Beach vacation Fun

Last week we went to the Outer Banks in North Carolina where we stayed with 4 other couples in a gorgeous huge house by the beach. It was such a fun, relaxing week that we didn't want to leave & ahve decided we need to return there...perhaps every year! We enjoyed playi8ng at the ebach (I even boogie boarded, which I wasn't sure would work out, being prego), swimming at the hosue pool, nightly beach strolls, searches for dolphins & wild horses (others saw them, but picked a bad day to look, however, saw 1 dolphin the next day), lounging on teh porch (or by teh pool or on the beach), playing in teh front yard. or bumming around & playing games with friends at the house. Sophie enjoyed herself & loves her new "friends," esp. a 2 yr old, anmed Lilly ( a love-hate relationship-she seems to ahve these with girls in her age group). She also loved all the crabs we saw & played with, and she was completely tickeld at the fact that she got to eat crab our last night there! ALong with great weather, it was just perfect. Sometimes, I wish I would've let myself sleep more (I guess we weren't used to a true vacation!), but all in all, absolutely wonderful. Warning: loads of pics to follow!

Fun at the house pool

Sportin' the bump

Left to Right Below: Our beautiful private beach;

some of the boys ready for an evening dip in the ocean (crazy men!);

"What are you doing, Daddy?"

L to R: The guys' chilly dip; Sophie & Lauren

The fam at the beach; Sophie's first feel of the water (she's getting more used to the ocean & the waves-it took a whil that first day); Justin ready for our beach day

Below L to R: Lauren's favorite spot to chill-the porch hammock outside our room;

The men continuously searched for crabs, whcih was fun, but the first attempt

from Justin & Dave brought a big surprise with an angry large crab charging out

of its hole! We all jumped so high, it kept Lauren laughing the rest of the day.

Below L to R: Sophie & her buddy, Lilly; our next beach day, we caught another crab, & it became Sophie's "pet" for the day in her little bucket...that is until we realized the water was getting warm & probably cookin' the poor guy!

L to R: Sportin' the Princess suit-not what Mama would have chosen at all, but thia little princess of ours flipped out when she saw it in the store, grabbing it off the rack & attempting to pull it over her head. I couldn't deny that passion!
Pic 2 & 3: Mermaids on the beach

L to R: Sand fun, the guys playing hoops, Sophie & Lilly being silly











L to R: Sophie & Lilly plaing the the volleyball sandpit, making "birthday cakes";

The dribbling queen-she made her soccer mama so proud of her skillz!!

The gorgeous hosue we stayed at (very affordable!)

Justin & Lauren at the beach; Sophie & Lauren; Sophie sporting the necklace she got at "Dirty Dix," where she ate crab & loved it!

Camping Trip

Last weekend we went camping with two of our neighbor family friends at Prince William Forest Park. Our kids play together a lot, & this was a new experience for all, camping with kids. We came out exhausted, but all in all it was a lot of fun! Sophie asks almost everyday to go camping again. It was so good to be out in the woods by a campfire!



The kids running around the nearby field

Hot dog dinner...yum!

Curious kiddies-they loved the open space

The guys hanging out by the fire

Of course, Charlie came, too. He had a lot fo fun, but just had difficulty deciding whether to roam free in the woods (on his long leash) or to stay by the people-He often stuck around us at teh fire on his short leash.

Dinner time! We had smores later that night, but Sophie only wanted the marshmellows...uncooked....One day, I'll share my "Sandlot" message with her about how to properly eat smores. :)

This was one of the tons of caterpillars that were everywhere! Sophie loved picking them up & having them crawl on her arm. That's our bug lover! You just had to watch out for falling leaf & tree bits everywhere.

Fun in the woods-Owen, Abel, & Sophie

Good morning!

Besides taking forever to fall asleep (too much excitement-by the way, we had truckers camping nearby, blaring their TLC & Mariah Carey R& B music-none of us pegged them for that!) & waking in the middle of the night due to Sophie's starvation (she was too distracted at dinner time to eat much), our family tent worked out well! I think Justin realized why I wanted to cuddle next to Charlie instead of deal with the wiggle worm. :) Next time will be a lot easier.

Taking down our tent. Justin rocks! I just think we'll want to camp more than one night next time-so much to bring & set up for one day!

Now that Mama has a significant bump, Sophie never forgets the baby, making sure she talks to it ("Hi baby!" "C'mon baby!") & rubs it. It's so sweet!! She's going to be a great big sister!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to my mom, mother-in-law, sister, sisters-in-law, & all the other wonderful moms I know out there. You are so wonderful, its ridiculous! I was so excited for my Mother's Day, in desperate need of a break & some good ol' appreciation....that is, until Justin got pretty sick with a nasty cough & fever (which he caught from the recovering Sophie) the day before. So, besides the flowers I got the night before, it was a typical day for Mama until he mustered up some energy while I was resting & cooked us a wonderful dinner of BBQ'd Rib Eye steak, baked potatoes, green beans, & a strawberry/candied pecan salad that was all so yummy! (I wish he'd cook more often!) He crashed right after dinner. Oh well-I'll get my day off some other day...soon, I hope. :) In the meantime...get well soon, Justin! Sophie was really sweet and shared her blanket with him to cough into, saying, "Here, Daddy." (On a side note, she asks for blanket ANY time she is disappointed or sad...she offers it to others ONLY when she sees they're having a really hard time. It's really cute when she does!) We love our family! P.S. If you look close, you get a good shot of the baby bump-I think I must have a good "oven!" Included is our "Chatty Cathy," Sophie, making the mother's day phone call rounds. She sure has a lot to say, & she makes it fun to be her mom!

Sophie & Lauren went to the zoo with their friends from church/preschool group this past week. We always love going there, and we enjoyed seeing the invertebrates exhibit which we had never seen before. Sophie was intrigued by the octopus, lobsters, & jelly fish, but our favorites were the snakes, the loud sea lions hanging out on the rock, & the baby gorilla. My favorite Sophie line of the day was, "KennaDee, I can't be mad at you, I need to be like Jesus!"