when cappy comes....

we had been waiting....

and looking...

and finally he came.

cappy is here.

and he brought his classic TO-DO LIST...
in his signature all caps handwriting.... in stark contrast to my no caps handwriting. :) 

firsts things first... cappy looks for projects. obviously this banana tree was in dire need of a trim. my entire life my father has been able to get his hands on a machete within a moment's notice.  this seemed normal until recently. i think that's a good sign you lead a semi-exciting life... if you need a machete on a regular basis for non creepy reasons you are onto something. but that's just a theory. 

next up... the beach.

i find mild amusement watching cappy remember what it feels like to haul this crew to the beach.

he is used to running fancy free...

unfettered by the constraints of wipes and umbrellas, snacks and shovels.

cappy may forget the sunscreen and diaper bag but he knows the ocean.

the kids didn't have snorkel sets. this is unacceptable in cappy's world. plus target is a must go destination no matter where you are.
this is my opinion.. not cappy's.
he could live quite happily in a world without target which is madness.

oh yeah... cappy's happy. :) he just loves when i photograph him in target.
it's pretty much second only to when i make him hold up his to do list and snap away while trying to practice and adjust my manual settings.

grayson put on the snorkel set the minute we hit home and has yet to take it off.

grayson in flippers or "scuba feet" as he likes to call them stresses cappy out.

so cappy naps with the children...

he has already implemented the wise adage of sleep when the babies sleep.. :)

while mama steals a quiet moment to play with her littlest baby.  :)

thursday nights are the art fair down the street at the marina.
 grouper dogs are on the menu.... 

lengthy discussion and explanations of art and fish taxidermy are had...

it's a good time.

then it's time to feed the fish...

what are all those kids looking at? surely it's not just arianna's amazing elbow joint...

it's jacks. huge and fast and hungry for that little shrimp in your hand.  or baby in your stroller. just kidding. they are harmless--- unless you are a dead shrimp. 

since cappy is here to entertain children in the morning and get the second bowl of cereal and pour the orange juice i can take luci and head out for a run.
riiiiight. let's be honest we are fast walking and we are loving it.

let me tell you a little story about a girl and her self timer button.

so i just wanted a picture of me and luci out on the jetty path you know.. living it up in the early morning light.. feeling all exercisey in my exercise shoes. there was this girl sitting on a rock about 20 feet from me... she was clearly watching my 3 ring circus of arranging my camera on the stroller, setting my ridiculous manual settings that are still giving me anxiety, grabbing my baby and then running nonchalantly over to my focus spot and standing perfectly still until you hear the click... and then repeating 17 times. 

so of course she offered to just take my picture. umm no.. she pulled out her phone and i'm fairly certain took video of me and probably posted it to youtube. it's a good thing i have very little dignity left in tact. that comes in handy in situations such as those.

plus how could you care in a place like this??

morning on the jetty is magic anyway you see it.

posted on youtube or right there in person. :)

our path runs right down the middle of the neighborhood. you pass neighbors with their dogs, old leathered retirees with their walking visors and knee socks, tourists with their sarongs and sunburns, and every block you catch different wafts of the flowers that grow up like weeds. if that doesn't make you get exercisey nothing will.

cappy was brave enough to take the kids on a bike ride on his second morning. he thought that meant that he would get to ride bikes too. i asked how he felt about circling endlessly and stopping needlessly since there pace is just a tad over a snail's crawl. he didn't feel good about it. i forgot to mention he should stay behind them when walking.. he came home with a bloody banged up ankle from a run in with an over zealous grandson. it happens. 

first the necessary pre trip discussion.

expectations, qualifications, standards and needs assessments.. you know the usual. :)

cappy with tree claw hands. :)

grayson getting his final fitting check...

perfection.

no time with cappy is complete without a trip to home depot and the boat store. the smell of wood, paint and dockers are the smells of my childhood saturday mornings. :)

cappy pulls out the surfboard and attempts to turn my landlubber babies into little fish. it's hard. they are nervous and overwhelmed... but if anyone can do it he can. :) 

grayson is still obsessed with his 'scuba stuff'. he loves to wear it on the beach.. we are still working on wearing more than just the mask in the actual water. one step at a time...

we love our cappy.
he is unique onto himself.
he talks to children like they are adults.
he is a list maker and list keeper.
he gets up early and goes to bed early.
he can't handle too much mess and chaos and when he's reached his fill i can tell by the tight muscles around his mouth and his squinting left eye.
he loves me by washing the bug guts off my van.
he performs dramatic interpretations of seemingly mundane tasks  and does ridiculous dances with accents and props... for the children. :) 
we can talk politics and conspiracy theories...and usually agree. 
he is a putzer... his eye is always roving for something to fix, to trim, to caulk. 
he makes me feel safe wherever we are.
he is unusual and yet predictable..
he is difficult to pin down and yet once you figure him out.. you know exactly what's coming.
i love my daddy. :)