The Dog Days of July

July heat soared so we continued spending our summer days near water. Be it the beach, pool, or water park. It is such a relief to have easy access to water or I'm afraid we would go stir crazy sitting inside trying to keep a very pregnant mom, cool. The pictures are out of order but we kicked off the month celebrating the Fourth with Melissa and the girls at the beach in Oak Island, dinner in Southport, and then a last minute decision to stay in Southport and watch the fireworks over the water. Grayson feel asleep before the show started but Carrington was wide eyed and in total awe of the colors, sounds, and light show.

The water park was on the list before the summer ends so we headed to Myrtle Beach one Saturday and meet Melissa and Kelly for the day. Grayson is running head to head with Carrington on a love of water. This certainly wasn't the case at the beginning of the season but he has made a drastic change. They both have little fear and go straight for the water slides, water fountains, and swimming under water in the pool.

We really enjoyed a visit from the de Windt girls at the end of July. I was thankful to have Wendy keep me company as this pregnancy comes to an end. It was a typically visit with a trip to the beach, play time at the house, and one night out for dinner. Giselle told Carrington she was her best friend, and Carrington responded back with you are my best friend too! I love it, and continue to enjoy watching them grow up together. The younger too haven't noticed each other too much but that'll change when they realize how cute the other is!

July ended with a big birthday celebration. Katy turned sweet sixteen on July 31st!! I was sixteen when Katy was born and was able to spend the first week after her birth at their house in Charlotte. I loved being there then and love that I've been able to spend almost every other birthday with her. Happy, happy birthday Katy Bug!

Water park slides...



 You can barely see Carrington through all the water. A huge bucket dumps water out every few minutes. I can't count the number of times she stood under the bucket.

 Aaron is holding Grayson under the bucket of water. No tears, all smiles!

 Cooking up trouble. These two are Trouble with a capital "T"!

 Piled high and busting at the seams.

 Playing nail salon!

 Looking for her future partner in crime.

 Beach loving runs in the blood.

 No chance of getting a perfect shot of all four of them.

Dressed up for Katy's Birthday Dinner.

 Birthday girl with her dessert. Lemon cheesecake! Lemon flavor being her favorite type of dessert.

 Making wishes!

Birthday dinner group shot.

 Red, White and Blue!

 It was a sugar filled day as they had just finished ice cream but cotton candy was needed to pass the time before the show.

 We definitely try and spend time outside when the nights cool off. Carrington is usually running toe to toe with Hayden. Grayson does his best to keep up with the girls. He is learning early how to chase girls around.

 Poor kid, his feet can't reach the peddle in his Buzz car so he is forced to drive around in the pink princess car.

Lazy days of summer!



UNC-W Swim Camp

Carrington, our little fish, took swim lessons at UNC-W the last two weeks of June. It was held Monday-Friday for one hour. Most of the coaches are current UNC-W swimmers and do a great job with the kids. They truely teach the kids how to swim and the progress from day 1 to day 10 is incredible. She can swim without a floatation device and has so much confidence in the water. I can not say enough good things about the program and look forward to having the kids participate in future years.



 Great smile and attitude!

 Waiting to get started

 And they are off...

 Splashing the shark/coach

 She loves being in the water.

Group Shot 

There was another coach but she left a couple days early to watch her boyfriend swim at Olympic Trails, pretty cool!

 Swimmers take your mark! Jumping off the diving block.

 Swimming along with the noodle

Lots of hugs and sugar for a job well done.



Happy Father's Day!

Carrington and Grayson are two very lucky kiddos to have such an awesome daddy! They love spending any day with their dad but wanted to celebrate him just a little more on the day dedicated just for dads. We started off the day by making him breakfast and opening gifts; the annual hand prints from his children and a new weed wacker. The second gift being more of a need than a want but he still acted like he loved it!

A last minute decision was made to take the ferry from Southport to the Fort Fisher Aquarium for the day. It was a great one because we all had a blast! Carrington and Grayson loved the boat ride, and the aquarium was a fun experience too. We saw a white alligator, snakes, fish of all type, and lots of other marine life.

The afternoon was spent relaxing and finished off with steak dinner and peanut butter chocolate ice cream pie for dessert. A great fourth Father's Day for our kids great daddy!

 One lucky daddy and two lucky kiddos!

 Love our family!

 Sibling love!

 Driving the boat to the aquarium

 Don't worry, he doesn't bite!

 White Alligator

 Up close look

 Makes me laugh out loud!

 She's my girl. Look but no desire to touch.

Much better to be on the outside looking in.



Family Vacation - HHI

Hilton Head Island welcomed us back for another awesome family vacation. I do believe it's one of my favorite places to visit. Perfect for our water loving family! We spent a long weekend at the Marriott Resort, leaving only to eat dinner out two of the three nights. Why you ask did we spend so much time at the resort?? Because our little water rat, Carrington, did not want to leave the pool or beach. She went to bed each night completely exhausted and water logged. She would tell you it was the perfect way to spend "her vacation". In her mind, it was her vacation and hers only! Grayson has gotten so much better at the pool and beach so he tagged along with his big sister each day. He understands how to relax too so sitting in the lounge chair with his mom was perfect too.

 Flying pink fish

 Playing with daddy

 Mommy's mini me!

 Daddy's mini me!

 Shannon Tanner Show - Carrington doesn't have a shy bone in her body. She raised her hand to go up on stage and sing with Shannon. It was so cute watching her say her name and age. She couldn't think of a song to sing so he just let her talk to the crowd for a minute.

 Crowd of kids dancing at the show

 Moving and a grooving with daddy!

 This seemed like a good idea at the time but at 30 weeks pregnant it become very uncomfortable after a few minutes.

 Daddy had no problem pedaling around and could have gone another 20 miles. I told Aaron it was a good six mile workout. He laughed and assured me it was only a little over a mile. Felt like riding up Mt. Everest if you ask me.

 Brother and sissy

Our family with kiddo #3 arriving soon!

Video 1 - Carrington swimming, Video 2 - The kids dancing with Shannon Tanner

Island Time - St. Croix

I could live my life on vacation! (I guess that's why living so close to the beach suits me just fine.) With that said, Aaron and I celebrated our sixth anniversary in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. It was my first time to the Caribbean Sea where white sandy beaches and clear water surround you. Our resort was perfect for a get-a-way that consisted of a lot of R&R. Tucked away on the island and secluded in the mountains; we spent many mornings sleeping in, lazy days by the pool and beach, and naps and leisure time watching movies in our hotel room. Meals were not interrupted by little people and eaten slowly so we could enjoy every bite. Tours of the island, visits to the town, a trip through the rain forest, an amazing snorkeling excursion too see up close the colorful fish and coral, and a little libation fun at the Cruzan Rum factory were thrown in for excitement.

The thing I enjoyed most...spending six days with my husband! I got him all to myself and I was thankful for every minute he was next time me!!! 

 Only picture taken together and it was snapped right as we were leaving vacation.

 Governor's House - Virgin Island Architecture

 Cruzan Rum Distiller - The holding tank where rum sits in the barrels for years.

 Marine Life

 Taking up post

 Lucky baby - He/She got to come with us on vacation! (Seven months pregnant)

 Our toes spent lots of time in the sand.

 Papaya tree

 View from our room.