Jillian's Visit

Last week was a fun one around here! George's God Daughter, Jillian, came to visit from New Jersey. She is a sweet and darling 16 year old and we absolutely loved having her here! We all enjoyed her company so much! The boys adored her and I was spoiled by her never-ending help. She was so on top of everything, lending a hand in the kitchen and with the kiddos. I pretty much begged her to stay the whole summer and if it wasn't for a special someone back home, I think I may have convinced her! We spent the week doing lots of fun things. We went to the pool a few times, visited the NC Museum of Life & Science, went to a Durham Bulls game and visited Duke's campus. We also spent lots of time playing at home and even braved the record high temps while playing with the kids outside. Here's some pictures from the week. We miss you Jillian!!!!

Jillian and the boys checking out some hideous spiders at the NC Museum of Life & Science.
David loved this butterfly puzzle. I've been looking for one just like it.

Drew digging for fossils. He said, "Look Mom, I'm a paleontologist!" He had his heart set on finding something so after watching him dig for what seemed like forever, I picked up a piece of bark and convinced him it was a dinosaur bone.

Showing off his favorite snack.

Drew loved sitting in the train caboose. It was ridiculously hot in there!

Coming through! David had a ball in the baby/toddler area of the museum.

Getting ready to go to a Durham Bulls baseball game.

David loved playing with Jillian's hair.

Walking around a fountain in Duke Gardens.

Oops, hot stone!

Big cheese!

Activity Switch

The boys are forever wanting to do what the other one is doing. If Drew is playing dragons and David is playing blocks, then Drew runs over insisting to play with baby blocks and David heads for the dragons. It's constant. It will be nice when they play more with each other. For now, the only thing they love to play with together is swords. Nice! I had to get some foam ones from Target so they wouldn't hurt each other. Repeatedly asking Drew to be gentle is just a waste of time. Here's some pictures of one of their activity switches...I got the little riding car out for David and the sidewalk chalk out for Drew. They were both happy so it was fine with me!

Happy Camper

Drew waiting for his ride to kindercamp.

Drew spent each morning last week at the YMCA's kindercamp. He was a happy camper but turns out that I was an even happier camper. As much as I love my Drewby and enjoy his company, it was a treat to have him in camp every morning all week. It gave David and I lots of time together. I was so excited to pick Drew up each day and hear about all of the fun time he had at camp, usually stories of the pool, doing crafts or playing with toys. Camp was a lot less structured than pre-school which was great because he had to do a little more for himself. We were instructed to send the kids to camp in bathing suits because the first part of the day was spent at the pool. Then the kids change into regular clothes for the remainder of the day. On Monday he came home with his underwear on backwards and on Tuesday he came home with them inside out. I know he can dress himself but I assist too much so the independence of camp was good for him. By Wednesday all was well in the dress department! His favorite part of camp was "the guys." I figured out by Tuesday afternoon that "the guys" he was referring to were the male college camp counselors. He thought they were so cool and pointed out his favorite buddy to me. Cute! The parents were invited to camp on Friday for snacks and crafts. The campers put on a little show of the chants, songs and dances they learned during the week. Here's a video of one...

Drew and his group doing their end of day cheer on Friday. He is wearing the reward cap that they gave each camper. The kids earned flair for the cap with good behavior. Drew had 5 so he either behaved much better at camp than he does at home or each kid got one every day no matter what ;)

Family Fun in Myrtle Beach

We went on a family beach trip to Myrtle Beach over July 4th. We got to spend time with CC, Day Day, Me-Ma, the Watson's, Gunderson's and Whitley's. It was a great week filled with fun, sun, good food and lots of time with loved ones. The weather was perfect; lots of sun and even some cooler temps (well, cool for July at the beach). The boys had a blast but did keep us very, very busy. They both absolutely loved the beach including the water and sand. It was nearly impossible to keep David under the tent, he just wanted to crawl all over. I just knew the hot sand was burning his knees as much as it was burning the bottoms of our feet but I guess not because he never slowed down. Drew liked to play in the water, look for shells and catch fish in his net. They both also looked cute as can be on the beach if I do say so myself! Here's tons of pictures from our trip...

Tub of water for David to play in.
Daddy and I having a fantastic day at the beach! The sun and sand were great for his recovery and it was wonderful to see him enjoying the beach like he always has!

CC and Day Day. So darling!

Tom and Stephen help Whitley and Drew jump the waves.

CC and Aunt Cristie play with the kiddos in the water.

David and Drew checking out some tracks on the beach on July 4th.

David just about crawled along every square inch of the beach.

Pretty Cristie and Whitley waiting for the July 4th fireworks to start.

Drew and Whitley flying Drew's cool shark kite!

Waiting for the fireworks to start.

Still waiting! CC and David finally went up to the condo. It's a good thing because the fireworks didn't start until 10:30, over an hour past the scheduled time.

Drew eating Tom's first birthday cake. It was a bit of a mess because Cristie forgot to put eggs in it. It just crumbled to pieces but it was the most delicious chocolate cake I've ever tasted!

Getting excited about singing and having cake #2!

Happy Birthday Tom!

Impatiently waiting and finally going in for a candle lick.

David wants cake too!

Trying to get a photo of the three of them; a big failure once again!

David and Day Day playing "keep away" with a teether.

David snatched it back!

We had the best time riding waves on the tube!

CC, Day Day, Uncle Mark, Aunt Mary and the boys take a ride around the golf course.

They boys and their Grandmas!

David loves doggies so was naturally a huge fan of Jax, a dog in the neighborhood.

CC treated the kids to a day at Broadway on the Beach. Here is Cristie with Drew and Whitley on the way to the rides. She was super Aunt on our trip! She spent so much quality time with Drew and David playing with them and giving them hugs and kisses.

The first ride they rode was their very favorite! It whipped around each corner pretty darn fast for a kid ride. At first they looked scared but then they started loving it! It was so fun to watch!

Motorcycles!

Dune buggies! Drew and Whitley were so hot and therefore red-faced!

David watched the craziness from his cool and shaded stroller.

David's first carousel ride!

Sitting in the golf cart at CC and Day Day's. Drew has just about outgrown it so David is up next! Looks like he's ready!

Whitley and Drew watching a Western with Day Day. They will watch just about anything and they like a close seat!