Mountain Trip (Part III)- The Lake

Squishing my toes in the sand.
This was such a beautiful lake and it had a beach area that was really nice to swim and play in.

Christina and Caleb on the Jet Ski.

Me and the most amazing man in the entire world. (And our little baby)
I love you Tim!!!!!

Sleeping on Nana.
So glad Damaris got a nap in that day. We were at the lake a long time.

Jason and Daniel hanging out in the swimming area.


One of the last things we did while we were in the mountains was go to Lake Watauga, which is a long, curvy drive from Sugar Grove. We spent most of the day here just swimming, riding Jet Skis, eating, and lounging around. This lake is really beautiful being surrounded by the mountains. I actually rode the Jet Ski twice but after the second time decided that was enough. Too rough. We tried to get Ezekiel to ride it but he saw someone fall off of it right away and was scared that everyone was going to fall off . When we went to the lake back home in Raleigh we saw some people on Jet Skis and Ezekiel kept yelling to them not to fall off. I think he thought that's the only thing people do with Jet Skis, fall off of them. He did enjoy swimming the entire time we were there. He was sooooooooo wrinkled when he got out. He absolutely loves the water, just like his mama.

Mountain Trip (Part II)- Tweetsie

I couldn't resist posting this pic of those two with their little tooshies sticking out. They're looking at the man in jail at Tweetsie.

Brave Warrior Auntie holding Damaris and Ezekiel while Jason rides the horse. My kids didn't want to get on the horses for some reason. Thank you Auntie and Nana for a fun day in the heat with the kiddos. You gals are troopers.

Auntie driving Ezekiel and Jason.
I debated on going to Tweetsie with them that day but kept thinking about this car ride and how I really didn't want to get bumped by another car while I was pregnant. I think they all had a great time.

Another silly pic of Jason and sweet, little Damaris. I'm guessing she was pretty tired by this point. Jason just makes me laugh at some of his expressions.

This pic is so precious to me. Ezekiel seems to be really enjoying the big train.

Nana and Auntie were so kind to take the three little ones to Tweetsie one day. Tim and I enjoyed relaxing in the river tubing, canoeing, and swimming with our older nephews and niece and Victor. Tim's dad even got to tube down the river which was really fun. It was so nice to relax in the cold water, but I must say tubing was a lot of work since the wind was blowing against me most of the time. Well, it was a lot of work for a very pregnant woman. I don't have any pics of our time in the river b/c we were just relaxing and I sent the camera to Tweetsie with our kids.

Mountain Trip (Part I)- The Ranch

The three little cousins. Our first night in the mountains we went down to the river. Of course we didn't change clothes thinking "we won't stay long or get in real deep." Right! These kiddos definitely needed a bath when we got home. Here they are watching TV while they wait for Aunt Boo to boil some water for the bathtub. We forgot to turn the hot water on when we got there and the kids couldn't handle the chilly bath water.

Damaris and Uncle Keith.
Damaris has taken to Uncle Keith pretty well. I think she is really fond of him. It helps that he shares his dessert with her sometimes. I think she's trying to blow someone a kiss here.

Jason is really intent on telling Nana something here. He always has something funny to say and can say it with all seriousness. He has quite the personality.

Ahhh! I love these two!
Don't they look so sweet together? Damaris is definitely a daddy's girl. She enjoyed walking up and down the steep driveway with daddy and Ezekiel and Jason. I'm not sure what was so fascinating about the driveway but all three of them were out them were out there running up and down it a lot. Thanks Tim for watching them so much! You're a great daddy!

I think this photo really captures Ezekiel and Jason's personalities. Ezekiel is quietly looking on trying to figure out what Jason is doing or talking about and Jason is just being silly. Don't get me wrong, Ezekiel is silly too, but Jason is just too funny with all his little sayings.


Part I contains some photos of our time at "The Ranch." That's what we call my uncle's place that we stayed at. We really enjoyed hanging out here just relaxing, making smores, and laughing with each other. We had a jam packed vacation and are so thankful to my uncle and aunt for their generosity in letting us stay here. Thanks Uncle Lynn and Aunt Ruth.

Another Day at the Beach (Part II)

Yummy tacos for lunch.

She finally did it! Damaris successfully got BOTH of Ezekiel's shoes on her feet. I think they were even on the right feet. Damaris LOVES to play with shoes. She usually walks around the house with her left shoe on her right foot while carrying some type of bag on her shoulder. She usually prefers her pocketbook but a small cooler and grocery bag with something in it will also do. She is too funny. I usually give her shoes to play with as we travel b/c she just entertains herself with taking them off and putting them on.

One last photo of my cutie pie. Hanging out in Pat's chair. I think she thought she was big stuff since she could climb up in this short chair all by herself and sit down.

If you're wondering why almost all the pics are of Damaris this time, it's b/c I hardly had any pics of her on the last post. I intentionally took a bunch of pics of her at the beach so I could have some to post.

We have one last vacation planned before we stay close to home to wait for baby #3's arrival. We are heading back to the mountains with Tim's family for some relaxation, hopefully, and some fun in the river. We hope to do some fishing, tubing, canoeing, swimming, and hopefully a surprise outing for our niece and nephews.

Another Day at the Beach

The many faces of Damaris.
Damaris can really put on a show, any type of show really. She has a million different faces. Of course I prefer her sweet, smiley, and laughing faces. I'm not quite sure what this face is. I think it's kind of a mixture between "I want to be a little snooty b/c I still don't know if I like the beach" and "Mommy I'm being silly and eating sand while I play with Ezekiel's shoes."



Damaris and Nana. I love her little bonnet we got her in the mountains. It works great as a beach hat.

Papa and Ezekiel watching some PBS Kids at the beach. I'm not sure who is enjoying this more, Ezekiel or Papa.

We spent the day with Tim's parents at Emerald Isle this past week. It was such a nice day. The kids did really well traveling and had a great time playing in the ocean and on the beach. They took good naps and I even got to take a nap on the beach as well.

July Pics II

Papa and his boys- Heath and Ezekiel.
My dad shaved his beard this summer and I have NEVER seen him without it before now. He started growing it when I was about 8 months old so I've only seen one picture that I can remember of him without a beard. He looked just like my papa Paul, his daddy, the first time I saw him.

Ezekiel spent a lot of time with my parents over the past few weeks. He went to my dad's swimming lessons and he had a blast. He got to play with Gaga and baby Heath all day and then in the evenings he got to go swimming with his papa. He's asked several times since he got back if he could go back to gaga and papa's house. Here he is getting some instructions from my daddy on how to kick, kick, kick your feet.

I'm ready mommy. Ezekiel could hardly wait to get in the water when swimming lessons started. He's not afraid of the water at all but does not have all the aspects of swimming coordinated yet. He was very disappointed this night when he found out he was only going to be in the water 40 minutes. He cried after it was over b/c he didn't want to get out.
On a side note, Damaris tried her hand this week at blowing bubbles in the bath tub. She is such a little copy cat and thinks she is so funny. She actually did a decent job and didn't suck too much up her nose. Hopefully I will have some pics of her to post soon. I don't know how Ezekiel stole the show this time.

July Pics

I took Ezekiel to visit my grandparents over the 4th of July. I wanted him to get to see the parade that I grew up going to each year. The parade started with a military plane and helicopter flying overhead, which was a neat way to get everyone excited about the 4th. I wasn't sure whether Ezekiel would like it or not b/c it can be kind of loud some times but he seemed to love every minute of it. The weather was great thankfully. We got to see lots of fire trucks, clowns, military men, Ronald McDonald, and a lot more. He really enjoyed collecting the candy once he realized almost everyone was throwing it out. Thankfully they threw out some freeze pops and water as well. This flag is the one thing I think Ezekiel wanted to most.

My grandma went to the parade with us. Isn't she beautiful! Ezekiel really enjoyed going to sit with her in the shade and talk to her. I love to hear him say grandma when he's talking about her or to her. It sounds sooooo sweet.

This pic is actually from Father's day I think. We got to spend time with our family in Blanch, NC. Ezekiel and Jason were playing with Jason's new water sprinkler that Jason got for his birthday. They are two silly boys.