Birthday surprise!

Tim is such a sweetheart! He was determined to get me back in a kayak. He arranged babysitting for the kids (Thanks Brain and Kristi....and Samantha for entertaining the kids). He had told me he had a surprise for my birthday so I had been waiting with great anticipation! We got to paddle with the seals! How cool is that?!!!

Well after our paddling experience in the Caribbean Sea, I wasn't sure i would ever get back in a kayak! This was a much difference experience! This first picture is looking back onto Newburyport!
As we got started the sun was shinning! The day before it was 86 degrees. Today it was 89 degrees but yesterday.....well it was overcast the entire day on the coast! The River water was warm and perfect so I wasn't afraid of falling in. We were right by the mouth of the river and Tim reminded me that sharks follow seals! Thanks Tim!! It was so cool! Even though we didn't get to see tons of seals on this trip we did get to see a couple in the water with us! It was amazing as one popped up several feet in front of us and then played peek a boo behind us! We were hoping it would come close enough for us to touch but it didn't!
The fog started rolling in as we were on our way out! It got really thick so of coarse that scared me a little. Tim said it looked right out of a movie of vikings as all these kayaks coming out of the fog! Our tour group split up on the way out to the rocks where the seals usually are. We got stuck in a group with two girlie girls who ended up need to eventually get towed which totally slowed us down. On the way back it was a race to get to the front and we were in first place the entire way back! Who said we are getting old! We were beating the teenagers! :0

We stopped for hot cocoa and treats and then started back! The entire trip took 4 hours! Yep, I am extremely sore today but I had so much fun with my hubby! Wish I could post the pic of us together! I love that guy! Thanks for a great birthday gift, Timmy!
Look how thick the fog got! We had to cross the river in this...so basically haul but across the river before we got hit. There was just once that we looked up and a boat was coming straight for us! Thank God he saw the paddles waving in the air!

Lunch date?

It was HOT on friday! Love it! I was attempting to do some weeding when i just couldn't stand it any longer and I said Conner want to do lunch on the beach? So we packed a quick lunch and headed to the beach! I love living close to the beach! Definitely a perk! Conner dug a hole! And he just kept diggin!

DIY

So, I have been wanted a huge chalkboard for the kitchen for over a year now but I didn't want to pay the $300 at some of the big name stores to have one. I have been meaning to make one myself but just haven't gotten around to it. Michael's was having a sale on frames 40% off and then a coupon for another 25% off so how could you not pass that up!? I actually should have bought several large frames for some other stuff I want to get done! I was going to paint the glass with chalkboard paint but when I was trying to get it out it broke! Wouldn't you know it?! I used the backing to the frame and painted that. Not sure how it is going to turn out yet. Still need to wait another day or two before I test it out. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!! In the mean time I want to take some fun pictures with this empty frame!

Its beginning to look a lot like......Summer!!!

Kaitlyn and Cameron were both at school, these two weren't! They had all the fun to themselves and they enjoyed every minute of it! Chloe is a year older than Conner and Conner is a slight bit taller than her now. Anyone notice C's new summer do? Courtesy of yours truly!


Buddies on most days! :0)
Kaitlyn and Cameron were home later in the day and they wanted to get in on the action!!

Relax

Poor Riley was sick...fever and yuck! K and C were very concerned for him. K stayed right with him to try to make him feel better and comfort him. It was very cute! Poor guy didn't feel like getting off the couch. Brandon was watching a movie so we decided to make it a beach day! Aunt Rachel and Karis came with us! What a beach beauty!
The three musketeers!
So we had to do it! We couldn't drive past a Brew Thru without checking it out! Only in the south can you find something like this. Actually, growing up I remember having a drive through dairy place where you could pick up galloons of milk and groceries. We thought it was funny!
We picked up some cider. When we asked the girl in the store if they had any cider she said no. Then we drove up a little bit and there it was. The girl said, "funny, I never know what we sell!" Probably a good thing? Anyway, now we can say we went through a drive thru for some beer!

Aunt Cherie is stunning!

Welcome to the family Steve!!

What a fun party! Overlooking the ocean....right on the beach....how beautiful! K and C have dancing genes.....they didn 't get them from Tim or Me. They are hilarious to watch. Tim takes credit for all the "booty shaking" they do in the kitchen and i take credit for all the dance parties we have in the playroom. We both give Aruba a little credit for all the dancing they did there as well. They are so funny to watch. They can really "party"!!
Aunt Rachel and Karis!
New Uncle Steve ( when kids in K's class asked her why she was going to N. Carolina, she didn't tell them about the wedding....she just told them she was going to meet her New Uncle Steve!) and we also gained a new nephew, Owen! Here is Brandon next to me all grown up at 13!
Steve with his nieces!

Karis time

Our kids LOVE Karis! Have I mentioned that before? They both LOVE babies and are so good with them but Karis is their cousin so they take extra pride in her! Oh to get to see our family more! The kids are just smitten!

Wedding on the Beach

We had a great time. This was a very fun and beautiful wedding! Cherie did a great job with it! She looked radiant! Brandon is an expert with the viola! Awesome job!
Welcome to our family Steve and Owen!

What a handsome lot!

I love these people

My little buddy! I love being an aunt! Wish we could spend more time with these guys!Brandon is 13 years old now! When we graduated from college, we held this little guy and he was only a couple days old! Crazy to see what a big kid he is now! He is a really talented young man!
The girls got to hang out again! We missed K but she got to have fun with daddy and Conner. Us girls got to play with flowers and we got pampered a bunch! Fun times! Thanks Cherie!

Fishing and a night on the town in Wilmington, NC

These guys fished and fished. They caught little fish and tons of tadpoles. Tim helped them catch a ball that they thought was an egg!

A night out in downtown Wilmington!

biker gang

Check out how hot Conner gets! His hair is a sweaty mess! Today we gave him a mohawk and then now is has a clean shave! I'll have to take a pic of it!Aunt Rach is just one of the kids! We love her so much!!! What a blessing she is to our family!
Riley is poppin his wheelies!
Buddies for life!

Girls just wanna have fun!

What a fun time I had with my girls! Wish we could do this more often!

fun times in North Carolina

The kids can't get enough of little Karis. She is a doll baby and we sooo wanted to take her home with us! Riley was something else. The kids were enamored with him. Kaitlyn was everything about Riley! They were so cute together. Conner thought his big cousin was pretty cool too!

You would think these kids saw each other all the time. It had been four years since we had seen Brandon and Riley. They acted like it was last week! Gotta love family! This was our second time with Karis. They LOVE her. K is the mommy and Conner acts like the concerned and silly big bro! Very sweet! Wish we could see these guys more!