Labor Day Weekend

Saturday morning Joey's parents & Ayden headed out to Topsail Island first thing. Joey & I waited a few hours so he could mow the grass and I cleaned the house so we headed out with Bethany & Brock about lunch time and perfectly enough nap time too :)

The hour and 1/2 ride went great, Bethany slept and Brock was quiet content watching cartoons on the portable dvd player (what a great invention!). We arrived at the beach around 3:00 Saturday afternoon and within about 30 minutes we had all the kids in swim suits and headed out to the beach! The beach was wonderful and not crowded at all, it was the perfect time to go out there. Brock & Bethany were hesitant to get near the water so they stayed close to me while Ayden ran straight out to the water with his dad and grandpa.

Hurricane Earl has come through the day before causing star fish to wash up.

This little guy was still alive so we threw him back into the water.

After about hour on the beach it was time to eat! Labor Day weekend wouldn't be complete without hot dogs, hamburgers and chips!

After dinner we headed out to the park across the street

Ayden, my little "monkey" loves to climb

"Ride em' cowboy!"

"Beep, Beep, who's got the key's to the jeep"

Look who it be, it be Brock, Brock and Bethany!

After the park we came home, popped some bags of popcorn and headed out to the large park to watch the movie "Up" on the lawn.

The kids did great. They stayed content for over an hour but after that started to get a little restless so we headed home about 9:00

After baths the kids were out! *************************************

Sunday morning everyone was up by 8:00 am. We all had breakfast, watched our live church service online at 9:00 (what a cool thing to be able to do) and then headed back out to the beach. This time Bethany got a little braver and ventured out into the water.

Brock still was perfectly happy hanging out by mom in the sand.

We hung out at the beach for about two hours. The kids made friends with some other kids near by, they pretended to be in a band, rode on the boogy board, & fed the seagulls. This year was a lot of fun taking them to the beach, the are now old enough that they can run around and play but younge enough that they just melt your heart with all of the adventurous ideas they come up with.

We came home and ate some sandwiches for lunch, cleaned the kids up, Joey vacuumed all the sand out of the car while the kids, Joey's mom and I took a walk. About 4:00 we packed the now clean car up and headed home. The kids slept the whole way home so it was a very peaceful ride for Joey and I. We drove straight from the beach to my mom and dad's house. My grandma's birthday is on the 5th so we always have a Labor Day/Grandma's birthday event for the whole family. My grandma surprisingly was turning 29 again this year :)

The kids had fun playing with their cousins and eating cake and ice cream

***************************************** Monday both Joey and I had off of work which was really nice. We took the kids over to our friend's Sandra's house and they got to swim. Bethany is like a little fish, she lovessssssss the water. Ayden was a little nervous about the diving board but swam great with his life jacket.

The kids played in the yard and found a ladybug

Brock again was content just hanging around the side, water really isn't his thing. He's been like that since he was a baby, never really liking water.

Bethany fell and scratched her knee and the entire world came crumbling down :( But she recovered quickly...... And was fine diving into daddy's arms.

This labor day weekend is was really a great weekend. I remember when the kids were little, by little I mean 1, 2, & a newborn Joey and I thought, our lives are over, how are we ever going to be able to go out in public, drive more than 30 minutes without having to stop to feed a baby or change a diaper, or get a screaming child out of it's car seat! I had several people tell me," just wait it will get better, I promise" and my response was "yeah right!" But it does, everyday my kids surprise me with the gift of 30 extra minutes of sleep or or a "momma I peed in the potty" (one less diaper to change.) Life is always going to be crazy but the joy I get from watching my kids grow and mature is such a blessing. I truly do cherish these precious times with my husband and kids and this weekend was one for the books!