charlotte, family, travel Jay Hess charlotte, family, travel Jay Hess

Dear Beach...

You look a lot different than where I am from in Virginia.

I haven't seen you in a year, so at first I was a little leery.

My Tiki told me all about how fun you are.

The water was nice, but the sand was much more fun.  You know how I love to dig.

One of mommy's friends told her to bring a pool.  Nothing better than playing in the shade, in a pool on the beach.

Mommy had a great time at the beach.  She loves it there.

I never really understood how the water goes away, but then comes right back.  Maybe next year.

This blanket was made for the beach and so of course we had to get our yearly picture on it!

Daddy and Grandpa enjoyed the shade more than catching rays like mommy and Tiki.

But, we did so much more than play at the beach!  I got plenty of wagon rides.

Played in the pool!

And tried out all the major summer fashions.

One day we even got to see tons of different fish at the aquarium!

We saw weird ones.

And ones with pointy noses.

I even got to pretend I was one!

At the end mommy shoved this hat on my head.  She thought it was funnier than I did.

It was really fun!

I played so hard that a couple times I tried to put myself down for a nap on the back porch.

Thanks beach for letting me come over, hope to see you again soon!

Love Always, Charlotte Gray

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crafting, family Jay Hess crafting, family Jay Hess

a swinging father's day

Sorry this post is so late, we have been doing a lot of this lately...

We really did have a very nice father's day here at the Hess house.  C made it through church this year (unlike last), we had a nice lunch, Jay got some photography equipment and we packed to take a trip to the beach with Jay's parents.

Just before father's day we were busy cutting, sawing, painting and burning.  We decided that since both parents were now in their retirement homes that they needed something to build some memories on, like a homemade tree swing.

I had this idea for a while and of course I was very sure of myself that this was the gift that we must give, but no idea how to actually build one.  That is were Jay always comes in, I have the crazy ideas and he has to figure out how to pull them off.  So after some research on Jay's part this is how we built our swings.

First we gathered the supplies at the local hardware store.  You will need (to make two swings): 10x8x2 pressure treated wood, braided rope, three inch outdoor deck screws, four metal quick links and a wood burning tool.

Then Jay cut the long piece of wood (8x10x2) into sections.  Each swing needed a piece that was 32" and two pieces that were 4" for support.

Before you attach the three pieces together draw a design and use a wood burning tool to create a message or picture on the swing (this was my job!)  I decided about halfway in to put some safety glasses on due to the fumes from the burning gun making my eyeballs burn!

After you are happy with your decoration it is time to assemble.  Screw the 4" pieces onto the bottom of the 32" piece.  This will offer some support for when grandparents and grandchildren alike pile on the thing in years to come.

After you are finished assembling the swing, polyurathane the whole thing so it will last for years.

-melissa

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charlotte Jay Hess charlotte Jay Hess

65 weeks old...or 15 months for you traditional people

Before Charlotte was born, I would joke with Melissa and tell her that I was planning on counting Charlotte's age in weeks for her entire life. You know when kids are just born and you say, "oh they're 5 weeks...or...they're 11 weeks now?" Well I think most people stop after about 12-14 weeks and move to months, but not me. If you ask me how old Charlotte is, my response will be "she's 65 weeks." In honor of her being 65 weeks old we have prepared 65 pictures...just kidding. I think it's only 26, but either way, enjoy the Charlotte goodness. She is growing up way to fast.

-jay

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