Two weekends of fun!

After we got back from the beach, Waylon started his new job! He's so much happier and really excited about this opportunity. So far, so good! Kylie also moved up to a new room so lots of new things.

That Friday (the 19th), I got to sneak out and go to dinner and a movie with some girlfriends. It was a nice evening out for me!

Saturday morning, we relaxed at the house until it was time for Eli's birthday party. So much backyard fun!

Kylie swinging with the birthday boy

Kylie and Noah trying out their toys

Kylie loving the bounce house!

The big birthday boy

Kylie getting ready to watch the game :-)

They had sponges and filled them up with water and tried to be the first team to fill up a jug.

Noah in motion!

Cupcake time - homemade!!!

(not sure where all of Evia's energy comes from!)

Kylie enjoying her cupcake. :-)

Saturday night, we went to dinner with Megan, Jason and Ryan. After we ate, the kids did their normal run off their wiggles. It was pretty cute.

Kylie in action!

This was the starting line

Hugs for Ryan before we left

Later Saturday night, Waylon took his turn at a night out so that was nice. Sunday morning, he mowed the yard and I took the kids to the pool with Megan and Ryan. Then in the afternoon, we had an impromtu get together with Cory and Jennie, Megan Jason and Ryan, and Megan and Dave. We grilled out and everyone brought something to contribute. So fun! No pictures though. :-(

Last week was a typical week for us except for Friday, we sent the kids to school and I stayed home to deal with workers in the house in the morning (punch list items from our 90 day walk through). Then I went to get my hair done and got a little shopping done which was really fun. I got the kids a little early and met Megan and Ryan at the park. It was a pretty crazy trip since while we were there the skies opened up on us (the first band of Hurricane Irene). We went to Target to waste some time before meeting the guys for dinner.

Saturday morning, we enjoyed a relaxing morning watching the hurricane coverage. Things were okay here but pretty nasty on the coast. Around 10:30, Waylon and Noah took off to the grocery store and Kylie and I had some mommy/daughter time. While they were gone, we painted her toenails, too! :-) It was fun. She was really excited but then halfway through she wasn't sure about it. We used a hairdryer to dry them before she went walking on the carpet! :-) She was very proud...

After naps, we got prepared for toddler-palooza. Waylon went to a fantasy football draft and all the wives and kids came to our house! We had 8 kids 4 and under here. The first hour was strangely calm while they were all warming up to each other. The whole night was actually pretty good though. No major issues which was very nice!!

Kylie getting ready for the silliness

Snack time

7 of the 8 kids

(L-R) Brendan, Maddy, Noah, Mackenzie, Kylie, Rory, and Ryan

(Wyatt not pictured)

One aftermath picture :-)

Sunday was a really nice day. That morning, another lazy morning before heading to the park as a family. It was a nice outing and we had a picnic there, too.

After the kids woke up from their naps, we went down to the pool for about an hour and a half. It was really nice cause they were playing really well together and Waylon and I were actually able to sit down (at the same time)! It was great.

We came back to the house around 4:30, just in time to have another impromtu get together!! :-) We had been invited to Nana and Grandad's for dinner but we were expecting Grammy that afternoon and had some other commitments so they were nice enough to pack up all the food and bring it to us!! That's the way to have a dinner party - someone else brings all the food! :-) Thanks again, Nana!

So about 10 minutes after we got back from the pool, my mom walked in and about 5 minutes after that, Nana, Grandad, Andrea, Sean and Savannah arrived also. Lots more playtime and a yummy dinner!

Noah and Savannah were feeding their 'baby'. Kylie was a very willing participant in this. I walked in and asked they were doing and Kylie looked at me and said, 'I the baby!' :-)

Playing cars with Uncle Sean

Grammy stayed over last night and then went on to my Gramma's house for the last clean out there - they are finally closing on the house on Wednesday. She will be coming back later this week so that will be nice.

This morning, she took Noah to school on her way out of town and I took Kylie to her 1 year follow up appointment for her hernia surgery. I can't believe it's been a year! Crazy. Everything checked out fine... the muscle layer is still nice and strong. We talked some about cosmetic options. He wouldn't recommend anything before age 4 or 5. We can also just leave it alone and let her make her own choice down the road on whether or not she wants to fix it. We have a few years to decide on that though, so that's good.

Tonight, Noah was playing on the computer and he looked like such a big boy...

We are all going to have a fun weekend this weekend - more to come on that!!

Parham/Sharpe Beach Week!

Last weekend, we went to Myrtle Beach with Nana, Grandaddy, Andrea, Sean and Savannah. It was so much fun and we all had a blast!!!

We left after Noah's swim lesson on Wednesday and the kids did really well in the car. We stopped for a quick dinner on our way out of town and watched a LOT of Dora on the way. I was expecting them to fall asleep in the car but they actually stayed awake the whole time (thanks to Dora). :-) It worked out pretty well cause they were very tired when we arrived at 9:00 and went down pretty easily soon after we got there.

The place where we stayed was a 3 bedroom so each family had a room. It was a little tight but ended up working out really well. Noah got to sleep in the 'bear cave' (in a sleeping bag in the walk in closet!) and he had fun with that. :-) We had Kylie in the pack and play next to our bed and they both did really well with bedtime and naps so that was nice. We weren't really sure what to expect. We fought our battles a LOT with sleep when Noah was younger but we are lucky right now to have everyone pretty agreeable (knock on wood).

First thing the next morning, it was straight to the beach! It was a great day and we had so much fun.

Dick, Andrea, and Savannah went back for lunch and naps but we stayed a little longer and had lunch on the beach. We got back to the house around 1 for naps. Waylon worked out and then he and his mom went grocery shopping while the kids were sleeping and the rest of us rested. After the kids got up, we went to the pool for a bit. Noah is doing so well with his swimming and can be trusted a little more so that makes it a little more enjoyable!

The place where we stayed had a golf cart for us to use so Grandaddy took the kids for a little ride while Waylon (and I?) made dinner. :-)

"We" made pizza - really it was just Waylon cause I was dealing with getting the kids cleaned up and the really important things - making margaritas. :-) We had a great dinner - pizza and salad and more playtime before bed that night. At one point, Grandaddy was trying to scare the kids and I caught this hilarious picture - Savannah is just walking by like, 'yeah yeah, whatever'. :-)

Friday morning, we went to visit Phyllis and Clarence who live just a few blocks away from where we were staying. It was so nice to visit with them and we played in their pool in the backyard (I never get many pool pictures cause I'm always in there with them!). I did get this one of Phyllis and Noah before we started swimming though....

Back to the house for lunch and naps. Waylon and his dad went golfing and Andrea and I went down to the pool while the kids were napping which was really nice (thanks Nana!).

We were hoping to make it back down to the beach that afternoon but the skies turned overcast and everyone slept so long, it just didn't work out. Instead, I made a batch of 'margaritas' for the kids - fruit slushie/smoothies. Kylie was a HAM during this. Since the drink was a dark red, we took them outside to drink them. We stripped Kylie down knowing that she would have it all over her and right we were!! She loved it so much, chugged it down and then put on a show for the whole place - I'm sure if anyone saw her, they felt bad for her wondering who her parents were letting her run around like she was!!! :-)

Cheers before drinking!

Kylie just threw her cup down when she was done. :-)

Then took off with her chair!!! It was so funny.

That evening, Phyllis and Clarence came over to our place for dinner. Sean also arrived around 5:30 (just in time to cook us hot dogs and hamburgers)! :-) Andrea and Sean did a great job with dinner that night. The kids were very tired again that night.

Saturday morning, we were planning on going to the beach early but it was overcast again. We were waiting for it to blow over but it never rained, so around 10:30, we decided to just give it a try. It was great! Not too hot and a little windy (perfect for kites). And the sun came out a little later on too so it was perfect.

Flying kites

Kylie pointing to the kite

One very crazy thing that happened though - Sean and I were in the water with Savannah and Kylie - just about shin deep - and I looked over and saw two fins popped out of the water about 10 feet away from us!!! It was a shark!! It was so scary and really freaked me out (there was a news report about a 6 year old who had gotten bitten on the NC coast just about a week before that). So we didn't go in the water much after that...

Sean decided to build the kids a sand race car. Noah enjoyed managing the project...

They loved riding in it!! :-)

Then I got in the back and became the "North Myrtle Beach Beauty Queen" :-)

Kylie was ready for lunch soon after

Then Noah and Savannah

When the tide went out, there were these little pools created in the sand and the kids LOVED playing in them. It was perfect cause we could just sit and watch them and not have to worry too much...

Kylie loves floating on her back!

Funny cause that's one thing that Noah really doesn't like too much.

So adorable!!!

Funny faces

Family shot

That day, we stayed at the beach until almost 2:00! We were all having such a good time, we just decided to prolong the fun! Needless to say everyone was tired but Waylon had promised Noah he'd take him to putt putt so we let him skip nap and he, Waylon and Grandaddy went to play putt putt while Kay, Andrea and I went to the pool for a short time (Sean stayed back while Savannah and Kylie were napping) - so nice again!!

That evening, we went to dinner at a little dive - an oyster bar. It was really nice and I ordered crab legs. I've been wanting to pick crabs for a while so I was in heaven. Noah was sitting with Nana and Grandad and Kylie was on the other side of the table with Waylon so I kinda went in my own little world and enjoyed my crabs. It was pretty funny. When I was done, I felt like I'd come out of a trance!! :-)

So sweet - they are going to be good friends!

After dinner, we came back to the house, loaded down the golf carts and drove down to the pavilion where they have all sorts of rides for little ones. Noah and Savannah had a blast with all the rides! It was so cute!

Daddy won Kylie a stuffed dog and she LOVES that thing!

She has it in bed with her as I type actually.... :-)

Noah wanted me to go on the teacup ride with him.....

... ugh... not cut out for those things anymore!

I guess I'm officially old. :-)

Noah decided to play this fishing game instead of going on the last ride.

He won this shark!!! :-)

The last ride was a train ride. Kylie rode with Andrea and Nana and Savannah rode together. Kylie wasn't sure at first but liked it in the end I think.

Another late night for the kids but such a fun trip!! On Sunday morning, Andrea and I got the kids out of the house and took them to the pool while everyone else cleaned up and packed up. I finally managed to get a swimming pic (in the baby pool anyway). :-)

We left just after lunch and ran to the outlets to get Waylon a new pair of shoes before heading home. The kids slept some of the way home but did well again. Such a fun fun trip!!!!