Sunflowers

So a little birdy told me about a sunflower field not too far away. I drove by that day, and was in love! This morning I had a portrait shoot, so before I had to be at it I decided to take the girls to the sunflower field. They were very uncooperative, as the sunflowers are very thick/pokey, but I got a few good shots none the less. I'm going to return tomorrow morning with Ava to get her four-year pictures. Yes, her birthday was two months ago, but such is life... Happy Weekend, everyone!

ONE smile out of all the shots.

The main event: picking flowers

Always camera ready!

Waterfalls

How do you survive in 100 degree heat? We've been figuring out for the last week and a half, but haven't quite mastered it. If anyone knows me well, you know there's nothing I hate more than being hot. I'd rather freeze my booty off any day than sweat... and I'm a sweater. Like, if it's over 70 degrees, then I'm sweating. That's just how I roll...

So anyway, it's been hot here, and we've been trying to come up with creative ways to keep cool. It's so hot, we haven't even gone to the pool, as it feels like a warm bath. This morning after breakfast we came up with the novel idea to take advantage of the fact we live a hop, skip, and jump from the Blue Ridge mountains. Our newspaper does a great job of outlining "day trips" every Sunday, and I save the ones I like. I pulled out one from a few weeks ago and chose a state park about 1.5 hours away. The goal was to hike to an 80-foot waterfall.

So, we loaded up the Jeep, put the top down, grabbed the kids and dogs, and headed out. We drove through the backwoods of NC (which I loved... reminded me of Indiana) before arriving at South Mountain State Park. We often hike to the top of Crowders Mountain (closer) but this would be Ava's first time hiking (not riding in a backpack carrier) so we figured what the heck. The hike was great! We were in the shade the entire time, and enjoyed the beautiful, cold, clean creek alongside us the entire hike to the falls. The dogs even swam in the creek a little!

Ava loved hiking (Audrey too -she was on Jim's back) and we made it to the top. It was beautiful and well worth it. The weather was cooler up there, but still hot and humid. It was bareable though, which is more than I could say for staying in Charlotte today. We are already planning a trip back up in the fall, when we plan on camping out (whoa!) and enjoy some time around a campfire.

80 foot waterfall

I've never seen a rock that big in my entire life. Crazy!

Beach Trip

We took our annual beach trip to Atlantic Beach two weeks ago. If I weren't such a slacker, this post would have gone up a week ago, but it took me an entire week to recover and get back to normal life :) Anyhow, here's the lowdown on our wonderful vacation...

July 1 - July 5
We trekked the six hour trip (in the Jeep none the less) to Atlantic Beach to spend our long weekend with dear friends from college. This year was our biggest crowd yet, as we had FOUR families present (all great friends). We all have little girls, so that was really fun to watch. We spent the entire weekend just chillin at the pool or beach and catching up on life. Only two of us live in the same city, so time together is precious. We had a great time cooking yummy food, celebrating the 4th of July, and getting good laughs from one another's kids.

We are all very laid back and don't need a lot to make us happy. The goal is to relax, and we do a great job accomplishing it! I have no desire to shop or go out to eat when at the beach, so I was happy that everyone else seemed to be on board with this agenda (or lack thereof!)

Both girls really liked the water. Ava loved both the ocean and pool. Audrey was game with either, but I preferred the pool for her thanks to the fact she wouldn't have sand in every nook/cranny upon returning. Both girls loved collecting seashells and seaglass (my favorite.) I also took Audrey on morning jogs on the beach which we both enjoyed.

July 2 - July 6
Alas, our long weekend came to an end and we switched gears a little bit. We drove a whopping 3 miles east and settled in at a really nice three story beach house in a private community just steps from the water. Jim's brother's family and his parents joined us for the next five days. It was so much fun, and the kids couldn't have had a better time together. Our beach house had everything we needed: big bedrooms, a huge family room, and a well stocked kitchen. Bonuses included double wrap-around porches, Adirondacks, a BBQ, and my favorite... the outdoor shower (I literally didn't shower inside the whole week.)

The community had a private pool and private beach access. We had a lot of fun going out on the beach after dinner each night to fly kites and enjoy low tide. We also had the time to do a little exploring... one day we took the kids to the NC Aquarium just 7 miles down the road. I spent two days exploring antique shops in Morehead City and Beaufort. My favorite find, however, was downtown Beaufort. It reminded me of a smaller version of Portland, Maine. Very quaint, historic, and east-cost nautical. Jim, Ava, and I enjoyed a very nice dinner at Sharpie's, then joined our family for a 90 minute sunset Catamaran cruise that took us to Fort Macon and back. It was a great night, and we were amazed how much the kids loved (and weren't scared) of being right over the water. Definitely well worth the money, as the memories made were priceless.

We're already looking forward to next year and hope to return to the same area with family and friends!

Audrey the night we arrived. She was very intrigued by the waves.

My sun princess

Audrey tossing sand before our annual beach photo

One of the unedited pics of our fam at the beach.

Ava... always camera ready!

4th of July: right before fireworks

Ava flying a kite after dinner

Loving low tide

PopPop having a blast in the ocean with his grandchildren

Ava and Jim hanging out at our beach house. I spent a ton of time reading on this swing.

The grandkids at the NC Aquarium

Our whole family (minus Maryann - boat shy -  and Audrey - baby)