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I haven't been here for awhile and really want to get back to blogging.....will return soon.

Madison the Future Dolphin

First Day of School 2013-2014

So this year the first day of school for my kids just happens to be my birthday!  So there was no sleeping in or no breakfast in bed as a birthday present for me!  Matt was off to work at 5am to be very busy his first day of school as bus route supervisor...making sure everything runs smoothly in transportation.  I wanted to make the kids a special, out of the ordinary, breakfast for their first day, and it was a blessing for me too! Yum, yum...fruit, muffin, and bacon!  The kids enjoyed singing happy birthday to me with a candle in my muffin!

All ready to go...Jason, kindergarten, Mr. Harrigan's class; Carson, first grade, Mrs. Gonzalez's class; Madison, second grade, Mr. Betten's class!
They were so excited to get their backpacks on and head out the door!

Their backpacks of choice...angry birds, Batman, and girly hearts and butterflies.

Jackson trying to get in on the picture.

Jason...excited to be going to kindergarten.

 Carson, first grade. Too cool for school.

 Madison, the old pro...second grader.

Silly faces on the first day.

Eagerly waiting for the bus...concerned that that little girl on the left might not make it through the day!

Atlantic Beach NC Vacation 2013

We were so fortunate to be able to purchase a week at a timeshare from a family at our church for a great price!  We headed to Atlantic Beach NC to Peppertree Resort...a place we had been to before with the Ricchini family way back in 2007 during Thanksgiving week.  This time we had a few more kids and it was a bit warmer....much more time spent outside at the pool and at the beach!  We all had a blast and I can't wait to return someday!  

Our unit...8A1...it was a smaller unit...a one bedroom but better than a hotel room.  All kids were able to sleep in the bedroom, two in the bed and the other two on twin air mattresses tightly tucked between the bed and walls.  And Matt and I opted for a queen air mattress on the floor of the living room...much more comfortable than the pull out sofabed!

The living room.

The open kitchen with counter and two bar stools...where we were able to have nearly all our meals...what a blessing!

This was our view from our patio...so nice to walk out our door and see the sparkling cool pool every day!

The backside of our unit...where we parked and then went up one flight of stairs to our unit.

Looking at our unit from the other side of the pool.  We were a first floor unit but not located on the ground. Underneath our unit were common spaces that had beach umbrella/chair storage, ping pong tables, and various other things.  Our two windows are directly above the handicap lift by the pool (covered in blue cover).

This was the view of some of the peppertree complex from the pathway leading to the beach...on top of the sand dunes.

And the view of the beach from that same spot...the pathway heading to the beach.

Atlantic Beach Vacation...Pool Time

With a pool right outside our door, we enjoyed a lot of time there.  It was the perfect place to be at the end of our beach time as it would remove any remaining salt and sand that the outside showers and hoses couldn't!  

With no lifeguards present our kids could have some fun that they weren't used to at the public pools. Jackson got sheer enjoyment out of pushing daddy in the pool!

And then he was very quick to jump in and join the fun!

Jason having lots of fun in the pool.

 While Madison enjoys some floating.

 And we enjoyed playing catch while at the pool.

 The big wind up!

Daddy shows off his cannonball skills....and Jackson must try and copy!

Jackson's side jump.  Check out his face when he comes up out of the water...priceless!

The kids loved this game....we threw the ball to them as they jumped in...most of the times they missed...but that was probably as much due to throwing error as catching error.  Jason goes for it.

And Madison goes for it and makes the catch!

Jason tries and again and the ball was too high....then Jackson practically jumps in on top of him!

And Jackson demonstrates his "monster" walk followed by his fall into the pool!  Had us laughing every time!

Atlantic Beach Vacation....Sun, Sand, and Surf

Obviously we spent as much time as possible at the beach!  We all had a blast.  It's amazing what a beach can offer a family as far as free fun goes!  They loved playing in the surf, playing in the sand, and looking for seashells.  They also had a blast tossing pieces of their lunch to the seagulls and watching how quickly all the seagulls showed up at our site but unfortunately I don't have any pictures of that....I typically left the area as I was not looking to be pooped on by one of the many seagulls!  I'm sure any of the people in our immediate area weren't thrilled by my children's antics!

Day one at the beach...7/27...we arrived at the resort around noon but had to wait for our unit so we spent a little time at the pool and a little time at the beach....didn't bring the camera.

Day two at the Beach....7/28...This picture looks a little foggy due to the humidity affecting my camera lens but I loved the picture of them all working together to make a great sand castle...unfortunately I don't have an after picture....they lost their focus too quickly.

But for a moment their work started drawing the attention of a few other boys.

Jackson trying to retrieve some water for the castle and the surf catches him by surprise!

The boys move on to covering their trucks in sand and water.

While Madison fills up some buckets.

And Matt opts for some relaxing in the sun!   Smart guy...it's where I wanted to be most of the time.

And Jackson beginning to look like he's all tuckered out!

Yep, he is...the best place for a nap...under the umbrella, on the beach!

Day three at the Beach...7/30...Jason continues to enjoy himself.  (we took a little break from the beach on 7/29 as the kids all had very rosy cheeks!)

Jackson continues to enjoy fetching water and playing in the sand.

And once again, enjoys his nap on the beach.

And everyone enjoys lunchtime!

Jackson is clearly not phased by everyone around him eating lunch...he even spit out his pacifier...a clear sign that he was very tired!

Day four at the beach...7/31...I put the kids on a mission to find some great seashells.

Day five at the beach..8/2...Jackson loved having all these toys and all this space to play.

(we took 8/1 and spent the morning at the local aquarium while it was raining and then later at the pool when the storms had passed.)  

We arrived on the beach early this day (around 8:45) and the tide was still very far out....you can get an idea of the distance in this picture.  And there were still people out getting their morning walk along the beach out.  We were some of the few people there that early actually setting up for the day!  We planned on staying as long as we could knowing it would be our last time at the beach for probably a year! :(

I took this picture standing closer to the water looking away from the water (obviously) and you can see all the umbrellas and chairs set up for other guests of the resort...most of whom weren't there yet!

A few of the beach houses that were close by...a few even had some nice pools as well as being so close to the beach....lovely places to stay, I'm sure, as long as there aren't any hurricanes!

Jackson continues to play that last day and loved pushing the trucks and tractors around in the sand!  So grateful that all my kids love the water and the beach!

Atlantic Beach Vacation...Ft. Macon State Park

On Monday, July 29th we took a break from the beach and headed to Ft. Macon State Park. There were some dark clouds in the area but we made it through without getting rained on. For my local Maryland friends, this place could be compared to Ft. McHenry in Baltimore. Definitely a place that my kids would love to go back to if we ever get to Atlantic Beach again. 

One of the many very cool cannons around the park.

Great photo op....kids and Daddy take a break on a wall with water and ships behind them.

Another great cannon...every Wednesday they fire these in a demonstration...maybe next time we'll make it for that!

The walls in this place were amazingly high...the kids had a blast running in and out of the dark corridors and hidden rooms.

Another great picture to give you an idea of the height of the walls...and no, there aren't any fences or barriers to keep kids off those edges....they tell you that this place was built for war, not safety...very true!

Firing their pretend guns at me!

American flag with cannon in the foreground and the stormy clouds in the background.