Playdate with Connor

James had a playdate with Connor this afternoon. Conner is our next door neighbor's grandson. He and James are like two peas in a pod. They each love playing with typical boy stuff (swords, army, etc), they are rough, and they get along well. Most of all, their favorite thing is Star Wars! Although unplanned, we even saw Connor at the movies Friday afternoon when we went to see Clone Wars.

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

Wanda, Rick, and the 3 munchkins!

picture taken July 4, 2008 on

Lake Jackson

Today is Grandma's (Wanda) birthday. We can't be with her today, but we all wish her happy birthday wishes! Hope you have a wonderful day and enjoy yourself. Relax and do what you want to do.....you deserve it!

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Today was a day that my boys have been waiting for all summer. It was the day that the new Star Wars movie "The Clone Wars" came to the theater! All week, they have been counting down the days.

We went to Birkdale and ate lunch at Eez (Asian fusion cuisine) and then stopped by Walgreens to pick up 3 boxes of our favorite candy. We finally made it to the movies and were able to see what all of the fuss is about! The boys loved the movie, of course. It is full of action and lots of Cone troopers, battle droids, and Jedis. As soon as we left, they wanted to know when they could see it again. I am sure that Todd will take them again (he wants to see it, too!). I guess I know one thing that will be on the Christmas list this year!

Oak Island Skate Park

James and his

"Ryan Sheckler" Plan B

James taking off

Taking a break under
the Palm tree

Todd and James

rest a little

Trevor cooling off

Trevor makes

the gap!

I mentioned in the previous blog that there is a Skate Park at Oak Island so I wanted to post a few pictures from those days. Oak Island is currently Trevor's favorite beach because it has the park. Never mind the fact that it is 100 degrees outside, Trevor wants to skate! Todd skated as a boy/teenager and he loves to take Trevor to the skate park. When they go, he always skates too. Of course, they can't do anything without James wanting to be right in the middle of it. Despite the fact that he was only 3, James got a "real" skateboard for Christmas last year (he and Trevor got one exactly alike!). He will ride it here at the house, but he has never been to a skate park with them. Until Oak Island! He went to the skate park with them every time! He was out on the ramps and Todd would help him ride in the half pipe. I got it all on video! Priceless!

Back from the Beach

Our House for the week

Family picture taken at the
North Carolina Aquarium


Trevor, James,
and Lilly

Our Ferry from

Southport, NC to Fort Fisher, NC

Lilly and her Daddy

Lilly and Nana

Trevor and James

play with army tanks

in the sand

We made it back from the beach after a wonderful, long, relaxing, fun-filled week! These are some of my favorite pictures that I took while we were there. The kids had a blast playing in the sand, building castles, trying to out run the waves, catching crabs, and just enjoying each other. One day, we rode the ferry to Fort Fisher and visited the North Carolina Aquarium. After the visit to the aquarium, we drove north up the coast through Kure Beach, Carolina Beach, and Wilmington. We rented a house on the ocean and most of our time was spent at the beach. Every morning, the kids would put on their swim suits as soon as they woke up. After breakfast, we headed to the beach until late in the afternoon. We took plenty of water, snacks, and sunscreen so that we were able to last all day out there. The kids were so tired every night that after we had our baths and ate dinner....it was lights out! There is also a skate park on Oak Island. Todd, Trevor, and James went skating 5 or 6 times while we were there.

We had a wonderful time this year at the beach. It is nice to spend quality time with the family and create priceless memories. This is what life is all about!

Oak Island

Trevor and James last year at Oak Island

looking for sea shells

We are leaving for Oak Island, North Carolina this morning. We have rented a house on the ocean for the week. The kids have been looking forward our trip to the beach the entire summer. I hope that James' foot won't hurt him or hold him back while we are there. He is still hobbling along. I'll post some pictures when we return!

Happy Birthday to Me

I had a wonderful birthday today. It started this morning before I even woke up! I was still in the bed asleep when Todd was leaving for work. On his was out, he woke me up by saying Happy Birthday and giving me a kiss. I spent the day with the kids and packing our stuff for our trip to the beach. This evening, Todd had made dinner reservations for us at one of my favorite restaurants, PF Chang's. We had a fantastic family dinner (the kids were actually good....all 3 of them!) and then came one more surprise. Mom had brought a cookie cake to the restaurant for our dessert. After returning back home, there was even more! There were gifts waiting here for me to open! Todd gave me some clothes from Banana Republic, Trevor had gotten me a heart necklace (it matches a bracelet that Todd gave me for our anniversary), and Mom gave me a single pearl necklace. All of the gifts are special to me! I have to say that spending time with my family is the best gift of all!