Paxton's First Time at the Beach!

Susanne and Scott had to get up relatively early because they had to meet with one of the pastors about Paxton's baptism on Sunday. She wanted to make sure that they understood what they were committing to and that they knew they were supported by the church family. Paxton would be baptized in the church that Susanne grew up in and was married in. It played an integral part into who she was as a person. It gave her the foundation she needed to become a solid individual with a strong belief system. She was so glad that she could share this with her son.

Shortly after the meeting was over, Aunt Leenie and Uncle Loonie arrived. They were going to join everyone at the beach for the day. They would finally get to meet Susanne's entire family, which was so exciting. They had previously met Gigi, Poppy, Leah, and Cole when they came up for Susanne's baby shower. It was so nice for them to be able to meet the rest of the gang. After loading up the cars, they were well on their way. Susanne decided that Aunt Leenie and Uncle Loonie should be let in on a few of their family traditions. The first one was that before they got to the actual beach, there was a bridge that crossed over the intercoastal waterway that people had to travel over to get to the ocean. Tradition stated that one must hold their breath the entire time over the bridge until they hit the other side. Surprisingly, this was much easier to do as an adult than as a child. Colleen sadly informed Susanne that this was probably one of the many techniques that Poppy must have used to have a moment of silence in his life of five ladies. Poppy pleaded the fifth.

The beach was packed, but they easily found enough room for everyone to fit. They set up an umbrella and pop-up beach shelter for the little ones. It ended up being a beautiful day with just enough of a breeze to break up the heat from the sun. After Paxton took a nap, Susanne introduced him to sand for the first time. He liked to kick it with his feet. Later, Scott tried to see what Paxton would think of the ocean water. He placed him in a pool of water that was caught in a divot in the sand. It was warmer than the ocean water so they thought Paxton would enjoy it. At first, he cried and was not pleased with the whole situation. After giving him some time to adjust, he realized that it was refreshing and actually quite pleasant. He definitely fit right in.

No one wanted to leave the beach, but they needed to head back to the house to get ready for the evening festivities. They were celebrating Parker's third birthday by having an all american cookout. Before they got too far on their way home, there was one more tradition that Colleen and Chris had to participate in. This was the best one of all. Ever since Susanne could remember, anytime her family would go to the beach her dad would stop at a grocery store to buy popsicles for the ride home. This might sound like a refreshing treat that one would enjoy leisurely as they recovered from the relentless sun, but that was not the case. It was actually a competition. The purpose of the popsicles was to see who could eat the most from the time they left the grocery store to the time they arrived in the driveway. It was a challenge that was gladly accepted each time, however, Colleen and Chris were skeptical. They still took part in the Timm tradition to see what it was all about. Scott took first place with Colleen finishing second. Chris was a little bit of a Sally and finished last. It was definitely a competition that took some training. Hopefully, they would visit again in the future to be able to do it again.

Everyone got spruced up for Parker's birthday party. By the time the party got underway, Chief and Moppy showed up along with Leah's in-laws, Nana and Granddad. Nana and Granddad brought "Cornhole" for all to play. This was a game in which the players took turns throwing bags filled with feed corn at a raised platform with a hole in the far end. There were two platforms at each end of the lawn and someone from both teams stood on opposite sides. There was a point system that you would have to follow which was dependent upon where the bag landed. If the bag made it in the hole it was worth three points, but if it just landed on the platform itself, it was only worth one point. The winning team was whoever could reach 21 points first. It sounded pretty simple and straightforward. One might even say boring, but that was not the case. It was addicting and never got old. For dinner, they had grilled hamburgers and hotdogs along with numerous homemade side items. They all had full bellies by the end of it all. Later, Parker opened his gifts. The biggest surprise was his new bicycle that Aunt Leah and Uncle Wally got for him. He was ecstatic and immediately went for a ride. Susanne, Scott, and Paxton got Parker a Snoopy Snowcone Machine. This was something they knew he would enjoy because Scott and Susanne had enjoyed it so much as kids themselves. Even though there wasn't much room for dessert, everyone forced themselves to eat cupcakes and ice cream. Parker had requested blueberry cupcakes for his birthday so Aunt Leah made it happen. Parker assisted with placing the sprinkles and the blueberries on each cupcake. They turned out beautifully. Aunt Leah was so kind to make Susanne a special plate of brownies since she couldn't partake in the other sweet treats.

The party continued on well into the evening. It was so nice to finally have everyone together again. It had been a long time since all four sisters had been home at the same time. It was also so meaningful that Colleen and Chris made a special trip down to be there for Paxton and to join them in the many other celebrations. What awesome friends they are!

All in all, it was an awesome day. Paxton definitely enjoyed the sun, sand, and surf.