Our Family Vacation in Nags Head 7/2-7/12/09

This is all for now...read from the bottom up!


Apparently, someone got a hold of my camera!

Lauren has been with us since Weston turned one. She is leaving for UVA in the fall and we will really miss her!:o(

All that sun and castle building really wore Ella out!

This is what happened to Chad while he was "saving Weston from the wave." He's our hero! hahahaha! *Please ignore the crack.*

While Ella built more sandcastles...

It wasn't anything a popcicle couldn't fix it!

Here is Chad "lifting Weston over the wave to safety" (in his words). I think we can all see what was really happening here! "Daddy was holding me up into the wave so he wouldn't get wet!" (in weston's words)

Chad cohersing Weston into trying the ocean one more time. "I won't let a wave get you..." famous last words!

And Weston is NOT going back in!

Now, they are running for their lives...

Then this...

This is what happened...

The girls finally convinced Weston to go in the ocean with them. They told him that they would keep him safe, no worries, yaddy ya-da...

Later that day, Weston was feeling 100% better, so we all went to the beach for the afternoon.

What family vacation is complete without a trip to the urgent care?? Weston was running a fever all day Tuesday and by 2a.m. Wednesday morning it had spiked to 104.5! He said his throat hurt and so did his arms and legs, so we woke up bright and early and headed the urgent care. After waiting 2 hours, his strep test of negative, and the Dr. said he was fine and that his body was successfully fighting off a throat infection. He was given the "okay" to be around people:o)

Playing rock band with our babysitter, Lauren...

Ella and one of our babysitters, Courtney, enjoying the sand!

Making a sandcastle...

Chad and Weston's feet...

We went to the beach one night after dinner and were only there a matter of minutes before it started to thunderstorm.

Ella was a little nervous at first, but after awhile she really enjoyed being in the pool. She still doesn't like to get her face wet though:o( I am hoping that soon she will get a little braver.

This is the fire that started in a marsh from one of the fireworks. By the time we left, it was HUGE! Thankfully, no one was hurt.

We watched the fireworks in Manteo from the water and we able to see all of the fireworks back in Nags Head too! We ended watching about 5 different shows at one time! I made some brownie sundaes and we ate those while we waited for the fireworks to start. It took us about an hour to get back to our dock b/c we had to go slow and make sure not to run over any crab pots. Chad held the spotlight up the whole way back while Bill drove. It was a fun adventure!

While we were on the boat, Ella decided she had "pee so bad," so we let her pee on the back of the boat and washed it away with the sea water. I think this was way too much fun for her, b/c a few minutes later she wanted to do it again.

Weston and Ella posed with Nanny for a picture before we set out on our 4th of July boatride to Manteo to watch the fireworks.

After we went tubing, we convinced weston to get on with us. He had so much fun and was glad that he went! The tube is a nice new addition to the boat!

Chad and I getting ready to go tubing...

Ella and Weston wanted to dress up like Nanny.

Happy Father's Day-2009!

On Father's Day evening we decided to take the boat out on the Potomac for a little boat ride. The night was perfect and so was the river! We grabbed a couple pizzas and enjoyed a nice night together. The kids had so much fun and it was so relaxing to just ride...

Weston's Last Day of Kindergarten...6/5/09

So, here is Weston on his last day of Kindergarten, (which by the way, was the grossest rainy day ever!) going to catch the bus for the very last time--or was he? Chad calls me from the bus stop and wants to know if the bus is running, since he is the only one there. Hmmm...let me check the school newsletter (as a little side note: they switched the newsletter from paper to internet about midyear, and now i can never remember to check it!)...oh yes, here it is! No bus service on June 5th. Yep, bring him back home! So, on this gorgeous day, i have just lost 30 minutes from my "getting ready time," since i now have to drive weston to school (45 minutes from our house) and be there by 8:15a.m. instead of 8:45a.m. (time chapel starts). Grrrrr....i hurry and get ready, gather the teacher's presents, hands full and ready to walk out into the pouring rain. Let me back up a little...i have been watching my mom's extremely disobedient, but adorable, goldendoodle for her while she is at my sister's house. This dog does not come when called. If you let her outside accidentally without her leash she is gone like the wind and will not be tricked into coming back. So, back to me walking out of the door, hands full, into the pouring rain, staring down at "disobedient dog" who needs to climb into my car and go home to her house for the day. I decide to make the worst decision ever and bet on the fact that certainly she will not want to be in the rain and will most definitely run straight into the back of my Tahoe (back door up and waiting for her in the garage). I have never been so wrong! Nearly 40 minutes later (the time school starts) we are pulling out of the driveway, with me looking like a drowned rat, headed to Weston's last day of school--LATE!! I'm sure this was just paybacks for all of the times Chad and I have left the kids with mom, headed safely out of state, and they've come down with fevers and "the worst flu mom has ever had." You know what they say about paybacks;o)

Mrs. Berkley was a wreck!! She cried so hard and picked Weston up and swung him around, crying all the time. Poor thing! She said that this was by far her most favorite class in all of her years of teaching. I really do believe her...

Weston's favorite teacher thus far...

Last day of school!!!

HELLO SUMMER!!! We rounded up our last day with a free doughnut from Krispy Kreme in honor of National Doughnut Day (i hope you celebrated it, danielle!) and then went to see UP. Great movie and end to a rocky start of a day:o)

Weston's Kindergarten Graduation...6/2/09

Weston's Kindergarten class of 2009...

Receiving his diploma from Mrs. Berkley...

Just a gorgeous picture! Hahahaha!

This is the girl Weston has had a crush on all year long. You can tell how weird he gets around her from the way his face looks in the picture! I was taking a picture of Weston and she came over and wanted to take one with him. He got all weird and started to try and scoot away from her. I could tell he gets so flustered when she's around! So cute!

Weston in his cap and gown before graduation. He is obviously so thrilled to be wearing this "man dress!" The teacher made their caps out of a bowl, cardstock paper, a button, some glue, a clear elastic strap, and thread for the tassle. How creative is that?! I am really going to miss Mrs. Berkley!