Vacation 2014

Our annual "family" vacation took place this year on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Seventeen people (10 adults, 7 kids ranging from age 4-10) gathered in one large house. Close-knit friendships spanning years--decades in some cases. It's been an annual tradition for a while now. Typically, we gather for a long weekend. This was the first time in five years that we've gotten together for a full week. Loved being surrounded by these wonderful friends for a full week--and the boys loved being around all their honorary aunts, uncles, and cousins!

 The guys who started it all

Water activities were the theme of the trip. A quick walk (or drive, depending on how much stuff you needed to carry!) got us to the beach. A pool in backyard satisfied water adventures with the benefit of no sand :)

 Owen in the huge hole the kids all dug on the beach

Doing his best impersonation of a beached whale??? Regardless, this kid LOVED the sand and was typically covered head to toe, thus necessitating a full body hose-down outside when we got back to the house.

Brennan has always been a reluctant swimmer. He loves the water, but we struggle to get him out of the 2-foot area. Until now. I think watching the other kids swimming helped build his confidence because he quickly took to the water like a water bug! He spent hours (no joke) in the pool paddling and floating his way around. So proud of this little dude!

We took some time to do some sightseeing while we were there. We visited Jockey's Ridge State Park one morning for some kite flying and dune hiking. This park boasts the tallest sand dunes on the East Coast. A popular activity is kite flying. Once we got to the top of one of the dunes (hiking up a sand dune is not as easy as you might think), we pulled out our kites and let them soar.

Our second stop was the Wright Brothers National Memorial.

Models of their early aircraft

Owen and Julia listening to "beautiful music" (as Julia described it) in the gift shop

The actual memorial located on the top of the hill where they did thousands of glider flights prior to the first powered flight

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was our final touristy stop. It's the tallest lighthouse in the U.S., and we climbed all 257 steps up to the top. Spectacular views and great exercise to boot!

Me and my honey at the top of the lighthouse. It was a bit breezy :)

Finally, a few random shots to cap off the week:

Ladderball with Aunt Kate

Corn hole with the guys

A fun feature of the house was an arcade game that the kids (and adults!) got plenty of use out of.

We were able to catch a couple of pretty spectacular sunsets on the Pamlico Sound side of the island.

Fire Station

There are so many reasons why we love our preschool. One of those reasons is the summer playgroup, where twice a month we can connect in a somewhat structured way with Owen's preschool pals. This morning, the playgroup took a tour of a local fire station. Given how much these boys love fire trucks, this was a perfect outing for them. The fire station was also located right next to a park, so they got some fun outside time and a picnic lunch before heading home to cool down (it's supposed to be near 100 degrees today!).

Year of the Wildlife

Never before has our backyard been such a hub for all things wild! First came the carpenter bees, attracted to our wooden swingset. Completely unwelcome guests. What felt like hundreds (and maybe there were) came surrounding the set, drilling into the wood and dive bombing anyone who came close. A ton of bug spray and some surprisingly fun take-downs with a tennis racket seems to have dispatched all but a couple of diehards.

Then came the woodpecker, creating some pretty substantial damage in said swingset in its desperate attempts to get at the carpenter bee eggs. Still attempting to figure out a good way to dispatch the woodpecker (short of death, which I have since discovered that it is illegal to kill a woodpecker--but after seeing what the blasted bird has done to the swingset, I like to think of that as more of a "guideline").

Then came the baby rabbit. Cute, but decided our garden was its own personal salad bar. After chasing the rabbit out of the yard (on a Sunday night in our pajamas, no less!) and patching a few areas in the fence, the rabbit appears to have found a new location outside our yard.

Today, as John was mowing the lawn, he discovered our first welcome guest in the yard:  a box turtle. Teddy the Turtle was relocated to a wet patch of the yard (what has been deemed as his own personal swamp), but is scared to death of two very over-zealous boys fascinated by the turtle. Poor Teddy may end up getting relocated to the front flower beds where he can either make his home or have a chance at some freedom.

 Owen with Teddy. Poor Teddy is fearfully encased in his shell, not sure what to think about this little boy's loving and curiosity!

Teddy in the VERY wet patch of our yard, which now may need to be renamed "Teddy's Swamp"

Speaking of all things wild...Brennan has finally learned how to pump his legs on the swings! It was a long time coming, but he is so proud of this accomplishment--and we are too!

Buddies

Owen is our little extravert. He loves being around people. Ever since preschool ended, he's been eager to have a friend over to play (especially since Brennan has still been in school--his last day is this coming Friday). This morning, he got to have his little buddy Colin come play. We've known Colin's family for a few years and Colin was in Owen's preschool class. The boys had a blast playing together and  Owen got some much needed extravert time.

Good

We recently heard about the burger chain, Mooyah, from our friend Chris. It sounded so good we needed to head to the nearest one in Williamsburg to try it out. Absolutely worth the drive. Fantastic food. Great atmosphere. If there is one near you--check it out!

 LOVED the cow artwork!

To make the most of the drive down there, we walked around Colonial Williamsburg (which was conveniently located only a few blocks from Mooyah). It made for a nice, spontaneous outing on Saturday.

Town stocks!

On This Day...

On this day in 2003, this crazy couple started a new life together!

On this day in 2014, we had some great family time picking strawberries--our annual tradition that resulted in nearly 20 pounds of berries! Whoa! We barely moved down the row and filled two flats. John likened it to picking out a puppy:  you really want them all, but eventually have to stop somewhere!

 So beautiful and so delicious!

The boys climbed to the top of a hill on the farm. Brennan loved running back down the hill, but Owen attempted rolling down it and typically only succeeded in rolling sideways across the hill. He had fun anyway!

Saturday

Yesterday wound up being a fun, full, family day. A local fire station recently completed renovations and held an open house for the public. Fire trucks + little boys = good times.

 Future fireman?

 Scoping out the ambulance (yes, that is a snake tattoo on Owen's arm!)

After our fire house good times, we went to a place we had avoided since having kids:  Chuck E. Cheese. We attended a birthday party there, and the boys had a BLAST! They are currently in their room making Chuck E. Cheese out of Legos :) We capped off the day with some dear friends, Sweet Frog, and "The LEGO Movie" at the Byrd Theater. Fun times had by all!

Kindergarten Performance

A note to start:  this post is primarily for the grandparents. Now that that's out of the way, Brennan had his first school performance last night:  "Prime Time Nursery Rhymes". It was a lot of fun to see Brennan (mostly) participating with the singing and motions.

In the videos below, Brennan is on the far right. The song and rhyme they are sharing here is about "Humpty Dumpty".

Birthday Tidings

Owen turned four yesterday! Can't believe how quickly those years have flown by. We are so very grateful for his zest for life, his comfort in his own skin (one recent example:  playing air guitar in Walmart while wearing a t-shirt, shorts, bright red fire truck rain boots, and sunglasses--with the tag still on them), his outgoing personality, and his love for singing--provided no one is watching him! He's brought so much joy to our household that we can't imagine life without this little guy. Don't grow up too fast, little man!

The birthday fun was stretched out over a few days. It all started with cupcakes to preschool last Friday. The boy loves "The Lorax" and requested Truffula Tree cupcakes. On Saturday, we got to see "Rio 2" (the first is a favorite in this house, so seeing the sequel was a great treat). Family time on Sunday, including swimming at the YMCA. His actual birthday was spent chaperoning Brennan's class trip to the Richmond Zoo, topped off with his choice of waffles for dinner. Great way to celebrate this boy!

Captured

Church in the morning. Family time in the afternoon. Friends coming over for our annual tradition of Easter dinner and game night. Here are a few photos that captured our time thus far today. Happy Easter!

 Fun with trees

Daddy and Boy Photo Take 1:  Owen is going through a phase where getting his picture taken means making the craziest motions and faces possible (this was after I asked him to stop playing air guitar in the picture!)

Daddy and Boy Photo Take 4:  an improvement

Comparing egg hunt finds

Field Trip

Today was Owen's second field trip of the preschool year. This time, we went to Maymont Park. Maymont is definitely one of my most favorite spots in all of Richmond, so it was fun to get to visit there again. The kids all got to feed and pet the farm animals and check out all the other animals there. We actually got to see the black bear up close; he was right near the fence and put on quite the show for us with some sticks! A nice little bonus:  all the running and activity this morning should mean a good night's sleep tonight :)

 Classic Owen

 The darker color is a hawk's wingspan. The lighter color is an eagle's.

Brotherly Love

Lately, it seems like brotherly squabbles have become the norm. So when I find them playing together, it feels like the entire house can breathe a big sigh. Yesterday, Candyland was the big hit. They played by their own rules and had a blast. Love these times of brotherly love--and will embrace them however few and far between they may seem!

Hiking

After a wacky winter filled with lots of random snowstorms (for Virginia), we have been eager to take advantage of every warm day that's come upon us. Lately, our outings have been to area parks or playgrounds. Today, we went for a hike out at Pocahontas State Park. Our 2.5 mile trail took us around Beaver Lake and across some fun little streams. A picnic lunch and playground time wrapped up our time there. We all had a blast and are looking forward to another hiking adventure in the near future!

A quick note about this picture:  a couple days ago, Brennan came home from school with a mark on his face and said that he wasn't looking where he was going and ran into a pole on the playground. He's been rubbing his face with his sleeve because it bothers him, which has resulted in the large amounts of scabbing present. Please pray for a quick healing for his face and that he would leave it alone as it heals.

 Daddy is giving them their very first lesson is how to skip stones

 They had more fun simply throwing stones into the water and watching them splash