"Oh sweet chunk-a-munk, it looks like we're going to have to loosen the straps in your carseat again," Lindsay sighed, settling Avery into her seat. "Have you been getting up in the night and raiding the fridge?"

The six-month-old stared back at her with a devilish, drooly grin and blinked a few times before giggling. Lindsay snickered and brushed the unruly red curls off of her forehead, then backed out of the car to help Ben in.

"Mama?"

"Yes?"

"Danny, Austin, Isa, Sarah, Dunner at the beach too?"

"Yeah, they're meeting us there."

"All day?"

"Yeah, we'll spend the whole day together. Are you excited?"

"Uh-huh! Build castles. Play in water too."

"I'm sure you will."

"What mama do?"

"Mama's going to work on her tan."

"Yeah, because she's not dark enough already," Adam said with a roll of his eyes. Lindsay and the kids all turned several shades darker after just a little while in the sun. He managed to get dark too, but it took him a lot longer.

"I would like to get in the car," Colton said, squeezing himself through the door and into his seat. "Geez Louise, it is hotter than poop in here."

Adam snickered and reached in to start the car so the air conditioning would kick on.

"Do we have everything babe?" he asked, moving back to close the trunk.

"I think so. Did you get the water bottles out of the fridge?"

"Yeah, they're in the cooler. Do all the kids have something to drink?"

"I think we're set."

"Then let's hit the road."

They got into the car and pulled out of the driveway, both donning sunglasses as they headed for Coney Island. It had been Isa's birthday request, and they figured it would be a good way to celebrate school being out and the beginning of summer at the same time. They were all looking forward to having the family all together for a day, as things had been busy and they hadn't had a dinner together in weeks.

"We need some tunes up in this joint," Colton said, staring out the window. "Somethin' awesome. I love country but I don't want that."

Adam chuckled and found something on his iPod and Colton nodded in approval.

"I like this music, daddy."

"I pick music?" Ben asked, frowning.

"You can pick the music on the way home."

"That is a deal."

"Ahh!" Avery screamed, not wanting to be left out of the conversation. They all looked at her and she giggled.

"Sissy, you silly," Ben said, finding her pacifier wedged between her leg and the seat and handing it to her. She grinned, big enough to show her dimples, and he put the pacifier in her mouth.

"Are we almost there?" Colton asked after a while, his forehead resting against the window.

"Almost. Just a few more minutes."

"I really wanna go in the ocean."

"We will."

They got stuck in traffic a few miles from the beach but Lindsay made up a game so the boys didn't really seem to mind. Once they finally got to Coney Island it took half an hour to find a parking space and they were going to have to do quite a bit of walking. They got their stuff out of the car and loaded up their arms and the bottom of the stroller, then set out to meet the Messers on the boardwalk. Avery fell asleep after just a few moments in the stroller and the boys chattered happily about all they planned to do that day.

"Dunner!" Ben hollered, letting go of the stroller and dashing across the boardwalk to his best friend.

"Binyin!"

They hugged each other happily, comparing outfits and stories about what had happened since the last time they saw each other.

"I haved Coco Puffs for breakfast."

"I had Engelheiden muffin-hoofers."

"What is that?"

"They is good for doctors and good for roofers. Daddy calls them English muffins."

"Oh. We have those with jelly sometimes. Ma, can we go on the beach now?"

"I thought you wanted to play some games."

"Yup!"

The ten of them headed off for the midway where the kids played games, losing every single one because they were rigged, but not really caring about that. They were only halfway through all the games when it started to get crowded, so they all headed for the beach, promising the kids they would be back later.

"Let's go swimming!" Colton said, kicking his sandals off and throwing his t-shirt to the ground. "C'mon daddy, swim with me so I don't drown!"

"Yeah daddy, you take me too!" Isa said, tugging on Danny's hand. "We can all go in the water!"

"Alright but it's going to be cold."

Fathers and children scampered off to the ocean while mothers gathered the discarded shoes and shirts and piled them up nicely before laying back on beach towels and letting out twin sighs.

"This is so nice," Austin sighed. "What are you staring at?"

"Adam. With his shirt off."

"Oh dear."

"What? You're starin' at Danny."

"I can't get enough."

"Yeah so quit mocking me."

"Has Adam been working out?"

"Mm-hmm."

"I think he's more ripped than Flack."

"So don't want to know how you know that."

Austin chuckled and shook her head while Avery stretched and grunted then started to cry when no one rescued her from the stroller.

"Come here, bug-a-boo," Austin said, reaching over and getting her out. "Hi pretty girl."

Avery smiled up at her, the pacifier falling out of her mouth and into the sand.

"I think she got my dimples," Austin teased.

"Nu-uh, those are mine!" Lindsay shot back, reaching out to touch her daughter's cheek.

"Nope, she got it from her aunt."

"Right because that makes sense."

Austin chuckled and took the cotton hat off of Avery's head.

"I can't believe she has enough hair for the Flintstones look. Shall we call you Pebbles, baby?"

Avery shoved her hand in her mouth in response and Austin kissed her forehead.

"How's your mom doing?" she asked Lindsay after a moment.

"She's pretty good. The surgery went well, the doctor thinks they got it all and she's up and around again."

"You were really worried about her for a while there."

"Yeah. I guess we just didn't know what to expect. It was really scary, but now we kind of know where things stand. She's keeping up on doctors appointments and meds and I really think she's going to be okay."

"That's good. Stressful though."

"Yeah, it is."

"Hey can I have my daughter?" Adam asked, reaching down to take Avery from Austin.

"Honey, you'd better hold her really tight if you take her out in that water."

"Don't worry, she'll be fine."

Lindsay sighed, knowing he was right, but not wanting her little girl anywhere near that ocean.

"She's grown up too fast huh?"

"She's not grown up, Austin."

"You know what I mean."

"Wasn't she born yesterday? She can't really be six months old already. Do you remember how little she was?"

Austin grinned and watched as Adam dipped Avery's toes in the water. She could hear the squeal of laughter ever from that far away and she chuckled.

"Is she a daddy's girl?"

"I think she's half and half right now but she's going to be a daddy's girl when she's older, I'm sure of it."

"She has your laugh."

"That's what everyone keeps saying."

"I miss having a baby in the house."

"You miss the crying and the pooping and the lack of sleep and the insane amounts of laundry and only ever having one hand free and did I mention all the drooling and the diapers?"

"Yeah but you forgot to mention the smiles and the snuggles and the milestones that are way better than any of those are bad."

"Very true."

They smiled together as Colton approached, carrying his very wet sister around the waist.

"She was splashin' and splashin' and then she was not happy," he reported, plopping the wiggling baby into the sand. Avery wailed and tried to scoot towards Lindsay, getting herself completely covered in sand in the process.

"Crazy daughter," Lindsay sighed, lifting Avery up and trying to brush the sand off of her. "You have sand in your tears."

"Sounds like the opening line to an Emo song."

Lindsay shook her head and tried to wipe the sand off of Avery's skin, but she knew it wasn't going to work out so well.

"Alright, back into the drink with you," she said, standing up and heading back to the water. Avery giggled when she was placed into the water, and Lindsay spent a few minutes getting as much sand off of her as she could. It would take a real bath tonight, but for now she couldn't stand the thought of rough sand on her baby's soft skin.

"There, that's better."

"Ba, ba, ba!" Avery said, pointing at Adam.

"Do you see daddy?"

Avery let out a happy squeal and Lindsay chuckled, standing up and making her way through the surf to Adam.

"Hey munchkin, I thought you were over the water," he said, leaning down to kiss Avery's cheek while keeping a tight hold on Ben's hand.

"Well we needed to wash up a little. We're going to go back where it's warm and dry but someone wanted to see you first."

"Well I appreciate that. Now did her mama want to see me too?"

Lindsay grinned and he leaned down to kiss her as another wave crashed over their legs.

"Her mama always wants to see you."

"Have I mentioned that I like the low-cutness of the top you've got on today?"

"You didn't have to mention it, I could see where your eyes were wandering this morning when I put it on."

"Oh really?"

"You're so not sly, Adam."

"I can't help it if you've got a lot going on for you there."

She gave him a smile and a wink before sashaying back across the beach.

They spent most of the day on the beach, the kids running between the water and sand castles, stopping occasionally for a snack. Adam and Danny kept them wrangled for the most part, and Austin and Lindsay spent the day putting sunscreen on every arm and leg they could grab for a few seconds. Avery took a long nap on a pile of towels, and Ben took a short nap with his head resting against the drink cooler. Colton and Isa constructed what they saw as a very intricate castle, complete with a moat while Sarah read a book and Junior dug a hole as deep as he could.

"Look! Ice-cream man!" Isa hollered, jumping up from the sand and pointing at the small ice-cream cart. "Can we get some?"

"Yeah, let's go."

The kids ran happily towards the small cart, looking at the pictures on the sides before making their decisions. Isa got the Powerpuff Girls popsicle with the bubble gum eyes, Sarah went for a fudge pop, and Ben and Junior both chose the Rocket popsicle. Colton scanned over his options several times, trying to decide what kind of thing he wanted before he finally pointed to a ChocoTaco.

"Are you sure you want that buddy?"

"Yep. I like chocolate and tacos."

"Alright then."

They brought the treats back to their spot in the sand and the kids all stood there, breaking into the wrappers. Colton took one bite of his ChocoTaco and made a face, then examined it closely before shrugging his shoulders and taking another bite. Ben stood there watching him, mouth agape as his popsicle melted and ran down his arm. He was strangely fascinated not only by the strange ice-cream treat but also by the fact that Colton didn't seem to enjoy it but was eating it anyway.

"Ben, are you going to eat your popsicle?"

He broke his gaze away from his brother for a moment to look at his melting dessert, then went back to staring at Colton again. Truly this was a very curious occurrence.

"This isn't very crunchy," Colton said, continuing to eat his treat. "It's bad ice-cream. Why would someone make this? I will never get one again. It doesn't taste like chocolate or tacos! This was the worst decision of my life."

He let out a long sigh and shook his head before wrapping the last bite up in the foil.

"I can't handle this anymore daddy. Take it away from me."

Adam laughed and put the offending object into the garbage can.

"There, is that better?"

"Yeah. I am never going exotic again."

Lindsay and Austin burst into laughter and clapped their hands over their mouths, their shoulders shaking.

"You have the strangest kids ever."

"I know. I really know."

It was early evening when they packed most of their stuff into the cars and headed back to the midway, planning on exploring the places they'd missed earlier. Colton and Ben especially begged to play all the games and as much as Adam told them they were rigged, they wouldn't let up. Finally he said they could each play one game. Colton immediately went to the ring toss, as they had had one at the school's end of the year carnival. He bought five rings for a dollar and concentrated on tossing them around the milk bottles. Not one ring even got close. He shrugged it off, happy that he had even been able to play one game. Ben on the other had approached every stand carefully, standing there and watching someone else play before he would walk away, saying that was not the game he wanted to play. Adam encouraged him to just pick something, and he finally chose a shooting game. He climbed up on the stool and examined the toy rifle that was affixed to the counter.

"Jus' tell me when ya want the game to start, champ."

Ben gave the old man a nod.

"Okay. Ready."

The game whirred to life and Ben took a deep breath, his tongue coming out of his mouth as he concentrated on shooting his targets.

"Wow, he's got your dead-eye, Linds," Austin commented as Ben hit every one of his targets.

"Hey champ, you got a bonus round!"

"That okay," he said with a grin. "I pick a prize?"

"Well that's fair enough. What prize would you like?"

He surveyed the wall for a few moments before pointing at a stuffed bear with a huge smile.

"That. White Teefy Da Bear."

"White Teethy The Bear, huh?" the man chuckled, retrieving the stuffed animal for him.

"Yup. Gots white teefs."

"Well I think that's a good name for him."

"Yep. Bye, mister."

He grabbed the bear around its neck and sighed happily.

"Can we go in the haunted house?" Isa squealed, jumping up and down.

"Yeah!" Junior shouted, pumping his fist in the air. "Wanna get scared!"

"I don't know guys, it might be too scary for you."

"Nu-uh! Colt will hold my hand!" Isa said. "We will be brave. Please daddy?"

In the end, Adam, Danny and Austin took the kids into the haunted house while Lindsay stayed outside with Avery and Sarah.

"Hey auntie, are we going to eat dinner soon?"

"Yeah I think so. It's getting kind of late isn't it?"

"Mm-hmm. Do you think we could have pancakes?"

"I don't know, maybe we can find a place."

Sarah nodded as Lindsay absentmindedly braided her hair.

"I'm gonna go to kindergarten after summer."

"I know. Are you excited?"

"Yeah. Will I be smart enough?"

"Sarahlove I think you're more than smart enough."

"Okay."

They fell into silence for a few moments before the rest of the kids came squealing out of the haunted house.

"Mama, things jumped out at us!" Colton reported breathlessly. "It was awesome!"

"Were you scared?"

"A little but it was so fun. Right Isa?"

"Yep. Us kids screamed and then daddy pinched mommy and she screamed and then we all laughed! You should been there Indy."

"That sounds like fun. What did you think, Ben?"

"Not scary," he said, holding his stuffed bear close.

"Oh really?"

"I gots White Teefy Da Bear with me. Nothing scary gonna hurt him with his big ol' smile."

"Oh, I understand."

"Should we go find some dinner?" Danny asked, stretching his arms over his head.

"Daddy, I told auntie I want to have pancakes."

"You know, there's that little breakfast joint further down that way. Kind of a walk, but we could make it. Everyone else want pancakes?"

The rest of the kids agreed, so the family made their way off the boardwalk and down some side streets until they came to the 24-hour breakfast place. It served other food too, but was mostly known for pancakes. They commandeered the largest table in the place and Ben made sure his new bear had a seat to sit in as well.

"Daddy," he whispered. "I know what I want."

"What do you want?"

He pointed down at the menu, indicating a dish in the appetizers section.

"You want hot wings?"

"Yeah."

"But they're spicy."

"It's okay."

"They'll make your mouth burn."

"I got it, daddy."

"Bud," he said, dropping his voice to a whisper. "It will hurt next time you go potty."

"Daddy, I handle it."

Adam gave Lindsay a look and she shrugged. They knew it was important to let the boys make their own mistakes, especially ones that weren't going to harm them, at least not too much.

"Okay you can get the hot wings."

He nodded seriously and patted his bear on the shoulder while the waitress came to take their orders. Everyone got pancakes or French toast, except for Ben who indicated to the waitress that he would like "the hot things."

"You really want those, kiddo?"

"Yup."

"Anything for your friend here?" she teased, pointing at his bear.

"No," he replied, as if she should know better. "He's stuffed."

She snickered at the double meaning in his words, and took the order back to the kitchen.

"Her thought my bear could eat," Ben whispered to Junior. "She's weird."

"Yeah, don't she know he can't open his mouth?"

"Yeah, duh."

It was late and dark by the time they arrived home. Colton was half asleep when they pulled into the driveway, Avery was completely conked out, and Ben was wide awake, holding onto his bear and staring out the window.

"Let's just put the kids to bed and worry about cleaning out the car tomorrow," Lindsay yawned, wishing Adam would carry her up to bed too.

"Mm-kay," he agreed, his energy completely sapped by the sun and the running around and the junk food. They sat quietly for a moment before getting out of the car. Adam reached in and got Colton while Lindsay helped Ben out, then reached in for Avery.

They made their way slowly upstairs and Adam helped the boys get changed while Lindsay put Avery in a fresh diaper and let her nurse for a few minutes to fall back to sleep.

"Hey babe? The boys have invoked the right of mama."

"Okay. Will you put her down then?"

"Yeah."

She handed the baby to him and went across the hall to the boys room.

"Ben gots to use the fire exit!" Colton said with a grin.

"Oh really?"

"Yup, because his mouth is on fire."

"Oh I see. Lay down so I can kiss you goodnight."

"Night mama. That was the funnest day at the beach in my life."

"I'm glad. Me too."

She kissed him softly and he hugged her before rolling over and going to sleep.

"Is your tummy feeling alright Ben?"

"Yeah."

"If you need me in the night, just holler okay?"

"Okay. You don't need to kiss me, mama."

"I don't?"

"Nope. White Teefy Da Bear will keep me safe tonight 'cuz he is happy. And that's what happened. You could kiss him though."

"Sorry hon. I'm not kissing anything that's been hanging in a carney stand for two years."

"He will 'tect me from monsters in the night."

"Oh, so you're saying you don't need your mama anymore?"

"Still need you to tie my shoes!"

Laughing she leaned down and hugged him tight.

"Benjamin, do you know how much I love you?"

"Yep. Bigger than the world."

"And I am gonna kiss you whether you like it or not."

"Aw mama!"

She made sure to give him extra kisses and snuggles before standing up from the bed.

"Goodnight Benjamin Ryan."

"Goodnight my mama."

Smiling, she made her way upstairs, making sure to leave the bedroom door open just a crack before exchanging her clothes for a long t-shirt and climbing into bed.

"Adam," she giggled as he scooted closer and nuzzled the back of her neck. She wasn't stupid, she knew exactly what he wanted.

"You smell good."

"Under normal circumstances I would be totally on the same page as you, but tonight I am going to have to pass because I can't keep my eyes open long enough."

"Oh alright."

"But I'll make you a deal."

"What's that?"

"You let me sleep now and you can wake me up extra early in the morning."

"Oh yeah?"

"By any means you prefer."

"I like that your dirty talk has no dirty words whatsoever."

She smiled and turned to kiss him, lingering just a bit longer than usual because she felt bad for turning him down.

"I love you Adam."

"I love you too. Hurry up and go to sleep."

Their shared, soft laughter followed her all the way into her dreams.