Heading home

This is my final post from Ocean Isle. We have had a great time. Tonight we went out to take family pictures out on the beach. It gets harder to coordinate poses and who is looking at the camera, so this is our best shot. Not too shabby. We then walked over and did some putt putt. It was Ethan's first time and he got 3 holes in 1! Tomorrow morning we pack up and head home. Fare thee well for now.

Hole in 1!

Pier walk

We went to the pool yesterday morning instead of the beach to have a break from the sand and surf. Last night we took a family walk to the pier that is .6 miles one way. We were all sweating by the time we got back because it was so humid. But we had fun! We saw on the news where there was a shark bite on 2 different occasions just north of us and just south of us. That is always scary to hear. Needless to say, we won't be going out past our ankles this morning!

Daddy throwing Ethan.
My little fish who loves the water.

Cousins on the pier.

Family shot on the pier.

Slipping and sliding

This morning we hit the beach again. Caleb was a little more content than yesterday. We had a lot of fun in the sand and surf. Then this evening after dinner we took the kids outside to play in the kiddie pool and slip and slide. They had a blast and Caleb was a hoot to watch. He was having so much fun in the water. He was sticking his head in the water and then Uncle Mike threw him down the slip n' slide like the rest of the big kids. He would get up and laugh. He really loved being sprayed with the water hose. It was so funny to watch him out there. Ocean Isle is such a family friendly beach area. I love that there is a constant breeze out, so it makes sitting in the sun actually bearable. I can't believe we are already half way through this vacation!

Caleb chillin' while eating a snack.
We had our second annual pillow sumo wrestling with the boys. They loved this!

Mike was having a blast with all the kids in the pool! Ha!

He may not care for the sand at the beach, but he LOVES playing in the water!

Hello from Ocean Isle

Today was the official start to our 3rd annual beach vacation with my in-laws. There are 15 of us staying here for the week! We are looking forward to some fun!

Ethan was really into digging a big hole that he could jump into.

Wading in the pool, courtesy of Grammy and Papa.
My adorable, yet extremely fussy baby boy. He is a hot mess between teething, not liking the sand at the beach, and not having a "normal" week in over a month!

Captured this sweet moment of Ethan and his cousin Jackson reading together before bed.

Camp Willow Run- Day 6

Not too bad of a family picture... considering I didn't wear make up or do my hair all week!

Camp Willow Run- Day 5

Today has been another great day at camp. It was absolutely beautiful! A "cool" front came through last night and brought our 101 degree weather down to 88 today! How nice! It was glorious. We took many walks and were outside a lot. Ethan got to ride on "Lola" a small motor boat that pulls in sailboats when they get stuck out on the lake. He also got to watch kids shoot off model rockets today. I took him swimming again. He is getting more brave and is going under the water some. Hard to believe tomorrow is Friday, that last full day of camp.

A familiar scene at camp: surrounded by girls.
My two men on the boat.

Snack time on the big rock near sailing.

Beautiful sunsets over the lake. That is the swim dock way in the background.

Camp Willow Run- Day 4

Well another day came and went at camp. The beginning of the week seemed to go by slow, but now I can hardly believe that tomorrow is already Thursday. The boys are having a blast and are tuckered out! We are all sleeping well and Caleb is eating like it's his last meal. Today was another hot day but it was overcast so you didn't feel the unbearable hot sun on you as much. I took Ethan swimming again today while Caleb napped and Matt worked on his camp sermon for tonight. Ethan loves to swim and has even gone under water several times. We just love this place and we get excited each summer we get asked to come back.

Boys playing together right out front of our boxcar.
Such a cutie pie! We know he's cute, but it's especially fun when other people keep telling us that!

Oh, and just admiring my ring while swimming at the lake! Hard to believe we will be married 7 years at the end of the month! I am so blessed to have a man like Matt by my side!

We drove around camp on the golf cart tonight. I went inside to grab my camera and snap a picture, well it was so humid out that the camera fogged up!

Camp Willow Run- Day 3

I don't have many pictures today. It was a scorcher. 101 with a heat index of 111! We stayed indoors a lot, but did make it out to the lake to swim. Ethan also visited the basketball gym again, archery and riflery, and loved just running around camp. Matt and I agree that it is so fun to watch him assert his independence. We both looked at each other today and said, "our little boy is growing up"! The campers love both our boys and oogle over them. Caleb's fussiness is better, which makes things so much nicer. Ha!

p.s. Sorry for the delay in posting. I tried last night and it would not work for some reason.

Camp Willow Run- Day 2

Greetings from CWR. I just put both nuggets to bed and took a shower while Matt does his evening "sermon" for the campers. It has been a long but good day. Fussy does not even begin to describe Caleb.... so in that regard it has been a stressful day. But overall we had fun. I took the boys swimming this morning by myself. I knew it would be a task to begin with being by myself with two non-swimmers, but Caleb was just a bear. We ended up having to leave the swim area. I promised Ethan I would take him out later during Caleb's nap. Ethan and I ended up going back out as promised. He is like a fish. LOVES being in the water. We also hit up the basketball gym and played soccer and Frisbee in between. I am hoping Caleb's mood is just an adjustment to being away from home. Although I know those 4 canine teeth are going to pop through literally any minute. I am hoping he sleeps well tonight and sleeps later than his 4:45 a.m. wake up time this morning. I am hitting the sack early because I am one tired girl!

Posing with a basketball- he kept trying and trying to make the shot on a regulation goal. One of these days, buddy!
He has such patience with his mama who is constantly telling him, "wait, stop and say cheese!" Why do we do that to our kids?! ha ha!

Yes, I got that look many times today! You are lucky I am in love with you, stinker!

Both boys in the water. Caleb REFUSED to look at the camera. *sigh*

Camp Willow Run- Day 1

We arrived at Camp Willow Run Sunday afternoon. This is the beloved place where I met my husband 8 years ago. Since then we have married and had 2 children. It was surreal driving in the entrance with our family now. It just seems like it has always been in some ways. We are so thankful for this place. This week Matt is the camp speaker for middle school students. We look forward to a great week with a lot of fun! As long as Caleb doesn't wake up at 4:45 a.m. every morning. I guess he was a little anxious to play today. Yikes!

The boys breaking in the bunk bed.
Sitting in front of the engine. The camp is built around a railroad theme where the old boxcars are converted into dorms for the campers.

We checked out the low ropes course.

Taking a break from the heat to watch a movie. Caleb's hair is slicked back with sweat. Nice.

Forgive me

I have been meaning to post for a while now. We went to Colorado 3 weeks ago and I have gone to post about it like five times and each time I forget that my pictures are on Matt's computer. Then, this past week my dad had a massive heart attack and has been in the hospital, so I have been focused on my family. So this post is to say, forgive me for my lack of blogging. Which seems to be a reoccurring theme lately. I hope to post soon. Especially since this week we will be at Camp Willow Run. Stay tuned.