after being away for a week, j did a water jump into the ocean at tybee island.
at first i was a TAD stressed. can we discuss the amount of planning, list making, and packing that it takes to get four little chickies to the beach (to stay for four hours) all by YOURSELF?
luckily, i'm a master list maker and i only forgot underwear for the girls to wear under their sundresses on the way home.
oh well, it was just us howells in the van anyway. HA!
we got to tybee around 8:30 am to see this:
a beautiful day at the beach indeed. in fact, almost perfect. warm but not hot, breezy but not windy, no sand gnats.
after patting myself on the back for about five seconds (i did after all get a cooler, towels, toys,sunblock, two baby carriers and two bigs down to the beach all by myself!) we headed down to the water and looked up to see this:
does anyone see the helicopter up there?
and guess who the first one out was?
that's right!
(he's all the way to the right here).
i have to be honest that watching this i felt two things.
a. nervous, b/c that's how i am, my stomach gets in knots whenever i watch him do things like this.
b. JEALOUS. all i could think was how much i wish i could have been drifting down towards the ocean, with no one saying MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY look at me! with no one needing to be held or fixed...just the sky and the water and calm.
b/c back down on earth? life was anything but calm for me.
harper was FREAKING OUT. over what you might ask? why over these:
she pointed and SCREAMED
OOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! THOSE BIRDS ARE GOING TO PECK MY HEAD TO A NUB!!!!!!!
really harper? REALLY???
and sadie kept yelling "IT'S TOO DIWTY (dirty) OUT HERE!!! TOO MUCH DIWT ON MY TOES!!!". and i kept trying to tell her that it was sand but she wasn't listening.
and both harper and sadie kept coming to me and telling me they had sand in their bajunejunes (i'll let you guess what this is code for) and i kept telling them
IT'S PART OF LIFE IF YOU GO TO THE BEACH AND ARE A GIRL. YOU GET A SANDY BAJUNEJUNE.
but no one was listening to me. no one.
I NEEDED A PARACHUTE, dang it!
but it was awesome. this is h and her sweet friend b watching their daddies come back down to earth.
harper posing (as always, even when she doesn't know she is being photographed)
she kept calling it "the sea". as in "oh, i didn't know the SEA was this wonderful!!!" ahahha
and a pic of sadie doing i don't know what. strutting maybe???
but this picture makes me laugh so hard. HAHAH.
the babies napped, i think they loved hearing the REAL ocean, as that is what they hear on their white noise machine every night.
and daddy was back, and all was right in the girls worlds. and sadie was pretty pumped that daddy wore her elmo sunglasses for a bit with nary a hint of embarrassment.
best daddy ever, i tell you.
i am DAILY so proud of j and what he does. but some days? it's just extra cool. and hot. i won't lie.
there's something about seeing your man jump out of a helicopter that is kinda hot.
and that is one of the MANY reasons i love what he does.
happy saturday, sweet friends!
xoxo
s
Ok, I love that he did that and then walked up and put on Elmo sunglasses!! HA, what a guy! Thanks for sharing this experience with us. :)
Love,
Jen
Posted by: Jennifer Stewart | 04/09/2011 at 08:07 AM
Love this post! Photos are awesome. You did an amazing "jump" yourself today by getting all of your peeps to the beach in time to see the jump! You are an inspiring woman. Love your blog & scrap work.
Posted by: Shan Herren | 04/09/2011 at 08:08 AM
oh my goodness that is too funny.
My 3 year old had a heart attack over a crow that sat near us when we ate outside recently (a crow is similar to a raven fyi...in case you don't have crows!!)
We have a white noise machine too--my good word it is a LIFE SAVER> i'm considering buying extras in case these ever stop working!!
Gorgeous post!!
PS I can see why you'd think that cute elmo-wearing man of yours is hot lol. I hope you get a chance to fly through the air with nothing but the breeze and sun to distract you==with a fully functioning parachute of course!!
Posted by: Linda Trace | 04/09/2011 at 08:12 AM
This post made me laugh so hard! A sandy bajunejune is my LEAST favorite part of the beach... just sayin'.
Posted by: Ally | 04/09/2011 at 08:23 AM
Thank for a great post..
Glad you all made it to the beach..
Glad all of you enjoyed the day.
Love snapshots of your family.
Posted by: Jennifer Camplin | 04/09/2011 at 08:32 AM
Hee the famous twitter hashtag arises again ;)
xoxoxo
Posted by: Kelly | 04/09/2011 at 08:34 AM
Beautiful photo of the helicopter and sunrays. Way cool. I work around the helicopters here at Hood, so it's way cool to see them in action. What an experience for J and your family to see.
Posted by: Sherry | 04/09/2011 at 08:39 AM
Wow - what a man! And I love that you celebrate him and your life so much. You are a beautiful human.
Posted by: jennifer | 04/09/2011 at 08:54 AM
That is hot!! I would be so proud too!! Fun pics, Steph! You always make me laugh with your details!!! Have a great weekend. :D
Posted by: Kami | 04/09/2011 at 09:44 AM
All you forgot was the panties?!? YOU GO GIRL! :) I would have forgotten a girl or something more important! lol.
Posted by: Pidgen | 04/09/2011 at 09:45 AM
OH these are such priceless memories & I love your commentary on the whole day. It's so real from a mommy perspecitive. I can totally see it all going on. It is amazing what he does & I'm sure you are all so proud of him!
Posted by: Jessica R. | 04/09/2011 at 09:53 AM
Kudos to you for getting all of them to the beach by yourself..I tried once to just get 1 kiddo to the beach and it was a lot of work!
Posted by: Kim Boken | 04/09/2011 at 10:04 AM
you ever read something or hear someone singing and get goose bumps, that is what this post did for me. when you get the goose bumps you are touched on a different level I think. Wow what a day for you and the chicks! and who would not love to watch their man jump out of a helicopter? great posts...........as always
Posted by: Kat Layton | 04/09/2011 at 10:13 AM
You, girlfriend, are my new heroine!!! I needed you this morning; needed you to be funny, and honest; needed to laugh, and remember.
Like I said, you Stephanie Howell, are my new heroine! (Cept in my novel you do wear panties under your sundress!)
Posted by: Sharon Osborn | 04/09/2011 at 10:31 AM
so sweet! and made me laugh too. My girls are sooooo girly. It takes half the morning at the beach just talking then into bare-feet in the sand! Lovely post (:
Posted by: Danielle Barton | 04/09/2011 at 10:44 AM
You are soooo funny! I love how you write! The girls comments about the sand - hahaha!!! I can see how that would be HOT too! Suzy
Posted by: suzy plantamura | 04/09/2011 at 10:59 AM
You cracked me up!!! H & the birds.......too funny!! How did you not wet your pants laughing??? My boys are teens & I miss this stuff~
Posted by: Rita | 04/09/2011 at 11:08 AM
Beautiful pictures! Enjoy your weekend!
Posted by: Pam Ballard | 04/09/2011 at 11:13 AM
Uhhh....YES, hot men jumping out of planes! YES PLEASE...I'm a single momma look for some hotness...send one my way!
Posted by: dani | 04/09/2011 at 11:46 AM
Uhhh....YES, hot men jumping out of planes! YES PLEASE...I'm a single momma looking for some hotness...send one my way!
Posted by: dani | 04/09/2011 at 11:46 AM
awesome, steph! you are doing amazing as a momma and you are a fab scrapper and woman too! :) :) Good job and thanks, as always, for sharing. :)
Posted by: Jennie M | 04/09/2011 at 11:54 AM
Gorgeous photos!!! I love this story- how fun. I love it that as mama's the thought of jumping out of a plane sounds relaxing! haaaaa!! have a lovely weekend!
Posted by: Jenni Hufford | 04/09/2011 at 12:08 PM
sounds like fun. we love going to the beach, and I know what you mean about packing so much for the kids! We go to the beach every summer for 3 weeks and are never ready to leave. My girls love the beach so much, we are beachfront and spend pretty much the entire day at the beach every day for three weeks. How nice that you live so close. Did you take your good camera? Your pictures are great! Im to scared to take my SLR but I wish I could!
Posted by: Stacey | 04/09/2011 at 12:13 PM
okay I'll admit my complete lack of knowledge in this area! So he (they) parachuted into the ocean while you watched and then a while later he came up out of the water and walked up the beach ala James Bond?! How is that not hot and sexy?!!!
Posted by: Laurie | 04/09/2011 at 12:28 PM
I absolutely adored this post and the photos- too cute. Wishing I was at the beach. The humidity arrived in TN this week and it's already driving me crazy!
Posted by: Tracy | 04/09/2011 at 12:29 PM
bwahahahahaha...."those birds are going to peck my head to a nub" priceless!!!! The pics are gorgeous! The comment about the sand by Sadie, hilarious!! I just love coming to read your blog Steph...always puts a smile on my face...thanks for sharing your days!
Posted by: Ki Kruk | 04/09/2011 at 02:06 PM
those bigs of yours are absolutely hysterical. :)
Posted by: melanie bauer | 04/09/2011 at 02:34 PM
Beautifully said - you have such a lovely way with words.
Posted by: Michelle | 04/09/2011 at 02:41 PM
Ok, I LOVED this post! What cool memories for your family...
I do have to admit that at first I was wondering ,"What?" Just going to the beach...to hang out? That's a LOT of work!"
Posted by: Kris | 04/09/2011 at 04:45 PM
Loved the post today! It was exciting to see J floating down and walking up on the beach :)
Posted by: angiecmt | 04/09/2011 at 05:11 PM
I think he was hotter mowing th lawm :)
Posted by: Angela | 04/09/2011 at 05:42 PM
I miss when my kids were babies, but then I remember how much STUFF they needed for something simple like a beach trip and I'm ok with who they are now :)
I'm curious if J ever talks about what he does with you, or can he not?
Posted by: marlene gibson | 04/09/2011 at 06:24 PM
Your pictures are really good. Mine never turn out that good. Makes me realize we should go there more often. Tybee is just a few miles from our house.
Posted by: RobynS | 04/09/2011 at 08:01 PM
Great pictures. How amazing is a man who can jump from a helicopter AND wear Elmo sunglasses in the same day AND still look awesome while doing both. Kudos to J. for being so cool. Kudos to Mom too, for holding down the homefront. A sandy bajunejune is NO laughing matter. :) You guys simply ROCK!
Posted by: Tracy L. | 04/09/2011 at 08:31 PM
This is truly amazing! Watching your husband jump out of a helicopter...wow!
We live at the beach and we have many playdates in the sand frequently. The kids have gotten used to getting sand everywhere, but I'm not sure I will ever get to the amount of sand that is brought back into our car and house after each trip. I used to think taking 2 kids to the beach was hard, now I have three and I think that is tough, but 4 kids (2 being so little!)...you are my hero!
Oh yeah, I ran a 1/2 marathon once on Tybee Island it is paradise!!!
Posted by: Corey Brock | 04/09/2011 at 08:36 PM
What great beach photos!! I am envious!!! We have nothing near as nice in the Midwest! May I add, my DH would love to jump out of a helicopter. Heck, he would just love to go for a ride in a military one! Been seeing alot of them in the skies here lately!!! I don't know if they are flying from the MSP base to Camp Douglas or where they are going.
Posted by: Michelle Unruh | 04/09/2011 at 10:56 PM
Terrific post! Bajunejune? Ha! Cool to see your man jump from a helicopter! Not too many folks fet to do that! What a day of memories!
Posted by: Kathy Martin | 04/10/2011 at 06:52 AM
I can only imagine what goes on a girl's mind when she sees her dad jumping from a helicopter. "My dad is a real superhero!!"
Posted by: Ana F. | 04/10/2011 at 08:21 AM
what a beautiful day to jump! wow. my brother always flaps his legs (like jumping jacks in the air) so we know it's him. haha. you did awesome on all the packing and prep. i am so glad things came together. :o)
Posted by: ScrappinA | 04/10/2011 at 10:35 AM
I love this post-just made me laugh right out loud. Your kids are hilarious. :)
Posted by: rkokes | 04/10/2011 at 01:39 PM
'a sandy bajunejune' LOL!!
Oh yeah, watching them do all the army stuff--be still my beating heart!! I love when my DH has the SFC face on (unless he's aiming it at me-whole 'nother story!)!!
Posted by: Margaret | 04/10/2011 at 03:33 PM
That is soooo cool! What an exciting event! We had a ton of dolphin at Hilton Head this weekend right near the shoreline- it was awesome for the kids to watch and some of the bigs paddled out of surfboards in wetsuits to get super close. Hope your girls saw them in Savannah too!! Now back to reality.....Spring Break officially over.
Posted by: Susan (luckyjava) | 04/10/2011 at 04:18 PM
Hilarious! Kudos to you for getting everyone to the beach - it looked like a gorgeous day!
I don't know if I could actually watch that. My heart sunk a little just imagining it. Brave, brave souls!
Happy Monday to you all...
Posted by: Amy K | 04/11/2011 at 04:20 AM
I love your post, i always get a good giggle, glad the family is doing well.
Posted by: brandy | 04/11/2011 at 12:09 PM
so*very*cool for you to be there to see it! loooove your pics & commentary :)
Posted by: Kim | 04/11/2011 at 01:46 PM
Love the photos and commentary! Becky and I were able to watch the jump last year. What an experience!
Posted by: Lindsey | 04/12/2011 at 09:41 AM
I am jealous. I wish we were stationed anywhere in GA, but for the beach I want to be stationed there. We are many many miles from a beach. Great photos! Soldiers are very attractive, especially in the eyes of their wives :)
Posted by: Erin S | 04/12/2011 at 12:52 PM