Sophie's Baptism

This past weekend we went to Phillip's brothers' house in Virginia for our niece's baptism.  Addison especially has been looking forward to it because she loves playing with her cousins.  It was a little crazy having 27 people in the same house but it kind of added to the fun.  They were able to play ALL day and stay up late and really get to play with each other.  After the baptism on Saturday we all went to the park for a few hours and got some cute pictures.

Cooper and his cousin Porter swinging for about an hour.  They did not want to get off.  Luckily no one else was waiting for it!

They all took turns on the tire swing.  Some were lucky, some were not ; )

Josh was one of the not so lucky ones.  This was before Phillip spun him so hard that he immediately puked when he got off.  He threw up a second time which in turn caused me to throw up too.  It was lovely!  I just can't handle watching other people throw up!

 

Andrew and Shawna discussing something that looks like it was very serious ; )

Cutie Pie Porter

 Shawna having a BLAST on the spinny thing

Poor guys.  Must have been a long day

Noah and Addison, both 6.  They loved playing together

Funny girls

All 11 of the grandchildren.  Super cute!

When we requested just one more.  Needless to say, we didn't get another one!

REALLY didn't want to take any more pictures.  I love his pouty face.

Josh trying to make him feel better.  It was really cute.

We'll all be together for Thanksgiving for the last time for a long time since Andrew and his family is moving back to New Mexico in December.  I was glad we were all able to get together a few last times!

A few cute pictures

Addison just got her 1st grade pictures back and they came out so cute!  She said she had been practicing her smile all day to make sure it was cute.  Love how they came out!

I found this on my camera from a few months ago when Phillip took them to the park.  I don't know why, I just think it's really cute ; )

A few weeks ago was Pirate Day at Krispy Kreme and if you dressed like a pirate, you got a whole dozen donuts.  I had on an eye patch and hat so we walked away with 3 dozen for free.  For some reason, I don't want a donut any time soon ; )

Beach Time

The wait was finally over.  It was time to go to the beach with my family.  I was so excited to see everyone and finally meet Tali.  We've been talking about this trip with the kids since January and they've been so excited to go.  We drove down a day early to stay with Phillip's sister Shawna to spend some time with her and Phillip's family and the kids had fun playing with their cousins.  

Cooper and his cousin Sarah.  They are 7 months apart and they love playing with each other.  Love the little red heads!

Finally at the beach.  Some guy gave me this net as he was leaving because he couldn't fit it in his car.  Addison loved trying to catch fish with it.  I don't think she caught any actual fish but she caught a few crabs which she thought was pretty cool!

I just love this picture.  Tali looks like a baby doll!  Love the sun/shade combo.

My aunt Cindy and dad making drippy castles at the beach.  Addison LOVES making drippy castles with my dad.  

Some of us girls...staying out of the sun with the kiddos.  The canopy's are the best things ever!  I bought a new one a few months ago and I am so glad I did.  Definitely worth it for long beach days!

Happiest baby ever!  Seriously, she's so happy and calm.  Loved seeing her!

Addison and her cousin Kate at a store at Broadway on the Beach.  They loved this giant crab.

Phillip's 31st birthday was during our trip so I made a couple of cakes and we got to celebrate it together.  Even though he isn't a huge beach fan, I think he still had a good day!

Cooper took a few naps on the beach.  It was SO nice to not have to take him to the room and sit there all afternoon.  He doesn't normally nap but he was exhausted from the sun and water I guess!

Pool time with the girls!  Addison loved Tali.  She kept trying to play with her and love on her.  It was cute.

Moms with the kiddos

We went out to the hot tub a couple of nights after dinner and we just told story after story, dying of laughter.  It was awesome and I loved hearing everyone's version of our childhood as well as my dad and aunt's and uncle.  

Me with most of the kids.  Look like one myself!

Cutie Pie cousins.  They're about a year and a half apart.

Gang at the beach

Making a water hole with Quin

Cousins meeting for the 1st time.  Love them!

Apparently the sun was really in Cooper's eyes while trying to fly the kite!

We went to Broadway on the last night to walk around and shop.  Got a few pictures of the whole gang and various families.

We had a great time and can't wait till next year when we meet up again!  

Go Bulls!

A few months ago, Phillip won tickets to a Durham Bulls baseball game and we finally made it out there to go to a game.  We had a really great time and it was the kids first game.  I had been putting it off because it had been pretty hot and miserable but it was perfect when we went.  Perfect night for a game.  It was also perfect because it was $1 consessions night.  That was the whole reason I picked this game to go to.  $1 hot dogs, popcorn and fries.  It was awesome.  We loaded up on a ton of food and had fun watching the game.  And we won!  So that's always fun.  The kids had a good time and loved watching Bull-E the mascot run around the field since they really had no idea what was really going on.

Beautiful sky!

Matchy shirts with grandpa

Riding the bull after the game

Track Out

Whew!  We've had a busy track out so far for the past 2 weeks.  Only one more week to go.  We've gone to the splash park a few times, Monkey Joes, swimming, Addison had a grammy sleepover, Jordan Lake day to play in the sand and swim in the lake, Marbles Kids Museum and then yesterday we went to the Durham Life and Science Museum.  I don't have a ton of pictures because we've done mostly everything before so I didn't bring the camera to a lot of places.  I did take a bunch yesterday though and we had so much fun.  My friend has an annual pass with a few extra passes so it was even free!  They have so much to do there that we were there for about 7 hours and we didn't even do everything.  

They have a great butterfly garden with all sorts of different butterflies and plants.  It's really, really beautiful.

Addison was trying so hard to catch one.  She just wanted to hold one so bad.  

My friend Tami must have a magic way with butterflies because she seems to catch one every time.  She caught one and gave it to Addison.  She was so happy about it and is still talking about it today.

My cutie pie boy

Cooper wanted to hold one but wouldn't actually touch it so he was content to just hold the branch.

They have a trail with a bunch of dinosaurs to see.  Cooper especially loved it and the kids loved climbing on this one.

Cooper tried to climb it but just couldn't.  He was still happy to play on it though!

They have a giant "dinosaur" dig site that the kids LOVED.  Addison found a shark tooth and every time they found a big rock they would bring it to me and tell me that it was a dinosaur bone.  It was cute.

The girls looking at their loot

They had this awesome misting yard that had a bunch of little hills and tunnels with mist shooting out of the ground.  This was the kids favorite thing.  They got soaking wet and filthy and had a blast.  

They also have a great playground that we didn't get to play on because it was raining a little by the time we got there and a great indoor space.  We saw a real tornado a bunch of science experiments, giant bugs, and a spaceship replica.  Addison kept saying "this is so interesting".  She especially liked using the microscope to look at the tiny, real bugs. We had a great time but I was completely exhausted by the time we were done.  These kids wear me out!