Wilmington Trip

We planned for a couple of months to take Monday off and go to Wilmington for a 3-day weekend. Julie had her flights booked and we were ready to go when Mick's mom had to have back surgery--there were some complications and she ended up having three surgeries in less than two weeks.  So the night before we left, Mick decided he needed to be in Brunswick with his parents and didn't go with us to Wilmington.  We were all disappointed, and considered taking Em to Brunswick instead, but ultimately decided the best place for the three of us wasn't the hospital.

Saturday morning, Em and I headed to Wilmington and Mick to Brunswick.  Julie got in around 10:30, and we were there by a little after 11am.  Cody and Em really got along well this trip--they've gone through some stages where they seem to fight like brother and sister, but their ages just seemed like a good match this time.  There were a few reminders needed that Chase is younger and needed their patience, but overall it was a success for the three of them (which made it a success for the adults too!).

The afternoons were even warm enough for them to get in the pool in the backyard!

The four of us really enjoyed some relaxing time together--Saturday afternoon, Jason got some shrimp and we picked up some chicken for the grill.  Dinners are easier and more enjoyable at home when there are three kids around!

Aunt Julie brought all three kids coonskin caps and wooden flutes from her cross-country trip, so they had a great time with those.

Practicing their innocent looks.

We enjoyed a concert.

And they really had a great time playing together and acting silly.

We built a fire and Em couldn't wait for s'mores to dig into the marshmallows.  After the kids went to bed, we stayed out by the fire until we were all tired.

The next day, there was plenty of time for costumes and fighting evil.

All three superheroes ready to rumble!

They just couldn't get enough of the costumes.

On Sunday, we went to downtown Wilmington for a the city's 250th birthday and fall festival--this was Em's first look at the Battleship Memorial.

She enjoyed posing by this car--she's in love with convertibles!

There was a bounce house with a big slide they played on for a few minutes.

We stopped for lunch and everyone was getting a little tired.

The festival had horses (a sure bet to make Em smile!),

and they all three even got to ride them.

Em thinks she's a pro!

Em loves anything that resembles an animal, and she needed to pet this dog statue. 

The festival had chicken wrangling for the kids--lucky for me that Jenn got in with the kids and got these awesome pictures!

Clearly, it was a hit!

Again Sunday afternoon, the kids enjoyed the pool while we relaxed and watched them.

When they dried off and changed, they watched a movie together while we got dinner ready.

They had skipped naps again today, so we had plans for early bedtimes!

We stayed in on Sunday night rather than build another fire, but the steaks on the grill couldn't be beat!  Em was thoroughly impressed that Cody could read the bedtime story they shared.

                                         

On Monday morning, we spent a couple of hours at the beach--it was a little cool and overcast, but the plans for the kids to stay out of the water didn't last long!  They even got to feed the seagulls some cereal we had.

And of course, Em and Chase waited until the day we were leaving to become friends.

 It was a great way to end the trip because they'd all really wanted to go to the beach. 

Since Julie's flight wasn't until late, we decided to have a nice relaxing lunch together on the water. Good call--it was delicious!

And Jason took the kids out on the pier so they could feed their leftoever fries to some seagulls.

Em and I left shortly after that to come home--she took a nap on the way home, and Mick got back from Brunswick around the same time we did.  It was a fun weekend, and over too quickly!