Our beach bum...

We've known for awhile now that Adam is a certified beach bum.  If he could, I'm certain he'd have sand in between his toes (and in every other crevice) 24/7.  This beach week has done nothing but further solidify Adam's status as a future surfer boy! 

His face just lights up when he climbs over the sand dune and catches that first glimpse of the ocean.  He then races down the dune to the beach and starts digging immediately. 

His love for the sand is equally matched by his love for the ocean.  This trip has brought out an even more adventurous wave jumper in Adam and has kept us on our toes! 

 

Though seeing the pure joy in his face when he's on the beach and jumping over the waves makes it all worth it and has us counting down the days to next year's beach adventures!

Firefighting...

Adam had a blast putting out "fires" at the pool.  He was quite the fireman spraying water at the fire and then promptly tossing his "hose" back into the pool shouting "re-load me daddy!"  Entertainment for both adults and one imaginative and heroic little boy.

Gettin to relaxin'

All that hard work has made it easy for Adam to want to find time to just sit, relax, and take in the gorgeous views. 

We've been running at full speed much of the week, but every now and again we find some time to just sit, relax and enjoy family time! Which is really my favorite part of being at the beach!

 

 

Gettin' to work...

Vacation doesn't come for free, you gotta work to earn your time in the sand! 

 

 

 

Next year we expect to add dish washer and laundry folder to the list of chores!

Sand in our toes...

We have spent our mornings getting our toes in the sand...and the rest of our bodies too I suppose.  That's what happens when you have a very hyper beach bum on your hands! Of course Adam's love for the beach is infectious and before you know it, you find you're digging in the sand right along with him. 

 

 

 

 

I couldn't resist spreading a little Hokie cheer, let's face it, game day is now just five days away! :)

Of course to keep Adam from messing up our creations, we had to take matters into our own hands...the sand went from being his canvas to his captor...and he still loved every minute of it! :)

OBX Bound...for real this time!

It's hard to believe it's been a year since Hurricane Irene rained on our parade (remember this?) but alas, our beloved beach week has arrived and with it, sunny skies! Halleluijah!

We headed down bright and early on Saturday and after months of talking about it Adam was so happy to be "going to the beach!" (as he chanted over and over all morning)  Traffic was a breeze and before we knew it were in the Outer Banks with 4 hours to kill before check in time. 

We met up with Uncle Mark, Grandma and Grandpa at a great restaurant right on the bay that allows dogs on the outdoor deck (water bowl included!)  The sun was shining brightly and though it made for a toasty lunch, all we cared was that the sun was shining brightly! ha.

We killed some more time doing some exploring and shopping and finally the wait paid off as we were able to check in to our gorgeous house right across from the beach.  *Kudos to Andy for lugging the majority of the luggage/groceries/toys/etc. up the three flights of stairs!

 

After we got settled in we suited up and hit our private pool for an early evening splash.  Adam is loving his water wings and the fun water toys that everyone gifted him with. 

We then enjoyed our first outdoor showers of the trip and headed in to cook up some homemade pizzas for dinner. 

Great start to a beach week that was two years in the making!

Uncle Mark's Birthday...

...was practically a month ago, but hey, better late than never!  From the pictures taken, you'd think it was the Adam and Olivia show, but seriously, they are adorable and you can't resist snapping photos of them, especially when they are hamming it up together!

Ok, back to Uncle Mark. Uncle Mark is quite the celebrity, at least in our household.  Adam's face lights up when he finds out he's going to see his Uncle Mark, and I'm pretty sure the same is true for Olivia.  What can I say, he's a great uncle, willing to do puzzles, put legos togethers, race cars, toss a ball, play the piano, or show train videos on his phone for what might seem like hours at a time.  :) 

Of course in true Uncle Mark fashion, even though it was his birthday, there were gift bags for the kids. What a guy!

Adam and Olivia loved helping him rip through his gifts and while he did get some nice swag for his birthday, I think Mark would tell you that spending the evening with his niece and nephew was the best gift of all. 

Happy birthday Uncle Mark!

Future Hokies...

A few weekends ago we got to enjoy a visit from our friends, Chris, Aimee and Ryan.  They drove up from Richmond and spent the day with us, catching up, enjoying some good food and just hanging out, something we don't get to do with them near as often as we'd like. Erica and Blake were also able to come over and while we were missing Greg, it was still great to have (most) of the VT crew back together again.

The kids had fun playing together and the tantrums were held to a minimum which when you combine two toddler boys and one toddler girl, I'd say that's about the best you can hope for! :) 

Erica was able to catch a few photos of the three of them sitting together.  They might not all be looking at the camera or smiling, but again, they were all sitting and let's face it, that's about the best you can hope for! 

I see these kids taking lots of walks across the drillfield together, with Adam and Ryan fighting over who gets to carry Blake's books. 

Fall...in July?!

This has been one HOT HOT HOT summer.  Record temperatures and humidity that has had my hair in full on fro-mode!  However a few weekends ago we got a much needed reprieve and a preview of the crisp fall temperatures that will hopefully be here to stay in a month or two!

We were camping at Pohick Bay and while we had a bit of rain during the day, that didn't stop us from throwing on sweatshirts, burning fall scented candles (I couldn't resist!) and enjoying a few games of Mexican Train dominoes while Adam napped. 

Adam enjoyed being able to play outside without sunscreen or rosy cheeks and it reminded me of how cute he is in his jeans and sweaters. He also enjoyed watching coverage of The Open.

The plan had also been to have Andy's family over for a great birthday celebration for Ommy.  Unfortunately the drizzles we experienced all day turned to heavy down pours and we lost power somewhere along the way.  Of course that didn't stop us from enjoying a great dinner and ice cream cake for dessert.  Besides, the candles on the cake served as great lighting (ha!) ;)  I wish I had gotten more pictures of the celebration, but just know that it was wet, it was muddy, but it sure was a lot of fun!  Happy birthday Oms!