Bri & Ashley

Fun in the Sun!

Dalton LOVES the pool and wants to be in it as much as possible. Until yesterday, however, he wanted someone to hold him the entire time he was in it. Brianna finally convinced him to try "swimming" with his life jacket and water wings. He loved it!!

Just Because He's CUTE!

Now for the pics that don't fit a specific category...except that they are of the cutest boy ever;)

NC Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores

Took a day trip down to Atlantic Beach to visit the Aquarium. Dalton loved the fish and turtles. However, he did NOT like the alligators, snakes, or the large shark! He refused to have his picture taken with me and the alligator (above).

It was a fun trip and we're hoping to visit the aquarium at Kure Beach sometime soon.

Easter Blessings

We had a great Easter this year. It began with church, of coarse. Then Justin and his fiance, Michelle, and her 3 year old daughter, Shelby came for a visit. It was her first time visiting us! We had smoked turkey, ham, lots of veggies, and a Hershey cake for dessert. Yummy:)

The day wouldn't have been complete without an egg hunt for the kids. Dalton and Shelby were quite competitive while searching for the eggs! After finding all the eggs, they played for awhile outside. Justin pushed them around in the cozy coupe until he was about to pass out! lol

After they left, Dalton and I went to my Uncle's house for another egg hunt with all my cousin's children. Our family always gathered on Easter at my grandparent's home and now that they are gone, my Uncle is trying to continue the tradition.

It was a wonderful day!

Thomas the Train & the NC Zoo

In September, we took a trip to a small town in western NC where there is an old train depot that has been made into a museum. Each year Thomas the Train is there for 2 weekends. A friend told us about it and we just HAD to go. Dalton is a HUGE Thomas fan and it sounded like a lot of fun for everyone. Plus, it was located only about 30 minutes from the NC Zoo and we have been wanting to go there for a while.

We invited my mom to go with us and my middle son, Justin. Brianna wasn't able to go because she couldn't miss school. We drove up on Thursday afternoon so we could be there on Friday morning without having to get up sooo early-- it was about a 4 hour drive. Friday morning we headed into Spencer to the NC Transportation Museum. Dalton was so excited over the trains, but when he saw Thomas--wow--he could hardly believe it!! He was ready to ride right then. Unfortunately, he had to wait a few hours because our tickets were for a 1:30 pm ride. That gave us time to see the museum filled with old cars, trains, and even airplanes. He met Sir Toppam Hatt and had his picture made and even saw Bob the Builder. Of coarse, the gift shop was full of tempting things...but he had to be satisfied with a whistle and a Thomas backpack. Finally, 1:30 came and we boarded the train. The ride lasted about 25 minutes and he loved every second of it! He was so tired I thought he would fall asleep, but he managed to stay awake for the entire time. I'm not sure which of us had the most fun:)

On Saturday, we went to Asheboro to the NC Zoo. It was much cooler and drizzled rain the entire time we were there, but we didn't let it stop us. We made it through the whole zoo in about 5 hours of walking...according to Justin the whole zoo is uphill:) lol We enjoyed all the animals. I really expected Dalton to be much more excited than he was at the zoo, but I think he was still thinking about Thomas.

It was a great trip and one I'd love to do again next year!! Who wants to join us?

Girls trip to Myrtle Beach

The first weekend of August, my Mom invited me, Brianna, and my 3 nieces to go with her to Myrtle Beach, SC. We walked on the beach one evening and it was so beautiful. The girls wore their bathing suits, but for some reason decided not to swim.

We also visited Broadway at the Beach; they have tons of shops, theaters, and amusement rides. We went there 2 different evenings after it cooled off a little. The girls enjoyed the rides; mom and I watched!

We also went to the outlets and shopped a little...I actually bought 2 dresses! I don't think I've bought a dress in about 4 years...so it was a pretty big deal to me! LOL Hey....it doesn't take much to amuse me, ok?

I also sneaked away to a scrapbooking store and bought some new albums and paper...now I just need to find time to actually scrapbook!!

Fun trip.