Carolina Vacation Part 2

The week was perfect weather wise. We had one morning of rain but it cleared by lunch so that we could still have some time on the beach. The girls loved the beach, which I was very thankful for. I have met babies who refuse to touch sand or who are terrified as water, which can be normal, but I just didn't want to deal with that! Getting them ready and down to the beach was a production, and then of course Molly kept getting sand in her eyes and would freak out. They mostly just played in the sand or in the baby pool under the cabana tent. Brooke went into the water with my cousins a few times but we never ventured that far with Molly.

I'm a kid at heart...

Our house was awesome, as usual. We had a pool so we would come back from the beach in the afternoon and soak in the pool for a little. Brooke did really well swimming around in her puddle jumper, but Molly wasn't the biggest fan of the pool. Each family took a night to cook [we did a taco night on our night!] so we didn't eat out or anything. We did go miniature golfing one night and we took Brooke with us. She stayed up a couple hours past her bedtime every night like a champ.

Girl was a natural.

Then it came time to leave and we managed to make it home in seventeen hours this time. :: sigh ::

We'll see you again soon North Carolina. Til 2013...

Carolina Vacation Part 1

I am officially back from my mental/blogging break. Between vacation [which is never vacation with kids], photography, and starting a new job... my mind is fried.

SO several weeks later I am ready to write about vacation. I say the CarolinaS because we started in Myrtle Beach and then moved north from there. Dustin had to work most of the day Thursday so I spent the day juggling the girls and packing the car. Amazingly I was able to get almost everything into the van before he got home, which meant we were able to leave shortly after. It's a good thing I saved us some time because the drive took 18 hours. 18 HOURS. The girls were unhappy for the part where they were awake so we had to stop a few times. Then they were crying off and on all night, which shouldn't have affected our time, but I'll blame that. Then when I was driving, around 5 in the morning, we got stuck in stand still traffic. It was rumored that the road wouldn't be open for another six hours so we turned around on the high way and a cop escorted us off. How many times will that happen again?

We finally got to Myrtle beach to Amy's house at about 11 in the morning. It was so nice to see her again! We all ate lunch together and then Amy and I took the girls shopping while the guys went home to relax. On Saturday Amy and I were able to have a girls lunch with just the two of us which was AWESOME.

Then Saturday afternoon we headed up to Emerald Isle, North Carolina to start our vacation.

We were the last ones to arrive but that meant everyone else was unpacked and ready to hold the girls for us! It was great to see my family. There were 22 of us, and then the 4 babies [my girls and my two nephews].

I'll write more about the week later but until then, enjoy some pictures.

Brooke enjoyed lots of this


We all enjoyed lots of this.



And this...



And this...



And of course THIS.... [the mint colored house was ours]

Is this thing on?

July is probably our busiest month of the summer, so that is why my blog may seem neglected. We have had BBQs and days at the lake. We spend our days outside swimming and sunning, and the Nook has been getting lots of use. In just over a week starts the local 4H fair, which is one of the largest in the country, and we already have two nights planned to be there. The weekend after that we leave for vacation. Where are we going you ask?

And yes, that is the beach right on the other side of it. When I stand on the beach and look back, I'll see this.



We also have a pool and hot tub



A nice kitchen



And entertainment...

There are also 8 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms. There are beach chairs, game systems, kids stuff, and even a huge sandbox underneath the house. There will be 22 of us going and I have been looking forward to this since we booked it this past Winter. Now on to making myself look good in a bathing suit...

O-HI-O

Friday afternoon I packed the girls up and loaded them into the van for a trip to Ohio. We drove down with my mother-in-law, Kathy, and her mom Ruby. Dustin stayed behind to work on the basement and came the next afternoon. Anyway, after an almost five hour drive we made it to the ever wonderful Dayton, Ohio for a visit with family.

Saturday morning I headed to Columbus to see some of my wonderful e-friends I have been wanting to meet for awhile. One in particular happens to be my e-twin [click to view her awesome blog], and we have wanted to meet FOR.EV.ER. We met at COSI in Columbus which was amazing, and then had a carb-loaded lunch at Spaghetti Warehouse.

The coolest water table EVER

E-TWIN!

We got back Saturday afternoon and an hour or two later Dustin, his dad, and my sister-in-law and brother-in-law arrived. We had a big dinner for Dustin's Uncle and then headed out with his cousin to go rollerskating. Yes, you read that correctly. I think we were the only people in there [besides the workers] above the age of thirteen. It was so worth it though.

Skaters

Sunday morning we headed to church, where Dustin's Uncle Don is the youth pastor, and let me tell you... it was amazing. This was out first time going and I was blown away, especially by the tribute they paid to those who have served for our country. There were very few dry eyes in the house. Later that afternoon we went to a graduation party for Dustin's cousin Cooper and then loaded up the van to head home.

How to pick up chicks: 101

We affectionately dubbed him Brannon Bieber

Ruby with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren [and the married-ins ;)]

All in all, it was a quick but FUN weekend. I am very blessed to have married into a family that feels like my own, and that has welcomed me so easily, and willingly.

Philadelphia Freedom!

After this post I will have two more posts until 400. Crazy, isn't it?

Two weekends ago we headed out for a short trip to Philly. My whole family lives there so we go two to three times a year. This time we headed home to meet our new nephew Logan, and for me to attend a baby shower for my best friend from high school.

We got in late Friday night and went non-stop from that point. Saturday we went to Giggleberry Fair in Peddler's Village where I met up with some mom friend's I met online. Brooke basically spent the whole time running around in the mountain.

Afterward we went to the Kid's Castle in Doylestown with my parents, brother and sister-in-law, and two nephews. Brooke had a blast climbing all over this thing. I used to go here when I was a little girl!

My new nephew Logan. So serious....

Sunday we went to church in the morning and then I went to my friend Jess' baby shower. She is due with a little boy in June and I cannot wait to meet the little cutie!

Afterward we headed up to my brother's house for dinner. We went back to my brother's house on Monday as well to take pictures of the boys and just hang out.

We had a great time and we look forward to seeing everyone again this summer!

Travel

Guess where I am headed for a long weekend.

I'll give you a hint...

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving this year we loaded up the mini-van and headed 700 miles east to Philadelphia! It was great to be back where I grew up and get to see family and friends. Thanksgiving was wonderful, as usual. I am pretty sure I ate my body weight in food! On Black Friday my dad and I headed out at 3:30am to get to Target when it opened. Boy was that an adrenaline rush! I am doing that every year. Dustin and I even got to have a date on Saturday and went to see Harry Potter in IMAX, Christmas shopping, and out to dinner. Here are some pictures from our trip...

On the way out we stopped in Ohio to surprise my good friend Amy

We put Brooke to work first thing Thursday morning

She loved jumping into the piles

Turkey!

On Sunday we dedicated Molly

We met old friends

We watched football

And we took sink baths...

Leaving in a mini van...

The title sounds much better if you sing it to the tune of the popular John Denver song.

Today we are packing up the mini-van and heading east! That's right, we are going to the wonderful city of Philadelphia. I am not looking forward to spending 12 hours in a car with a 2 year old and a 5 month old, but I am choosing to be positive and believe that they will sleep the whole way. Who am I kidding? Brooke will probably scream unless we play Dynamite by Taio on repeat, and Molly will probably need to be taken out of the car for a break at least every 2 hours. I have a good book on reserve for the drive and I am crossing my fingers that constructions workers along the Ohio and Pennsylvania turnpikes have taken the day off.

But what about my blogging challenge? Never fear, I will have internet access while in Philadelphia. My parents happen to be modernized along with the rest of us. But just in case, I have scheduled the remaining posts already. Maybe I'll jump on with some picture updates from our trip.


OH. And have you entered the GIVE-A-WAY yet? Time is running out! Don't miss out on an adorable custom beanie.

Day 23 - Favorite Vacation

My parents took me on a lot of neat vacations as a child. When my grandparents moved to Florida we went to Disney World almost every year. As I talked about before, we spent two weeks out West visiting National Parks, monuments, and a Dude Ranch. We also spent two weeks up in Maine just exploring the state and it's beautiful coastal towns and parks. But my favorite? I guess my favorite vacation is one that is "reoccurring". Every other summer my mom's side of the family gets together and rents a beach house in North Carolina. When we started we would get a duplex house and split up as evenly as we could. Last time we had one HUGE home for all of us and it was awesome. July 2011 is another North Carolina year and I am not going to lie, I am VERY excited. Each morning we get to wake up to the sound of the waves crashing on the beach, and we normally get a house that is right on the beach so it is only a short walk away. The homes always have really neat amenities. Last years ours had a movie theater room and a game room with karaoke, a pool table, a pinball machine, and various board games. And if the ocean outside our back door wasn't enough the house also had a pool and a hot tub. Are you getting excited for me? Here are some pictures from Summer 2009...

Isn't she lovely?

The view from our top deck.

Our little set up. My dad bought that tent for Brooke to sit under.

Brooke loved the beach!

... but I think she loved her pool more.



Have you entered the For Your Little One GIVE-A-WAY yet?