Beach Family Vacation

We just got home from a beach trip! We joined my parents, sisters, and my sisters' families for a week at Corolla Beach in the Outer Banks. It was such a fun week of playing in the ocean and on the beach, hanging out by the pool, eating way too much food, and enjoying our adult time in the evenings once the kids (all 9 of them!) had gone to bed. It was Madeleine's first trip to the beach, and she absolutely loved it! It was such a joy to watch her enjoy the sand and the water like both Caleb and I do. For the first time we stayed at the 4x4 part of Corolla, which is less crowded since it's accessible by 4WD only. There are wild horses that roam that section of the Outer Banks, and they would walk right through our yard! I'm always sad when a vacation like this comes to an end, but I'm grateful for the fun memories we made! Here are a few pictures, if you'd like to see...

Gulf Coast Vacation

We returned home Saturday from a week at the Gulf Coast with my whole family. We had such a great vacation laying in the sun, playing with the kids, and mostly just being together. All seven of my nieces and nephews love playing in the sand and/or water, so it was really fun to be in the sand or out in the water with them! The three oldest girls are also learning to swim, so it was so cute to watch them get a little braver each day. One night the girls went shopping and another night the guys went fishing, and we also spent a cloudy morning at the Naval Aviation Museum. Other than that and a few donut runs, you could find us playing on the beach or in the pool or hanging out in the condo after the kids went to bed. A real vacation for me is bathing suits all day and no makeup or having to fix my hair! We are so thankful for the time we had together, especially since as the years go by we seem to geographically spread further and further apart! Here's a few pictures of our week, if you'd like to see.

The Weekend

This summer we've taken several weekends to visit our family, and we have loved doing so. We visited my sister and Caleb's sister in June, two weekends ago we visited my other sister (including my newest niece who was then just 2 days old!), and this past weekend we went to Virginia to see Caleb's entire family. In the past 10 days we actually ended up seeing all our family members, including our now NINE nieces + nephews! Some of the visits were super short (like after church), but still...we love our families and every minute we get to spend with them. The top picture is of my nephew, but we really spent this past weekend mostly with Caleb's family. We got to meet our newest niece on Caleb's side (she + her big sister are the ones in the above)! She is so cute and cuddly which I of course loved :) The guys worked on building a swing set for Caleb's parents, and the girls did a little shopping with an iced coffee pit stop...the norm. We were able to make it to church in Virginia to run into some of my family, and then we grabbed a quick lunch with my parents before hitting the road for a (rainy) ride home. Our weekends in Virginia are always jam-packed and so quick, but we're thankful for the time to be able to see family!

Beach Vacation

Last week we were at the beach with Caleb's family. It was a wonderful time to get away, and we really enjoyed our time with the whole family together. Our house was right on the beach so we were seriously living.the.life. Wake up, lay by the pool, head down to the beach, read, eat lunch, back to the beach, a little hot tub action, dinner, relax, ice cream, bed. It was perfect. We had great weather except for one day that was really windy, so we are starting the summer with a tan and feeling relaxed. It's always hard to get back in the swing of real life after such a relaxing vacation, so we spent the weekend taking care of things around the house and trying to get ready for another week. Here are a few snippets of our week, mostly from my instagram since I was too relaxed to worry about getting good pictures. Happy Monday!

The Weekend

This past weekend we were in Baltimore for my aunt's wedding. We headed up to Virginia on Thursday night to break up the trip a little, and then went on to Maryland on Friday. We were able to spend Friday with my grandparents, which was wonderful. We don't get to see them that much, and we really treasure any time we get to spend with either of our grandparents. It was also fun to have all six of our nieces and nephews on my side all together! Saturday was the wedding and almost all of my mom's entire family was there. It was a great day being with family and celebrating with my aunt, and my grandparents were so thrilled to have so many family members all in one room, including all 13 great-grandchildren!

Last Weekend

Here it is Friday and I'm just getting around to posting about last weekend! This week Caleb and I have both been sick with colds + we've had a really busy week with work and life. Last weekend my parents came down to visit for the weekend, and my sister and her three kids also came up for a day. We had fun playing at the playground with the kids and also having adult conversation with my sister and parents. After my sister left on Saturday, we headed downtown with parents along with everyone else in town to enjoy the beautiful WARM weather! The park by the river was filled with picnics and people and it made me so excited for the arrival of spring. Sunday afternoon I even got a little touch of sunburn reading out on our back deck. Fast forward to the end of the week: we have frost on our cars, and we both have colds. BUT I'm holding onto last weekend as my hope for spring. Happy Friday!

The Weekend

This past weekend we had to go to Virginia to work out some car issues, but the timing worked out perfectly so that we could visit our newest nephew! He was born last Tuesday, so was just a few days old when I finally got to cuddle with him:) Our visit was a pretty quick one, due to traffic and needing to get back home on Sunday, but we tried to make the most of it. We spent Saturday with my mom and my sister's family, holding the new baby and watching my other nephew and niece interact with their new baby brother. And of course I managed to grab a coffee from my favorite local coffee shop, and we continued the hunt for the perfect paint color (seriously! the hunt never ends!). Sunday before we left town we were able to see all of Caleb's family, which was a nice treat. Virginia weekends are always a whirlwind, but it was nice to be able to get a few things done and pack in seeing a bunch of people in such a short time. What did you do this past weekend?

The Weekend + 2 Years

This past weekend we were able to host my oldest sister and her family. They had not been to visit us since we moved into our new house, so it was fun to give them a tour of our home and a glimpse into our life here. The kids are 3 and almost 1 1/2, so it was a weekend filled with toys and laughter and fun! One of my favorite parts of the weekend was when my niece was swinging on the swing in the backyard. She is quite a talker, and once she was on the swing she just went full speed telling us about everything--singing her ABCs, how much she likes falling asleep to the sound of the rain, etc. It's so fun to be able to see these kids' personalities coming out!

Also, I realized that last week marked two years of writing on this little blog.  This space has changed a little from year to year, and it finally feels like I'm in a good rhythm.  Posting three times a week seems to work the best for me with my schedule right now, so that's what it will be.  I've learned a lot about myself through blogging and connecting with other bloggers, and it's been so fun!  Thanks for reading along and for the comments and the friendships! xx

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving.  We joined in the masses traveling and headed up to Virginia on Wednesday night.  We were able to spend Thanksgiving with my family and the day after with Caleb's, and then parts of the day with both on Saturday.  We went shopping, ate too much, and just enjoyed being together and relaxing.  I didn't take many pictures--I was too busy just enjoying the moment--but here's a few from our time there.  I'm still wrapping my mind around the fact that Thanksgiving is over and Christmas will be here before we know it!  We are hoping to start decorating for Christmas tonight :)  How was your Thanksgiving?