The Jersey shore

Summer's gone (the state fair is gone for another year and the pool is closed).  Fall is here (leaves are turning and it's apple picking time).  Helaina's been a 2nd grader for more than a month now.  Even with my "free" days with Helaina at school, I've been keeping busy and am still behind on lots of things.  We headed out to Wildwood for a wild time in August.  Fun in the sand and sun, as always.

First time we ever buried her in the sand completely.  She loved it - especially when it came time for her to break out.

We brought mermaids and Barbie dolls this year to the beach.  They loved the surf too.

 The ocean water was really warm.

 Yah, she's cool in her Monster High sunglasses.

 She would have stayed in the water all day if we let her.

 Tube rides at the water park.  She's a brave gal and went down colossal water slides all by herself.  Braver than Jim and I (well, I used to go down them but not any more).

Nothing like a tire swing under a waterfall.

 Ahh, yes, the curvy snake tunnel slide.  She must have gone down this thing at least 20 times throughout our week-long vacation.  Absolutely loved the thing.

 The Flitzer - a fast steel coaster with lots of speed and curves for a relatively small coaster.  Two years ago Jim and I went on it with her, but this year she was tall enough to go it alone - and she did, many many times.  Absolutely loved it, laughing the through the entire ride.

Another favorite of Helaina's was this superman style ride.  It went up and around in circles, but also tilted while circling. It would have made me sick but she rode it daily - multiple times.

 Yup, asleep on the swings.  It was late.  We bought her a wrist bracelet that day so she could ride from noon to midnight all she wanted.  We hit the beach in the morning, did the rides after lunch, then back to the hotel and out to dinner, then back to the boardwalk for more rides.  She kept saying "just one more ride, one more".  This was finally the last ride of the night.

Our beach bunny sound asleep at last, with her 2 stuffed animals from home, her favorite little pillow and the Hello Kitty that Jim won her on the boardwalk at one of those water race games.  She was so excited when the bell rang at the game and she saw that her Daddy had won.  See you again in a few years, Wildwood.