Dancing the Night Away

We went to a friend's anniversary party last weekend. It was kid-friendly so we drug the kids along complete with cards, iPads, and other things to keep them busy. Those things were not necessary because my kids were the life of the party. They stayed on the dance floor. It was so awesome dancing the night away with them; we had the best time.

(Meanwhile, the baby was being passed from stranger to stranger, dancing, and getting fed watermelon!)

Carter's Day

Per the usual, Carter woke up to a floor full of balloons and a room full of streamers for his 6th birthday! I hope the kids always remember that fondly (and do it for their kids!).

We looked at his birth announcement and tiny little footprints together. He had lots of questions about my pregnancy, his birth, and him as a baby. I thoroughly enjoyed thinking back on Carter as a baby and having this conversation with him. He was such an angel as a baby.

I made him his favorite breakfast, orange rolls. I personally think everyone should start their birthday with a candle in their favorite breakfast. 

He has been wanting a Paw Patrol play set for such a long time. Every time we go to Target, he takes his money, walks over to this play set, and I have to break the news that he doesn't have enough money. He usually ends up buying a movie instead of saving his money up so that he can buy it the next time. So we bought it for him for his birthday and his reaction was everything we thought it would be! 

Also, big brother is very much into Pokemon (not just collecting, but actually playing the cards). So naturally, Carter has been wanting his own Pokemon cards. We took it a step further and got him his very own Pokemon binder too! Landon drew the most awesome Pikachu cover for it. Carter was over the moon happy. I've seen him carefully organize and reorganize his cards multiple times since getting his binder.

He got to choose how we spent the day. First, lunch at Bojangles. Yup. Bojangles. The kid doesn't like Bojangles. But it has this cool mysterious vibe because we never go there because it's too spicy for me (and for him when we went one other time in their lives). So we went. He ate lots of fries with the yummy seasoning all over them. And maybe two bites of a chicken tender. Whatever. It's your birthday, man. 

Then we had an awesome afternoon at Pullen Park. They rode the carousel and kiddie boats. We walked around the pond watching the geese and ducks. They played on the fun playground equipment. And we rode the train around the park. It's such a great park - highly, highly recommend you go if you live anywhere near the Raleigh area. It's got a cool history and was the first public park in NC.

We had a great day celebrating our Carter Bear turning 6!!!

Read about Carter at 6 years old here, our family birthday celebration here, and details about his friend birthday celebration to come...

The Bagleys Meet Ana

A few weekends ago, the Bagley Circus headed east to Carolina Beach, NC for a friend's wedding. All during Tropical Storm Ana. Bagley luck. :)

We were invited to their rehearsal dinner Friday night and their wedding on Saturday night. We had a little house rented across the street from the ocean. My in-laws were supposed to go with us to stay at the beach house with our babies while the Mr and I attended the festivities. Well...my sweet, little nephew Oakley decided to make his debut super early (the day before we were supposed to leave) so my in-laws were no longer available. After trying to give away a free trip to the beach during a tropical storm to a few folks, my friend and her son obliged. Thank you, Ms. Tracy and Chase!

We headed east at lunchtime on Friday and attended an awesome rehearsal dinner at Front Street Brewery in downtown Wilmington. At this point, slow-moving Ana was sitting about a hundred miles or so off the coast just chilling. The weather was still great. We had one good hour-long storm during the night while we slept.

We walked on the beach on late Saturday morning/early afternoon. The ocean was mad! The boys enjoyed playing at the water's edge (we didn't allow them to go in hardly any because of the strong undertow), and especially in the sea foam that covered the beaches from the churning ocean. We were approached by Time Warner News on the beach for an interview (why are you crazy people at the beach during a tropical storm?!). They interviewed me and recorded the kids playing. It aired that night and I had some friends in the Raleigh area that actually saw it! I haven't been able to find it online, but it aired. Yeah. I'm pretty much famous. Sweet Bird put her piggies in the sand for the first time! And we made a pit stop by Britt's Donuts! Mmmmmmmm!

 

 

 

 That night we attended their outdoor wedding at the bride's parents' home on the sound in Wilmington. The weather held out; we even saw a rainbow at the end of the ceremony. Nice touch! We moved into the huge tent for the reception and the bottom fell out. It was raining and winding like a tropical storm... The power went out. People cheered! The power came back on. People cheered! But we kept on eating, drinking, and dancing! Around 9:30 (about an hour before the couple were supposed to leave), the rain stopped and we thought it might be best if we head out. (Side note: When we arrived and drove down a one-lane dirt road and parked in a grassy field next to the house, I told Christopher that this probably is a bad idea.) When we left, there was a Mini Cooper that got stuck twice in the field. We were able to drive around that mud pit but got stopped at the end of the one-lane, one-way road out of there. One car had slid off the road up ahead. They were able to move that car over enough for folks to get by. Then the SUV in front of us got stuck in the mud twice. So, when it was our turn, the Mr floored it and slipped and slid our way out of there without getting stuck at all! (He's my hero.) What a great memory!

When we left Sunday morning, it was raining pretty hard and starting to flood. We met my college roomie for brunch and left the storm behind.

It was a great weekend for everyone, including Ana.

#FamilySelfie Sunday

From this past Sunday, April 26 (that Little!)

Family Day Sundays

Sundays are family days in our house. We try to have no commitments and just spend time together; hiking, playing games, watching movies. Anything as long as we are together. It's important to take time out of the hustle and bustle of our busy lives and enjoy each other.

I took a #familyselfie this past Sunday and want to try to keep that going!