beautiful flowers and beautiful girls

Aunt Laura popped in for a weekend which is always so much fun. We love having her here... of course. While she was here, we decided to check out the Duke Gardens on the Duke Campus. I had been there before, but many many years ago. It was more beautiful than I remembered and we all had a great time.

We hit the gift shop (of course) on the way out and got a few red-eyed tree frog (Maddie's favorite)tubby toys as souveniers.

And as a note- Aunt Laura has many names... Lorla, Lola, etc. The third niece has come up with a third name for her... "alla." Sometimes it sounds a little like "hola" but most of the time its just "alla." We love it. Not sure why each of her nieces decided to give her their own name, but it sure is cute!

very pink cake

yes... mommy's birthday was a month ago... but hey, things are busy around here! I wanted to post pictures of the birthday cake that Maddie's picked out for me.

Jim was out of town for the day and Maddie insisted that Caroline, she and I stop at the grocery store and get me a cake on our way home from school. So we stopped at the Harris Teeter and as much as I tried to get her to pick out the nice cholocately one... she insisted we get the pinkest one the store had.

It was so sweet... and I loved it. Jim got home after dinner and we were able to have cake and ice cream. He surprised me with a nook which Im absolutely in love with. I think I've read more books in the last month than I have all year!

And as always, Miss Caroline loved the cake. This kid is the best.

Love this little family!

a visit with uncle mike and aunt rita

We always enjoy spending time with Uncle Mike and Aunt Rita. Although we didn't take nearly enough pictures, we do have a few worth sharing.

Uncle Mike and Aunt Rita brought their awesome RV that Maddie had a lot of fun exploring. It was a house on wheels! I think Maddie would have moved in if she could have (especially since it was packed with yummy snacks).

Their golden Gracie was a lot of fun too! She's an awesome frisbee dog and Maddie just thought that was so cool. Can't wait for them to visit again!

couldn't resist posting

Just got done uploading a bunch of pictures I've taken over the last few months and although this ones about a month old, I HAD to post. This is Maddie and her friend Ryan after their very first swimming lesson. Do you think they were excited?

Daddys Birthday

We celebrated Daddy's birthday with brunch at the Flying Biscuit in Raleigh. We're so excited that they opened one here. Biscuits weren't quite as big... Bit otherwise just as good as I remembered!

We finished the day with friends and family over to our house for dinner. Had a blast!!!

Swim Lessons for Maddie

Miss Maddie has started swim lessons at the Triangle Aquatic Center and has taken to it like a FISH! SHe's taking semi-private lessons with our little friend Ryan and she is loving it.

Miss Shannon is her teacher and she is so great with them. They play with Princess and Cars toys, "paint" with water, and get to squirt the teacher with a squirt gun at the end of the lesson.

I think the cutest part is the goggles!

blue steel

blue steel

myrtle beach mini-golf!

While at the beach, we went for a good old fashioned family outing at one of the many mini-golf establishments at Myrtle. We were a little nervous to play against ace-golfer grandad (and Daddy's not too shabby either), but I think we all had a pretty good showing. I think everyone got a hole-in-one (Caroline certainly made sure her ball went in the hole as frequently as possible).

Maddie was always VERY excited when her ball went in the hole and threw her arms up in the air and yelled, "SCORE!" Thats my girl.

I am protesting Caroline's score as she had some extra help from Grandad. Whats up with that?

They're just too cute. I cant stand it!

What would we do without the timer function on the camera? Cheese!

Another family shot. At least 3/4 of us are looking towards the camera!

Action shot of Grandad.

The place was jungle themed and was filled with these animal statues and waterfalls throughout the course.

I love that Daddy's was the only ball that got stuck at the giraffes mouth. He played through it.

Maddie gets some help too... not fair!

SCORE!

And last but not least... the best shot of the day...

Okay, so maybe this one was the best shot... or at least the cutest.

more beach 2011

Caroline and Grandaddy watching Daddy and Madelyn in the ocean...

So much fun with plastic cups, water and sand!

The crew minus cameraman Daddy...

Family pic! So much harder then it looks!

Aaahhh... nice walk in the surf with Grandad.

Surfs up!

Sandbaby...

We're all dying to get back to the beach! We've had 90+ degree temps this week and are really missing the sand and surf. Good thing the neighborhood pool has been open!