Chasing Summer

Our Beautiful Beach House

Here we stand on the Beach

Kenzie and Owen had a great time living together for the week its great to have a built in friend.

Kenzie and Lee sharing a Daddy Daughter moment

I can't even begin to describe the wonderfulness of our spontaneous getaway to Emerald Isle NC. Talai had talked to me about 2 weeks before the departure date and told me that we had the chance to go to a free beach house for a week. I mulled it over in my head and decided that was a definite awesome possibility. Luckily, Lee has been "retired" lately and by the grace of goodness was able to go. (it was like the stars aligned because that just doesn't happen). So we packed our bags, headed to NC and enjoyed the beauty of God's creations. The house was wonderful and when I say right on the beach, I mean right on the beach, I have never stayed in a place like that. The weather was fantastic, 70 degrees everyday. The water wasn't even that bad although I still couldn't be convinced to go in. I'm not that crazy. Lee had a great time in the water and we had a great time watching him tame the ocean. We ate delicious food, we listened to music and had dance parties, we went to the aquarium, we watched movies, we read books, we spent time talking and listening to one another and most importantly we were all able to relax, even with 3 little kids. It was like a slice of summer came back to us in November and beckoned us to stay and enjoy just a little longer. We drove home Thursday night and when we got out of the car at home, it was cold and windy and I felt like I had just awoken from a dream. I know that Talai and Lee feel the same because we all refuse to admit that summer is over and winter is practically here. For now we are just holding onto our 2 day tans and our memories of the great times we had on Emerald Isle.

Talai and Owen sharing a moment

Me and Talai enjoying the beach

Kiddos on the Beach

Sharing a kiss on the beach


Austin had a great time on the beach as well, even though he sat in his car seat and watched most of the action. He was a great sport.

The beach was very beautiful, we had the whole place to ourselves. There was plenty of time for late night walks and romantic encounters...my husband is a stallion. (comment added by Lee, he probably didn't think I would keep this on, but I am)
PS, Thanks Talai for the invite, we had a great time with you.

1st Annual Kids Pumpkin Dash

We had so much fun at the actual organized pumpkin dash that we decided to hold our own. Thanks to everyone who came to make it such a fun time. The kids had a lot of fun, and it was fun to see them coming sprinting down the trail. They were fast! We are going to try and do a kids turkey run as well.

Here is Makenzie with her race bib. This is actually after the 2nd round of running.

All the runners at the starting line.

The finish line.

Halloween Galore

We have been fortunate enough to participate in multiple Halloween activities. I love October because there is always so much going on. We were able to participate in a kids fun run a few weeks ago where the kids ran 100 yards in their costumes. It was so cute and they got pumpkins and ribbons for running. We had a lot of fun

Here is Makenzie in her Princess Costume, courtesy of Alisha.

Here we are after the race with the giant scarecrow. The kids weren't really impressed.
We also went to the Air and Scare at the Air and space museum. It was a lot of fun. Kenzie loved all the stuff that was going on.

She has been talking about getting her face painted for weeks, she finally got it done at the Air and Scare.


Austin was there as well.


There was a huge Star Wars fan base so they brought out the big guns. You should have seen some of the kids there. The light in their eyes. A whole new generation of Star Wars followers.

Our next event was the Vienna Parade. This was our first time attending and we got a pretty good spot. It was a pretty good parade except it was really loud at times, and there were a lot of campaign people walking down the street which was less than entertaining.

My Babies

Here are some pictures of my babies. These are mostly for my family who request pictures.

My diapers babies.


This is Austin on a walk, he is looking more like Makenzie everyday. Look at those eyes and the dimple.

Here is my beautiful family.

Cox Farms

We had our Joy School field trip last week to Cox farms and it was a lot of fun. I cannot begin to describe the beauty of fall. It was the perfect day, warm, sunny, the leaves were incredible. We were surrounded with good friends and good fun. Makenzie wasn't as terrified this year of the wagon ride, but she was still pretty scared. Maybe next year.

Genevieve, Makenzie and Essence on the Wagon ride. Kenzie was ok until the Aliens came out.

I love this picture, it captures the beauty of fall here.

Austin and I enjoying the Cow

Lee got to accompany us, I love doing this kind of stuff as a family

Makenzie for the next Baby Gap Model

So I don't know if I do this stuff because I am bored, or because I want to win, or because I think Makenzie is seriously gorgeous, but I did it. I entered Makenzie into the baby gap contest. Originally I really wanted to win the "Fan Pick" because you win a trip to a Beaches Resort and lets face it the only way I'm going to make it to the Bahamas is if someone else is paying. Well then I realized that the number 1 fan pick already has like 12,000 votes. That's right 12,000, who are these people? Who knows that many people? Anyway, if you feel like voting for Makenzie everyday, and feel like sending the link to everyone you ever knew, feel free. Otherwise we'll just hope we have a shot at the judges pick. Thanks to Alisha for taking such freaking cute pictures of Makenzie. Here is one of my favorites and one of the pictures we submitted for judging.


To vote for Makenzie click on this link. You can vote once per day.
http://family.go.com/gapcastingcall/entries/smashmonst/706922636/

Just Annoyed

So this is one of my complaining posts, so if you don't want to hear it, don't read it. Kenzie woke up in probably the worlds worst moods, like screaming uncontrollably, throwing things, pushing me etc. On top of that I think Austin has come down with a cold. But to make matters worse we are stuck for 3 days. They are repaving our parking lot (why, there was nothing wrong with it?) So we aren't allowed to park in our lot until Wednesday night. Well that makes it pretty hard for a mom with 2 kids. If I want to get out of my complex I have to off road in the woods behind my house (which is a little too bumpy of a ride for Austin) because there is no sidewalk that connects me to the road. Who designed this place? My car is at the Jones' so after I off road out of my complex I then have to hike it to Melissa's to get into my car. I also have been needing to make a Costco run for quite some time, I noticed today we only have a handful of Kenzie diapers left so the clock is ticking. But then the question is, how do you make a Costco run, and then carry it a quarter of a mile and up 3 flights of stairs to your house? So realistically Costco will have to wait, and so will the grocery store, and when we are starving and out of food on Wednesday I'll curse the Condo's name and blame them for the fact that I've been a moody mom because they have made my life so inconvenient. In addition to that, they just informed me that they are going to paint my front door and that I have to keep it open for 2 hours so that it can dry. I love when my whole house smells like paint (especially with a newborn), and maybe I should just throw a welcoming party for all the bugs who decided that the front door means an open invitation. On a slightly humbled note, I'll admit, better planning on my part would have been good, but I'm going on an average of 5 hours of sleep a night, I live with a 2 year old and a newborn, I can only be held slightly responsible. So if you are walking by my complex this week and hear the faint sounds of crying and screaming, its probably me and the children high on paint fumes and held captive by the asphalt monsters that crowd the exits of our complex.