More fun at the beach in Rhode Island. This is South Shore, the beach that I went to as a little girl, and so did my mom and gram when they kids. When I was little we actually used to go right next to this beach and it was called Goosewing you entered through a big farm. A lady would sit at the gate and take your money to allow you to park on her property you would then drive past the cows and park on their grass to access the beach. That part of the beach is now a nature preserve for birds so all of the cars and people now crowd into one small rocky area while the birds enjoy the huge sandy area and the beautiful grass behind it. My dad and brothers love to surf the big waves. I actually caught a few one day. A few years ago Mike was intiated into the family by having to surf he was screaming the whole time. This year he didn't get a chance to endure the torture. Since he is a good Detroit "city boy" he is a little frightened about the sea creatures that are lurking about.

The girls and I just got back from a week at the beach in Rhode Island. Mike was able to come for the frist weekened we were there, but we missed him the rest of the week. The girls loved hanging out with my brother's kids Brooklyn (age 8) and Ben (age 6) as well as my youngest cousins Shania (3) and Lucian (6).

We were very close to the area where my mom's ten brothers and sister's live (my mom is the oldest of 11). So we had a big cookout on Sunday and were able to spend time at the beach during the week with 8 out of the ten siblings. My sweet grandmother had a great time enjoying the children and sitting on the beach watching all of the fun.

I have a ton of pics. so I'll probably be posting more soon.

My camera's not working again but.. if you click on the links for the Cooke's Blogsopt http://tennesseecookes.blogspot.com/ or the Lamm's Website http://thelittlelamms.blogspot.com/ you will find recent pics of the girls from our trip to Nashville last week. We all had a great time visiting with friends. The girls really enjoyed the downtown Nashville Fireworks. I was really suprised that Pearl was really watching them, she was so excited. It helped that we sat just far enough away so that they were not very loud. While we were in Nashville Pearl came down with a fever that lasted for a few days. She never had any other symptoms and is recovering nicely. Rose had a blast hanging out with so many kids. Mike and I enjoyed spending time with all of our wonderful friends.

We are looking forward to getting to gether with my family at the beach in RI next week. Unfortunately Mike's work schedule only permits him to come up for the weekend. Hopefully my Camera will be fixed by then so I can get some cute beach pics. of the girls with my niece and nephew.

The girls met their great-grandparent's on my dad's side. A few weeks ago we went for an unexpected trip to West Virginia with my parents. My dad's older brother passed away suddenly. Since we lived relatively close the girls and I were able to join them for the funeral. My dad did the service and when he was up telling a story about his brother pushing him off of the porch roof in a baby stroller Rose said "Papa's cracking up, up there.". You have got to love kids they always lighten the mood when you need it most. Rose has a very tender heart and about half way into the drive to WV, out of the blue she said "Excuse me Papa, I am sorry your brother died." She has been asking alot of questions about death and heaven. She told my mom to give Busia (Mike's mom) a hug for her when she gets to heaven. The other day she was asking me "Where is heaven?" I said really far away and she said "Pearl and I will grow wings like angels or something and fly up there." I told her yes someday, but not yet, PLEASE!

Here are some pics. of us at the old farm house we stayed at. It was in a little town called Flinstone, MD. Rose enjoyed the creek in the backyard and the porch swing.