the state fair!

The NC State Fair is one of our favorite things about fall. It's huge, there's so much to do and see and who doesn't love a good old fashioned state fair?

We always start of our visit with a country ham biscuit at the Apex Lions Club booth.  We even saw Mr. Lawrence there which was fun.

Next up, a few rides before it gets too crowded.

Then on to some exhibits. This year we learned about farming and how farmers sell their goods to markets.

And of course lots of yummy food!

We also got to go inside some sweet house cars (RVs). Caroline wanted to take this one home. 

We played some games and lost miserably. Luckily there are still some very kind people in this world who saw the look on Caroline and Maddies faces when they lost and gave the girls their prizes. 

Happy happy times! Til next year state fair!!!

love

Caroline and mommy date night. Love this little face.

pajama buddies

This week Caroline has pajama day at school.  She and her friend Gavin decided to be pajama buddies!

amazing

I'm still amazed that Maddie does this with no fear or trepidation.

a few more great pics from OBX

Had to post a few more great pictures from our OBX beach trip before moving on to other adventures.

One of the very best parts of our trip is that we got to see one of Maddies very favorite people in the whole world... Miss Holland!!  She lives in Nags Head now so we were lucky enough to get to spend some time with her. 

We played mini golf and ate ice cream. 

And she even brought her sweet dog Chloe to the beach to play with us for the day!

This is what happens when I ask Caroline to take a picture. 

But then she humors me.

There were are also some really great photo ops around the beach!

What a great trip! Can't wait to go back again. 

good luck Timmy!!!

We let our pet Timmy go free in the pond at Crowder Park a few weeks ago.  It was time... He had a good run here but was getting big and needed to experience life with other turtle friends.

It was an emotional time for some of us (Jim) as some family members got attached to the little guy (Jim).

Bye bye little guy! Hope to see you swimming in the pond with your friends soon! 

Caroline turns 4!!!!

4 is the big number around here. Sweet sweet Caroline is now a big 4 year old. We had a party for her with all her friends at Pullen Park the weekend before the big day.

We had lots of fun riding the carousel and the train. And of course the boats!

I haven't pulled the good pics of the party off my big camera yet so I'll tease you with just a few.

For her actual birthday... She got to pick lunch anywhere she wanted and guess where she picked?! Yep- Sweet Tomatoes!  We let her eat a half a plate of beets for her big day.  Girl still LOVES her beets!!

And we saw an old friend Sophie at STs.

After lunch we went back to Grammie and Grandads for cake and more presents!!

And then to Build A Bear Workshop to build her very own bear. 

So cute and so much fun. 

And Caroline got to extend that birthday celebration one more day at school!!! Is this a happy face or what?

Yay for Caroline!!! We love you more than words can say... Moon and back sweet girl. 

Rewind time... Maddie turns 6!

How is it already October? I have no idea. I couldn't go any further without rewinding almost two months (ouch!!!) and posting a few pictures from Maddies 6th Birthday.

We were soooooo happy to have Aunt Jen and Cousin Tay come down for the celebration. They totally surprised the girls and showed up at our favorite yogurt shop down the road.  The girls were so happy to see them and completely shocked. 

They also got to see Caroline's very first ballet class. 

And just have lots of awesome quality time with us... Yay!! 

Maddies birthday was at a stable down the road from the house and was all about horses. That's her thing these days. 

The kids got to brush and feed the horses and of course ride them too. Maddie loved it and had a great party!

A few days later was the real day... 

And mommy and daddy even got to have lunch with her at school with her BFF Kyra

She's a big 6 year old now who loves to read and can ride her bike like a pro with no training wheels. She has a sweet heart and is so kind and loving. I hope she always stays this way. Big big big kisses to this sweet girl. We couldn't love her any more. 

Sand, sun, surf... And kites!

Another awesome reason to go to the beach in October?? 50% off at all the beach stores!!

Super cool outer banks sweatshirt... 9.00

The perfect beach kite... 5.00!!!

Unforgettable memories... Priceless 

We had such a great time flying kites at night. 

And of course... Some more swimming

outer banks beach trip

Oh how we love love love the beach!!!  We have been anxiously awaiting Maddies first track out so that we could spend a week at the ocean. We decided to go to the outer banks this trip in an effort to change things up a bit.

Here's the driver as we're crossing over the intercoastal waterway. 

Jim and I hadn't been since we were married and its still just as beautiful as we remembered it. 

We rented a condo just a short walk from the beach. It was perfect. 

And dog friendly too!!!  

We got our suits on and played in the surf the minute we got there. 

Even Tuck was in his happy place. 

We visited Currituck Light but it was closed (got there too late).  It was still beautiful to see and I'm pretty sure the little one wouldn't have made it all the way too the top anyway! 

Beautiful! More updates of our OBX trip to come!