LOVED Avon

Our week at the beach went by way to fast. Seems like just as we were settled and relaxed, we packed up to head home. It was nice to get home though...it has taken a few days to adjust back to our routine. We stayed in Avon this year on Hatteras Island, about 50 miles south of Nags Head...only about 5 mintues from the Hatteras Lighthouse. Last time I was there, they hadn't moved the lighthouse yet...so it was cool to see it in it's new location away from the surf. It's amazing that they were able to "lift" it up and move it so far.





Avon is also just south of Rodanthe...which is the setting of Nicholas Sparks' book - "Nights in Rodanthe". It has been made into a movie and is coming out in Sept. I can't wait for that! The house is there, its huge and right on the water.


The weather coudn't have been better, I think the highest it got was 86 or so. The beginning of the week the water was cool and pretty calm. By the end of the week it was much warmer but really rough - the waves were at least 6' high. The guys had fun body surfing though.





My Mom and I enjoy our time together just laying by the water's edge, watching the birds and dolphins. It's so peaceful. Ben doesn't understand how we can just lay there and fall asleep, he gets restless if he's not doing something.


Madelyn needed a little coaxing to enjoy herself! She liked sitting in the sand and digging her toes in it, but didn't care so much for the water. When it was warmer, we finally kept her in and she liked it. I think more than anything she liked to lick her salty hands!





And KONA...oh my - I've never seen this dog more at peace in my life! I'm so glad we took him, he deserved a break too. He swam and chased the birds and CRABS! He was fun to watch.





We're looking forward to next year...then we'll have a 2 year old AND a newborn...whoa! That'll be fun!

Vacation!!!

Aahhh, our beach vacation has finally arrived! We're heading out early for The Outer Banks, NC. Our annual trip. This will be the first time there that Madelyn will actually play in the sand and go in the ocean. We were there last fall, she wasn't walking then and it was a bit chilly for the water. We'll have plenty of pictures and stories when we return next week.

Its been a lazy week, getting ready for the beach mostly. Although Madelyn did have her first haircut...which she did HERSELF...by accident! Let me explain -- I give her scissors and razors to play with often, I think it helps her hand-eye coordination. No really, I take 5 seconds to try to go to the bathroom (WHAT was I thinking!)...come around the corner and she has reached on the bathroom counter to get her Daddy's razor! I try to stop her but not too quickly so she doesn't cut herself...ugh!! It was a scary moment! She had just slid the razor down the side of her head and cheek. I didn't see any blood so I didn't think anything of it. Later that night I realized she shaved off a small part of her hair, which she doesn't have much of to begin with. It's starting to grow so it's not as noticable now, but still fun story! Maybe she'll grow up to be a stylist??

Monday...

Today was such a nice day! It felt like a little hint of fall, I hope it isn't too far away. Seems like the past few years in Virginia, it stays warm until at least Thanksgiving. I remember a few days in December last year we had the door open. I grew up in Virginia, from when I was just a year old. When I was a little girl, I KNOW we had at least 2 or 3 good snow storms a season that would shut us down a few days -- I think the last one we had was in 1996 maybe.

We spent a lot of time outside today and took a nice long walk with Kona & Ben when he got home from work. This new wagon is sooo handy! Here are a few pictures from today:

Thanks for helping me put my shoes on!

Busy busy...

We've been pretty busy the past several days, FUN busy that is! I think I'm getting some energy back, for now anyway! I'm sure it won't last.

We had a blast Friday night at Short Pump with our friends Erica and Brian, along with their daughter Peyton. We took the wagon and a blanket and headed out for a fun concert outdoors, the girls had sooo much fun together and it was great to spend some time with Erica and Brian. We had a picnic outside in front of the band and after a while Ben & Brian wheeled the girls around like they were in a parade - they loved it. Madelyn says Peyton's name all the time at home, pi-ta is what she calls her!

Saturday I attended a shower for a good friend, Amber. She's having a little girl and she thinks she'll name her Aubrey, how pretty! Saturday afternoon my Mom stopped in after a meeting at a local church. I always love it when she's here, I'm so lucky to have my Mom as one of my very BEST friends! She's just awesome.

Today was not so fun - Ben installed a ceiling fan in our bonus room above the garage. I think he spent about 4 or 5 hours in the attic! After several bad words and dirty looks, the fan was up and working. Haylie came over, and so did Ben's Dad - who helped with the final touches. Madelyn loves Haylie, or hay-yay as she calls her!

We've got our Romp n' Roll class in the morning and a busy week ahead getting ready for the beach! WOOHOO! We SO need a vacation! Can't wait for that :)

Exhausted already!

Whew...is it possible that I could be completely exhausted already? Man, I've been wiped out the last few days. Guess it could be from being pregnant AND chasing around a little one this time! I think I already have the nesting thing going on, too. Although - I "nest" all the time, it's more intense when I'm expecting though!

I've been busy working on a baby blanket for a friend of mine. I'm kicking myself because I've made at least 8 quilts and haven't taken a picture of ANY of them! What was I thinking?? Anyway...Amber is due in just a few weeks. So many of our friends are pregnant again, although they are having their babies in the next month. It's funny - Amber had her son Jackson in June 2006, a month later I found out I was pregnant with Madelyn. Now...she is due with her second and I am just getting started on my second pregnancy! We just couldn't get on the same page with our baby timing!

I'm excited that I'll be going through this pregnancy with my friend Erica. We met her and Brian and their daughter Peyton at Romp n' Roll. (If you don't know - Romp n' Roll is an AWESOME gym/art/music class for the little ones, we've been taking Madelyn since she was about 7 months old www.rompnroll.com/midlothian) We've become really good friends with Brian & Erica...Madelyn & Peyton adore each other, Peyton is just 2 months younger than Madelyn. Erica is just a week or so ahead of me in her pregnancy, how crazy is that!? We've had some really fun times together in the short time we've known them. I think it was meant to be that we met them, they are such great people.

Once this week is over - we'll start getting things together for our beach trip to Avon, NC. We are so excited to take Madelyn to the beach...will she love it, or will she hate it?? I have a feeling she might not like the sand so much - but we have 2 pools at our rental house so we can spend time there too. We are taking our dog, Kona. He'll have fun, I know - he loves the water and loves to be with people ALL the time. He deserves a vacation too!



Kona

By the way...

Surprise!!

Another weekend...

Well, another weekend come and gone. It seems like our weekends are getting busier and busier as time goes on! This past weekend was great, we headed down to visit Amanda - she lives just south of Charlotte on the NC / SC line. We were excited to spend time with her. We love her house and the area she lives in is beautiful, a perfect place for a young, single girl -- any gentlemen out there interested??? :)


Madelyn was eager to get in and settled after our 5 hour ride turned into 6 on Friday. So we headed to the pool when we got there to wear her out before bed, it worked just like we hoped it would! Madelyn LOVED Manda's kitten, Mia. Although Mia was not so sure of Madelyn after a while...she was a little loud and had too much energy! But she was nice and let Madelyn hold her a few times.




Madelyn, Mia & Manda


Megan & Madelyn

Saturday we hit the mall for a little while and then spent the evening with other family in the area -- Ben's Aunt Debbie and her family, and also Ben's Uncle Darren and his family came in. It was great to spend time with them, last time we saw them was 4 years ago! We hope it isn't that long before we see them again. Madelyn had an especially fun time with Braydon, her second cousin. He showed her how to play pool and even challenged her to a wrestling match...but the referee ended it before any casualties!






Madelyn & Braydon


Braydon, Brad & Madelyn...3 monkeys jumping on the bed!


Madelyn & Cailyn