Road Trip!

 

Have I mentioned that we've been traveling a lot lately?  Somewhere during the hours that we've spent staring at the highway this summer, I came up with the idea to document each state that we've visited.  It's made our road trips fun to seek an activity in each place.  We just returned home last night from another busy trip away from home, and this one takes the record for the summer:  2,500+ miles!  We actually rented a mini-van for this latest adventure, and I can see why parents love these vehicles.  We were all squealing about various features that came with the fully-loaded van that was ours for the week.  The kids were excited about the "magic doors" that opened and closed at the push of a button, Daddy was thrilled about the SIRIUS radio and excess storage space in the back, and Mommy couldn't get over the number of cup holders and fact that DVDs loaded into an already installed player.  (I know, many people have all of these features already in their vehicles, but since we haven't bought a car since our pre-child days, you get the idea that we haven't caught up with the latest technology).  Anyway, we're glad to be home, and hope to put our suitcases away for a little while, but here are some of our fun road trip pictures and events:

 

Pennsylvania:

We stopped at the Strasburg Railroad in PA, and it just happened that Thomas the Train was there on the same day.  We spent a wonderful, train-filled afternoon on the way to the beach last month: 

 

We also drive through Amish country in central PA each summer on our way to Rehoboth Beach, DE.  It feels like we are transported to another time when we pass the horses and buggies and drive through the scenic farmland of this unique area:

 

 

Delaware:

This tiny state certainly holds a lot for our family.  A few of our favorite, familiar Delaware images:

 

 

 

 

New Jersey:

Some states only got a drive by, or quick visit at a rest stop.  We did spend a great day at the Crayola Factory on the PA/NJ border last weekend, but I'll save most of those pictures for another post:

 

 

 

New York:

We drove to Mark's hometown of Albany, NY, to honor the life of a dear family friend of ours who recently passed away.  We were surrounded by people who are so special to us, and being able to give them hugs and see them is one of our most precious memories of the summer.  Poor Mark was coaxed into posing beside this random New York sign to document our visit to this state.  His expression says it all: 

 

 

Maryland:

We spent a great day with one of my best friends from college, BB Emily, and her son (who are from Baltimore) when we met halfway at a kid-friendly amusement park:

 

 

Virginia:

Poor Virginia.  Every time we enter this state, it is the middle of the night and we have two sleeping children, so we don't dare stop at a state sign or rest stop to take a picture.  The people at the Chick Fil A in Salem, VA, probably know us by heart now, as it's our midway breakfast stopping point on most of our trips.  I-81 in Virginia is boring, seemingly endless, and we go from mile marker 70 to mile 300+ on a south to north trip, so we just settle in for a long ride and hope that there's no traffic. 

 

 

West Virginia:

West Virginia wins the prize for the best surprise stop.  We happened to pull into a rest stop in this state only to find that it was "West Virginia Day".  There was live music, treats, a puppeteer, and an antique car show.  The kids received free cookies, postcards, maps, and pins, and are now big fans of West VA.  We also passed a stand for homemade moonshine, and I commented to Mark that we were certainly getting a feel for the local Appalachian culture:

 

 

 

 

North Carolina:

North Carolina is the state where we spent our beautiful Topsail Beach vacation earlier this month.  I like the picture below because it accurately documents our travel attire: pajamas for everyone.  Since our standard departure time for the majority of our trips is between 3 and 4 a.m., we are comfy and cozy (and everyone except Daddy the driver falls back to sleep in the car:

Sunrise view from the deck of our Topsail Beach house.

South Carolina:

Ahh, home sweet home.  Just a few more pictures here to show you how we roll.  During one leg of our trip, backseat driver Leah insisted that her pink Pancake Bear steer. In order to avoid a toddler melt-down, Daddy obliged and had "help" driving for quite a while:

 

Armed with snacks, videos, and car games, we have mastered the art of taking long road trips with little ones.  But there is nothing sweeter than to look in the back seat and find peaceful, sleeping children... and to know that we are almost home.  

Monkey See, Monkey Do

 

It's been a fun summer for our two little monkeys, and we are constantly entertained by Leah, who imitates everything that her big brother does.  She copies Luke's phrases, his movements, and wants to do everything like her cool, older sibling.  Recently, our golfers spent a morning at the putt putt course, and what fun we had watching these two in action:

 

 

 

 

We've practically given up our attempts to take posed family pictures, and everyone is happier if we just monkey around and act silly instead.  Here are our golf super stars swinging with their proud Mama in between holes:

 

 

If Luke is playing with a toy at home, Leah often goes straight to the toy box to chose a similar toy.  She watches how her brother sets up his vehicles, and re-creates the same scene with her trucks and cars:

 

 

 

During a recent quiet time when Luke was supposed to be playing in his room, this character showed up at my bedroom door as I was reading to Leah. 

I said, "Luke, please go back into your room now," and he replied,

"I'm not Luke.  How do you even recognize me?  I am in disguise..." 

 

Sure enough, that evening, Lee-Lee put on the same disguise.  She turned to me and exclaimed, "I not Yee-Yee!  Recognize me, Mama?" 

This morning we went bowling, and, as usual, Leah was determined to be a big kid like Luke.  Her bowling ball was almost as big as she was, but that didn't stop our little monkey from carefully watching Bubba's technique and copying it:

 

 

 

 

A few of our favorite shots from our bowling adventure:

 

And just in case you haven't received your dose of cuteness for the day, here are a few pictures to brighten your day.  There's just something about those pink socks with the bowling shoes that makes me smile:

 

 

Whether they are busy at play or pausing to hold hands, there's something irresistible to us about these two little monkeys, and we love them to pieces! 

Topsail Island

 

We traveled to Topsail Island, NC, last week, and had another wonderful beach vacation.  My family has been going to Topsail each summer since I was a child, and each year, I am amazed at how beautiful this beautiful beach is.  Our beach house is right on the water, and it is a special treat to wake up to the sound of the waves outside our windows, sit in the rocking chairs on the porch and watch the sun rise over the ocean, and walk down the steps to what feels like our own private beach each day.

 

Mimi bought the children fishing nets as souvenirs (blue and pink, of course!), and within 5 minutes of "fishing", Luke caught two fish!  We were very excited, and proud of our little fisherman:

 

 

Luke's catch!

Winnie was also thrilled to be back at her favorite place in the world.  After six long months of recovery from her ACL tear and surgery, we finally felt like Winnie was back to her old self, able to run on the beach, swim in the ocean, and chase balls.  What joy this gave us, to watch our furry girl be active and playful again!

Playing on the beach provided hours of entertainment, and we brought home reminders of our fun week with growing seashell and sharks' teeth collections for the kids (and sand in our suitcases!):

 

The kids splashed in the water for hours.  Leah delighted us all with her squeals of joy, as she ran toward the ocean, fearless and giggling:

Luke still loves to play with his vehicles in the sand, and told us elaborate tales of the dune buggy races that he orchestrated.  I never want him to lose this sweet, innocent piece of his childhood:

 

 

Another fun beach activity was searching for buried treasure with Gawa's metal detector.  It was the one thing that Luke was looking forward to the most as we anticipated our Topsail vacation.  Luckily, there were some "pirates" who strategically staged hidden coins in the sand for Luke and Leah to find, and they discovered handfuls of treasure each day:

Our Topsail vacation also included special quiet time, snuggling with our little ones:

 

 

Luke and Uncle Jef proudly posed in their Nationals shirts for this photo, and it was so nice to spend time with our family during this vacation week:

We love Topsail Island, and had a wonderful time with Mimi, Gawa, and Uncle Jef.  Hooray for another great year of beach memories! 

 

 

Below is a slide show of more of our Topsail pictures: 

Red, White, and Blue!

 

We've had a quiet July 4th week at home.  The kids created this American flag by threading raspberries, blueberries, and mini marshmallows on skewers, and it was a fun patriotic project:

 

Halfway through our decorating, I noticed that the bowl of mini marshmallows was almost empty, and suddenly I realized why.  I think that Leah ate about ten for every one that she put on a skewer:

 

This sweet-toothed little girl is also beginning to enjoy crafts, and this is all new territory for me, as Luke has never been a sit-down, arts and crafts kind of guy.  Here are the "fireworks" that Leah proudly colored and snipped, perfect for July 4!:

 

 

We said good bye to our good friends, the Landas, this week, as they packed up and relocated to New York.  Cheryl and I have worked together at Greenville Health System since before our kids were born, and it's been great fun to have a work friend who has children the same age.  We've had countless play dates with Raquelle and Reed, and have enjoyed watching our kids grow up together and sharing this season of life with our friends.  The kids posed for one last red, white, and blue picture together, waving their American flags:

Another All-American highlight from the week was our first cool treat of the summer from the neighborhood ice cream truck.  It was Leah's first time receiving a treat from the ice cream man, and you could see her eyes widen in wonder as she processed this idea:  "You mean this vehicle has ice cream inside and can pull into our driveway any time?... YES, PLEASE!"

 

Luke showed off his star-spangled pride by donning his superhero star-studded mask and cape yesterday.  We appreciated his carry-over of Mommy's red, white, and blue themed outfit choices of the day:

 

And we celebrated America's birthday last night by recognizing Leah's 2 1/2 year birthday as well.  How fun that there are always be fireworks and a national celebration on her half birthdays!  We enjoyed a red, white, and blue cookie cake complete with two and a half candles: 

Happy Birthday, America, and happy half birthday to our little girl!