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!

Spirit Week

Em's class had Spirit Week this week--every day they dressed up in different things just for fun.  She is so crazy about wearing costumes that she really got into it every day.

Monday was pajama day, and I didn't get a picture of Em, but I will say it's much easier to get her ready for school in the morning when there's no clothing choices necessary :).

Tuesday was 70s day--bizzare for 4 year olds, but we made the best of it.  I cut off a pair of old jeans that were too short for her and sewed on these bell bottoms in sparkly blue (her favorite color).  We cut streamers in the bottom of a tie-dyed shirt she had from last year, and made her a headband to match her pants.  We had some groovy peace-sign temporary tattoos that she put on her face and arm.

She was super excited to get to school, and everyone made a big deal over her outfit, which made her pretty happy.  This picture is her saying good morning to George the guinea pig, who is one of her favorite things about her class.

Wednesday was grown-up day, and we struggled a little bit with this one.  Em wanted a dress that twirled (really the only important thing about a dress to her), so I took this knit skirt of mine and took up the back of it so it fit around her like a dress.  She picked out the accessories herself, and I put her hair up in a big bun.  The shoes didn't last all day, but she wore them into the classroom at least.

Thursday was cowboy/cowgirl day--I forgot to take a picture of her in the morning, so this was when I picked her up in the afternoon.

Thanks to Grandma, she had this super cute cowgirl outfit to wear!

Friday was "wear your favorite costume" day, and she decided on Princess Jasmine.  She was planning for this to be her Halloween costume, so I told her she'd need to choose something else to be for Halloween if she wore this today.  She even took her pet tiger, Rajah!

It was a fun week--we just love her classroom and her new teachers.  They do a great job with the kids, and she's continuing to learn so much!

Happy Birthday Gracie!

Before Emily was born, I made homemade dog cookies every year for Gracie's and Bella's birthdays. Em was determined to do something special for Gracie's 11th birthday this year, so we found a recipe for peanut butter and banana cookies.  Em loves being in the kitchen, and was excited to pick out all the cookie cutters she wanted to use.

She had a great time rolling out the dough and cutting it into shapes.  Her birthday is September 11, and the cookies lasted almost a week after that--Em used every opportunity to give treats to Gracie and Bella.  She's totally crazy about them :).

Handwriting

Em has been working hard on handwriting--they're learning lower case letters, which are quite a challenge when she's been writing everything in all caps for so long.  She loves dry erase markers, so I bought this handwriting book for her to practice.  Our biggest issue right now is that she's such a perfectionist, and gets pretty frustrated when she doesn't make the letter just right.  We still have some work to do for sure.

Fancy Dance

Em really seems to enjoy dance, and none of her good friends at school are taking it anymore, so we decided to stop with Daisy Dance and let her start with a real dance class that will ultimately determine if she wants to stick with it.  We enrolled her at Carolina Dance Capital, which is in Ballantyne and really close to work for me and school for Em, and her first class was Thursday afternoon.

She called it fancy dance, because it's a real dance school and there are classes for every age.  She was excited to start--we'll see if she's as excited by the time the recital rolls around in May!

Pre-K

Em is really excited about starting Pre-Kindergarten!  She will still be at Rainbow Station, but will now be in Gold Room (the end of the rainbow), and her first day was Monday.  She picked out a twirly dress for her first day, and wanted to take her salty dog puppy for nap time.

They have lockers now instead of cubbies, which is quite exciting.  I'm not sure where this big, tall girl came from...she is so independent!  We walked in that morning, and she said "Mommy, this is SO much better than Blue Room!"  I think by the end of the school year, she's just ready for a new challenge and a change of scenery.

Her classroom now has a guinea pig named George, and he's one of Em's favorite things--she goes to say good morning to him first thing, and has to say goodbye to him before we leave each day.

There are a lot of new things we're excited about in this room, and I think Em will have a fantastic year.  They'll work on reading, handwriting, math, and will even have homework.  They monitor behavior each day, and going above and beyond earns a trip to the treasure box, where she'll get to pick out a little prize.

They made these "First Day of Pre-K" crowns, and Fruit Loop necklaces their first day--this is Em modeling those (after her second day).

She's very excited about being a big girl.  We're super proud, but not as excited about how fast she became this big girl :(.

Beach Trip!

Em's school is closed for two days of teacher training each year in August, and just like last year, we decided to use the long weekend for a short vacation.  I took Wednesday off too and gave Em the option--needless to say, she decided to skip school and stay home to "help" me pack and get our stuff ready for the trip.  Mick came home around 10:00 that morning and we got on the road before lunch.

It's about a 4-hour trip to Hilton Head Island, and once we got there and checked in, we decided to head down to the beach for a little bit.  Em was so excited to get in the water and sand!

We didn't take chairs or anything with us, so we just played a little and let Em burn off some of the energy she had stored up in the car ride.

We came back from the beach and ate dinner at the poolside restaurant.

It was so hot outside that the pool and splash pad felt good, even as it started to get dark.

The next morning, we had reservations for the pirate cruise that we did last year--we got to Harbor Town a little early, so we ate breakfast and let Em play in the playground a little bit.

We got to the pier in time for her to get her pirate gear, tattoo and face paint.

Her meanest pirate face!

This is the ship--The Black Dagger!

Again, it was super hot, so even when the boat was moving, Em needed to take plenty of water breaks in the shade.

But she wasn't going to miss firing the water cannons at Stinky Pete, who stole the key to our treasure chest!

She had a great time, despite the weather.

This guy has a pretty decent job when it's 90+ degrees outside.

The captain of the ship pulled the treasure chest out of the water and into the boat.

The kids were all excited when the chest was opened!

They each had a turn to go up and get some treasure to take home.

We ate lunch at Skull Creek Boathouse (loved it!) and came back to the hotel for Em to take a nap--the heat really takes it out of her, and we knew we'd be out later than usual at night, so we worked a nap in every day.

Later that afternoon, we took our chairs and Em's toys down to the beach and played a little longer.

She loved jumping in the ankle-deep waves.

We walked and splashed,

 and of course built some sand castles.

 Then Em decided she wanted to get in and let us bury her!

When we were done at the beach, we headed back to the pool and splash pad for a while.  Honestly, it was so hot outside the whole time, we felt like we needed to stay in or near the water.

Friday morning, I had a dolphin tour booked for us--there are lots of them around the area, but this was a privately owned place and offered a two-hour cruise with a guarantee of seeing dolphins.

Another very hot morning, but there was lots of shade on the boat, and it felt great when we were moving.

Em was excited to see the birds along the way, but was anxious to see dolphins!

There was only one other couple on the boat with us, so we had plenty of room.  We also brought a small cooler on board with drinks and snacks.

 Em even got to drive the boat!

 Then we all took a turn.

 It wasn't long before we started seeing dolphins--and I mean LOTS of them!

The captain told us that dolphins like the sound of children's voices more than adults, so he got Em to start calling the dolphins.  I'm sure it was a coincidence, but soon after, this one swam right up to the boat!

The captain told us his name was Mickey--their dorsal fins are unique like a fingerprint, and this is one he's seen many times before.  Em was beside herself with excitement at how close he came to us!

She couldn't get over how friendly he was.

We went to a place called Vanishing Island, which you can only see when the tides are just right.  He pulled the boat up so we could get off and walk the beach looking for seashells.  We hadn't been able to really find shells on the main beach, so this was great.  In no time, we had found several whole sand dollars!

We only stayed on the island for about 15 minutes before heading back to the boat.

On the way back in, we passed the Harbor Town lighthouse, and the captain took this family picture for us.

We had a delicious seafood lunch at Hudson's on the water.

That night, we went back to Harbor Town for the Gregg Russell live show (where Em had sung on stage last year).  She makes friends wherever we go--it's hilarious.

She had fun, but didn't get picked to sing this year.

 After the show, he did offer to take pictures with the kids.

Saturday morning, we didn't have anything planned, so we went to the beach early and took everything so we could really set up shop.  Em had a great time building sand castles and drawing in the sand.

After a few hours, we headed back to the pool to set up for a while.  We had lunch by the pool in the shade.

And Em practiced silly faces.

It was very relaxing :).

The splash pad was great, because it gave Mick and me a little break while Em still played right beside us.

Saturday night, we headed back to the Salty Dog Cafe--Em luckily spotted Jake right before he was heading inside to cool off.

We ate dinner at the Wreck of the Salty Dog, and Em got pretty excited about all of the animal statues.

She had a salty dog painted on her arm,

and of course finished off the night with chocolate ice cream.

And found another friend to dance with before the night was over.

Sunday morning, we got up and packed everything to head home.  We let Em have a few minutes to play at the hotel playground before getting in the car.  It was a great trip, and made us wish we'd spent more time at the beach this summer!