Fun in the Sun....

The views were breathtaking...from every angle and from every corner of our favorite annual vacation spot, the island of Martha's Vineyard. From the lighthouse in Aquinnah (taken from wrap around roofdeck of our uncle's palace by the sea) to the passing schooner, to the sunset after an incredible day at the beach--each beautiful picture represents the absolutely wonderful time we had on our first vacation this summer.

While island residents, we celebrated Father's Day and of course, Princess Abigail's birthday! :)

We think she was happy to celebrate in the 'special house'

We played in our pool.....

We went to the beach...a lot! :)

We kayaked....

Did some luxurious swinging on our porch swing.....

Went on mysterious hikes through the marshes/forests/beaches on the island....

Visited with our awesome relatives, the Ranallis....

Visited the permanent home of a particular comedic celebrity....

Rode the oldest platform carousel in the world....Attended (and made several purchases at) a craft and artisan fair at the artist compound on the island....

....and walked on the beach, of course, at sunset....holding hands, no less!

All in all, a STELLAR start to the Summer of 2011...

Hello sunshine and warmth!

Graduation Day

After much hard work and dedication to her studies, Princess Abigail has GRADUATED from pre-K. In the Fall, she will begin an entirely new journey in her educational career--heading off the Kindergarten. Mommy is beside herself with nerves about this evolution as all the kids at the elementary school seem so big!

She is very proud of her accomplishment and we are thrilled that she has reached this amazing milestone in her life. She's worked very hard and achieved equal to her peers, which is a huge success in everyone's book.

Congratulations Abby!

Start of Summer and Picasso's unexpected visit.....

Finally! Summer has arrived in full force in the Kingdom. Temperatures today reached 90, and are expected to remain in the upper echelon for at least the next week. "Yippeee" says King Tony!

It wouldn't be summer without the craziness of kid birthday parties, and what better way to kick off months of parties than a super-sized pizza bash complete with Curious Creatures (http://www.curiouscreatures.org/) in tow?

Above is Prince Alec, consuming his first of many slices at a friend's birthday bash this past weekend. The most fun was seeing not only the three royals play with critters and reptiles, but King Tony giving one or two a pat on the head. History in the making! :)

Princess Abs takes on the python....and has no fear whatsoever! Brave girl! :)

"I want to kiss the alligator" SMOOCH! :)

Giving an albino lizard a little love....

Alec gets up close to his first reptile....

All three little ones (and some other friends) glue themselves to Queen Wendy when the snakes come out. King Tony is far, far away....

Welcome a flying squirrel!! :)

Who doesn't love birthday cake--and a picnic cake at that (complete with ants!)? :)

The newest addition to the Kingdom is a lovely new vehicle which now resides in our garage--specifically for the mini royals! :) Assembled by none other than the King himself, the kids are completely thrilled with their new summer toy! :) Even King Tony wanted to take it for a spin....

Most days are filled with everyday challenges around the Kingdom. You know the usual, dirty laundry, a sink filled with dishes, vacuuming and yard work. However this year, we've gone a few steps further with some home remodeling and updating, which included painting of our garage--just to keep it fresh and clean looking. Sounds simple and positive enough, doesn't it?

Well, nothing in the Kingdom is as simple or easy as it sounds.

Never has been, and likely never will be. :)

As the King and Queen took to their rollers and paintbrushes (after settling the mini royals outside with toys, activities and fun), the garage began to transform into a bright white paradise for the royal vehicles. Within a few short seconds of having our backs turned however, all three mini royals (Princes Alec and Aramis and Princess Abigail), had plopped their hands/arms into the white paint (latex, no less) bucket, ran outside to the closed garage door and garden rock wall, and decided to add their own personal touches to the activity.

The results of just a few unattended moments can be seen below:

Notice the lovely hand prints, as well as the 'brush splatters' delivered by the crew.....onto our newly painted house, no less.

And a few areas where they tried to 'wipe off' the evidence of their wrong doing...

Notice the trail of white paint leading from inside the garage outward.

The trail that led us directly to the culprits....

In the heat of the moment, the King and Queen were beside themselves with rage.

Why would their little precious ones do such a thing?

Fortunately, there was no yelling or anger.

We quickly realized that our children (being in pre-K and all) spend much of their week fingerpainting and playing with shaving cream paint which they put on everything they want! How are they to know that latex paint is any different?

The answer simply is that they wouldn't.

So, after a visit to the local paint store to pick up another gallon of exterior house paint to match our current color, some sandpaper and some paint thinner/remover, we righted the wrongs made on that day.

The kids spent about 60 minutes in a tub getting paint removed from their bodies and hair, but the important lesson their parents came away with was the pure realization that they just wanted to help us accomplish our goals for the day, and simply added their own inner Picasso's to the project.

Thank goodness we were able to repair the damage to the Kingdom. And at the same time, educate our children that while some paint is okay to play with...other paint is not.

Oh when, oh when, will the lunacy subside? :)