Little Boys in Ties!

We went to a wedding up in DC in early August, which was a lot of fun! The best part was that I got to see my cute little boys dressed up in their ties!  There is just something about a little boy in a suit that gets me everytime.  I may not be able to buy cute little dresses and girly things, but this is almost as good! :) (We all kept saying that Landon looked like a little traveling salesman! Grady refused to tuck his shirt in, so he was going for the more casual look. :)

Grady, Landon and Hannah really enjoyed dancing at the reception! Grady has always loved to dance (especially at weddings), but as he has gotten older he has become more reserved in situations where there are lots of people. We weren't really sure what to expect... He was shy at first and didn't dance right away, but then once he got comfortable he was all over the dance floor! 

Here is a video of them dancing. (Landon is busy playing with Hannah's pocketbook! :)

We also had a chance to visit the National Zoo before heading back home, which was a lot of fun. I love this zoo because all the animals are in close proximity to one another, and it's of course free (which is always good!).

Summer Fun.... Part II!

The last blog post left off after July 4th when Kelly, Louis and Hannah were visiting.... They stayed in NC for a week, and Grady, Landon and I drove back to FL with them to spend a week there because Brandon had a work conference in Texas that same week. I figured it was a great opportunity to spend some time there (and have some adult interaction so I didn't go insane while Brandon was gone!). It worked out perfectly because I was able to drive back with them, and then fly home a week later. Of course driving 12 hours with three little ones was a bit scary, but they all did great! If you can believe it, we only stopped twice during the whole trip (once for lunch/gas, and then another time for dinner/gas).  It was a tight squeeze, but we made it! :)

Kelly and Louis moved into a new house back in May, so this was our first time seeing their new place. One definite highlight is that they now have a beautiful pool! The boys absolutely loved it, and I really enjoyed it as well because I could take Grady swimming while Landon napped. And as you can see there is a nice, big step so they can just hang out there and play.

We of course also enjoyed time at the beach! Here are Hannah and Landon picking up shells....

Landon was a little nervous about the ocean at first, but Hannah has absolutely no fear. She will literally run straight into the waves and laugh hysterically...it is so cute!

Grady was not too interested in going past his shins in the ocean, but somehow Louis got him out there! This was a big step! :)

During our visit, we also brought the kids to a sprayground, which they of course loved!

Another perk of our trip was that we were able to be there to celebrate Hannah's 2nd birthday! Kelly and Louis planned a birthday party for her at the end of the week with lots of friends and family, but she did get one present early (from both sets of grandparents) - a kitchen!

Here are some pictures from her party....

Digging into her birthday cupcake!

The day after Hannah's party, Grady, Landon and I flew back to NC. This was the first time I flew by myself with both boys, so I was pretty nervous about it. Our flight was delayed two hours, so my plans to have Landon nap during the flight didn't work out so well. All in all, the boys did pretty good though.... Grady was wonderful (and was primarily concerned that his seat belt was tight enough in case we got in a crash....our little safety officer!), and Landon spent most of the flight trying to get down and wander around the plane. Luckily we made it home just fine! :)

Summer Fun!

This has been a busy summer, which is why it has taken me so long to put up a post! We celebrated my birthday (July 2) and Fourth of July in Pinehurst, which was a lot of fun. Kelly, Louis and Hannah came up to visit for the week, so the cousins got to spend a lot of time together, which they always love! We all went to the July 4th parade in Pinehurst and then headed over later in the day to the Fair Barn where there were more festivities.

At the Fair Barn, they had several bounce houses (which Grady loved!), as well as pony rides. They weren't too sure about riding the ponies, but they still did great!

During our visit, we also went to the Pinehurst marina and pool quite a bit, which the kids loved!

Hannah absolutely loves the water and is completely fearless! She just walks right in and laughs if she ends up under water. It's so cute!

Here are some other pictures from our visit....

This was the favorite spot during our visit - Popeye's closet! All three of the kids thought it was hilarious to hide in his closet...we still have no idea why it was so exciting. All we know is Popeye had to pick up his clothes numerous times a day after they played in it! :)



Hannah really loves giving lip kisses!



 We also went blueberry picking at an organic farm in Carthage, which was a lot of fun!

Here is Kelly picking up all the blueberries after Hannah decided to dump them out!

And finally, here is my pride and joy! A blueberry pie that I made that night! I have to say that I think it was better than Mrs. Smith's! :)