We all went to the beach a few times while Gayle was here. We never get tired of the beach.
Gayle and Seth having a snack break.
The boys taking a roll in the sand.
Ethan could spend all day playing in the sand. He's such a cutie.
Seth, my little beach comber. He had his bucket so full of shells and rocks that he could barely carry it.
The boys were watching some surfers.
Ethan helped Gayle pick out some good rocks for her to take home. He's my big helper for sure.
Gayle, the boys, and I went to the aquarium in Wilmington. The boys had been once before with Mimi and Mambo on Seth's 1st birthday, but were a little too young to really enjoy it. They seemed to be slightly more interested this time around.
Gayle and the boys watching the alligators. The boys were pretty scared of them at first and wouldn't go near them, but their curiosity ended up getting the better of them.
Seth was so funny at the aquarium. There were a lot of people there and it was hard for the boys to see, but Seth would just say, "Excuse me!" and push his way right up to the very front of the tanks and displays. At least he was polite about it. 
We had to get our picture taken with the giant frog.
Gayle and the boys. They had such a great time together.
I thought this picture was kind of cool. Seth liked the sharks.
Gayle and I just wanted to boil that enormous lobster and serve him with butter. Yum!
We got to watch some divers cleaning the tanks and feeding the fish. The boys really liked that.
We were all smiles after our fun outing to the aquarium.
Gayle, the boys, and I went to the 4th of July celebration at Camp Lejeune. We all had a great time. There were lots of activities set up for the kids, good music, a great fireworks show, and yummy food.
The boys had cotton candy for the first time - and loved it, of course! Who doesn't love cotton candy?
Seth preferred the pink cotton candy over the blue.
Ethan liked stuffing all the cotton candy in his mouth at once.
Gayle and the boys chilling out on our blankets. The weather was perfect. Just the right temperature with a nice, cool breeze.
Seth riding the "train" (as the boys called it) from the parking lot to the field. They didn't have the trains running after the fireworks display, so it was a long haul carrying two little boys, a cooler, a diaper bag, and blankets.
Ethan enjoying the train ride.
I am always the person behind the camera, so it was nice to have Gayle with us to take some pictures of me with the boys.
Gayle and Seth on the train.
The Marine Corps jazz band played, as well as the Marine Corps rock band, and the Marine Corps classical band. Who knew they had so many bands? The boys definitely liked the jazz band the best. Ethan had on a Beatles shirt and Seth a Rolling Stones shirt. One of the band members gave them high fives and said, "Cool shirts!" They thought that was the greatest.
Ethan and Gayle watching the band play.
Gayle got these lights for the boys to play with before the fireworks started. They called them their wands and kept waving them and saying, "abracadabra, presto!" It was pretty funny.
Gayle and the boys showing off their light wands.
The boys liked the fireworks (sort of). Ethan covered his ears the entire time, but liked all the pretty colors. After they were over, Seth told me, "Mama, I no like fireworks. I like big guns!" They had a 21-gun salute before the fireworks display, so I guess that was his favorite part.
The fireworks started at 9:30 and were over by 10:00, but there was a lot of traffic getting off base, so it was a little after midnight before we got home. A super late night for the boys, but they did so good. And the best part - they slept until 8:00 this morning!!! They have never slept in that late in their lives, but then again they've never been up that late either.
The boys had a really busy day. They started out going fishing with Bruce and Broedy. The other day Seth got his fishing pole out and asked Bruce to take him fishing. So, Bruce was brave enough to take them all by himself. He and Broedy took a few pictures for me.
Seth with a fish he caught.
Ethan and a fish he caught. The boys would still not touch the fish or the bait. Maybe one day.
