toys on the blanket, digging in the wet sand, running in the water in mom and dad's arms. we had an umbrella and there was a nice breeze, so everyone was very comfortable. the water was ridiculously cold, so we didn't spend too much time actually in it. both babes got a few mouthfuls of sand, which is funny, considering no one is even into the texture of oatmeal yet...We only spent about an hour or so on the beach, and then grabbed the stroller for a walk on the boardwalk (in search of corn dogs). Within MOMENTS, Oliver's hat had fallen over his eyes, and when I went to lift it, I realized he was asleep! This hasn't happened in 10 months! Violet was in the front pack nodding off, too, so we stuck her in the stroller and she promptly fell asleep as well. Ben and I had a wonderful walk on the boardwalk, eating and talking, looking in the shops- what a great day!
a couple of other pieces of good news!
Ben passed his second exam! Wa-hoo- two down, one more to go (Saturday, so send him lucky vibes, please!). The best part of passing his exams will be that in his (very small amounts of) free time he will be able to be with us instead of studying. Hooray!
Secondly: we won a FREE double stroller! One of the twin blogs I visit was having a contest, where you enter your twins' birth date, and the one closest to the blogger's twins' birth date wins. Guess when said twins were born? JUNE 22!!!! Now, yes, we do have a double stroller, but it is SO difficult to get in and out of our little trunk- the photos of this one have the person carrying the folded up stroller like a briefcase! What a relief that will be for me! Here's a photo of our winnings:
Cool, huh? Also, the blogger has a terribly sad story- one of those stories that makes you want to run and hug and kiss your loved ones, and makes me remember that even my toughest day is a blessing. You should check her blog out : http://snickollet.blogspot.com/
Today we are off to try a *sample* Gymboree class. I'm excited- I think it will be a great opportunity to put the babies in a social but safe atmosphere and maybe fulfill Ollie's great need to climb, tumble and jump.
Lastly- can you believe I'm going to blog about the $%^#ing mice again? I AM! The other night one went through the kitchen as Ben was up studying. He grabbed a broom (although later professed to not really knowing what he was intending to do- sweep the mice out?) and chased it into the dining room. I, in the living room, jumped on the back of the couch as it ran in there. I figured it would be trapped, but it ran out and darted up the staircase!!!! Now, for those who haven't seen our house, we have a HUGE set of stairs, like 30 or 40. Who would've guessed a stupid mouse could climb stairs? And, in, like, a millisecond? Ben and I were dumbstruck. Was he in our bedroom? The nursery? Up on the 3rd floor? Again, another night with very little sleep. To make a long story endless...we called Terminex the next day for a FULL REFUND. We'll be starting from scratch again with someone new. Yuck.