a few more beach pictures

I wasn't going to get you get away with not seeing anymore pictures from our awesome beach vacation! I posted a few while we were in SC from my phone but have just now had the chance to download them to my computer and post them here. We had a fabulous time, as usual. THe weather was great, the girls had a blast in the pools, lazy river and the beach of course.

We weren't sure how much of her swimming techniques Maddie would remember from last year, but after about 5 minutes, she was back to her fishy-self.  She put her goggles on and got right in!  We're so happy to have kids who enjoy the water as much as they do.

Longbay has a great childrens area that the girls like. We went there on days where it was really warm because it is in the shade for most of the afternoon. 

We spent as much time as we could on the beach.  I think the girls preferred being in one of the pools, but we were able to get them in the sand almost every morning.

The great thing about Myrtle Beach is all the other fun stuff to do once you've washed up from the day.  We went to the HUGE Bass Pro Shops to get the girls some fishing poles.  Caroline made some friends. They followed her from their tank everywhere she went.

Next up- Putt Putt.  We found a pretty cool pirate themed one up in North Myrtle.

And Maddie really wanted to go into the shark store. Caroline wanted nothing to do with it.  We kept trying to convince Caroline that it was just a regular store once she went into the sharks mouth and that she could even close her eyes walking in... but she wasnt having in.  She said, "I'll go when Im a big girl." So we waited til Grammie and Grandad got there and took Maddie by ourselves. She loved it.

And back to the beach we go...

The week went way too fast as usual and I already told Jim we have to go back one more time before the summer is over.  

stella and brads wedding

We were honored to be invited to the sweet Stella's wedding. It was so much fun. So much romantic and sweet.  Neal was greatly missed, but we knew he was there in spirit watching over all of us and smiling down with his great big huge smile.

It was held in a really cool mill in Saxaphaw, NC.  Just a short drive from Chapel Hill and a super cool location. Brads band Megafaun has played there a few times.


Maddie waiting for the big event to start



The couple saying their vows

The girls with Princess Stella!

The Apex Gang!

The fabulous four

The gals

What a great shot with Grammie and Grandad

Caroline's first intro to Cheerwine

Aw

A keeper for sure

We wish Brad and Stella all the best and can't wait to spend time with them as a married couple!

playdates in may

Wow!  May was the month of playdates! We had so many I almost lost count.  I didnt take pictures of them all... but here are the ones I did. Check out these cuties!

Caroline and William

Maddie and Kyra

Maddie and Will at the Durham Bulls Game

Maddie and Reed (it was hard to catch them standing still)

We've got some fabulous friends here and are so thankful for all the fun we get to have with them. Here's to a fun and friend-filled June!

Southern sports fan

Braves hat and Durham Bulls shirt. She's got daddy wrapped around her finger now!

happy friday!

It's princess chutes and ladders time!

the beach

Ahhh... We've made it to vacation!! So very happy to be back.

strawberry time!

It's strawberry picking time already in NC and we took advantage of the beautiful sunny weather on Friday to do some picking!

Caroline had no interest in picking strawberries... but certainly liked to eat them.

Fun fun fun!!!

After we picked a few buckets full, we went to pet and feed the beautiful horses at the farm.  They stood right up against the fence and were loving being fed. 

Caroline was a little nervous at first. Not that I can blame her, imagine how big he looked to her!  He was a sweety and was very very gentle.

Maddie on the other hand wasnt nervous at all. She absolutely loved petting and touching the feeding them.

We've made strawberry gelato, strawberry bread, strawberry muffins and of course eaten lots of berries by themselves. We're just about strawberried out!  The poor girls haven't complained though.

family dinner

We had a quick visit with Cousin Lilly and Aunt Sarah this weekend!  Its always fun to see them and the girls have so much fun together. Here's a quick shot at one of our favorite spots... Sweet Tomatoes.

caroline goes to the dentist

Caroline had her very first trip to the dentist this week and she was an absolute rockstar. Im not going to lie... I was nervous. The girl drinks a LOT of juice... and hates brushing her teeth. That combination alone is enough to make a mom nervous but on top of that, Ive been hearing that tons of little kids are having cavities these days. 2 and 3 year olds with 2 or more cavities at a time! The gummy vitamins and all the High Fructose Corn Syrup that is everywhere is reaking havoc on our kids teeth... Anywhoo... I was worried about her. She did great!

She was happy and friendly to all the hygienists and won everyone over.  She loved wearing the cool zebra glasses and did everything the hygienist asked.  It definitely helped that she was watching Rapunzel on the cool TV screen above her head.

She even held the little bowl of toothpaste on her hand while the lady brushed.

And the best news of all - NO CAVITIES! The dentist said her teeth looked great and to keep doing what we're doing. Phew!  I guess the brushing we were doing was enough. Sometimes fighting a two year old with a toothbrush and toothpaste every night just seems like a losing battle... but i guess we won this won.

She's definitely been easing off the juice in the last month or so and has been asking for milk more often. This makes me happy.  Let's hope we keep heading in that direction!

Great job my sweet Caroline!!!