Topsail Island 2021

We took advantage of the kids' remote learning (and Daddy's remote work) to vacation at Topsail Island with Mimi and Gawa this month.  Usually, our Topsail beach week is later in the summer, but we were all excited for a change of scenery and thought a May vacation would be fun.  We had a new beach house this year, and the kids were thrilled to hear that this one had an elevator and outdoor shower!  We had beautiful oceanfront views and even Millie loved looking out the windows at the beach:

Our beach trip fell over Mother's Day weekend and we were happy to be able to spend the day with Mimi and shower her with presents:

We had a blast doing our favorite Topsail activities:  throwing the ball to Millie, walks on the beach, finding shark's teeth, and swimming in the ocean:

Puppy joy!

There will never be too many dog pictures for me, as these brings back such treasured memories of Winnie chasing balls at Topsail.  It makes our hearts happy that Millie is following in her big sister's paw prints with her love of the beach:

This girl is an expert at finding teeny, tiny shark's teeth, and came home with a bag full of them!

View of L&L on the beach from our top balcony.

Pajama-clad Leah helped Gawa fish in the mornings.

The kids befriended the next door neighbors and had fun playing with them on the beach.

We took family pictures, and can't believe how tall Luke is:

During the times when the weather was not ideal, we cozied up with good books, played board games, and completed a beach-themed jigsaw puzzle.  The kids found piles of Calvin and Hobbes & Far Side books, and enjoyed reading these.  Luke also discovered Risk, and LOVED this strategy game (maybe because the goal is world domination?!).  Several epic family Risk battles ensued (and this game takes even longer to play than Monopoly!), and this board game is a new favorite for our teenager:

Rainy day doodle snuggles.

Beach girls.

These rocking chair pics may be my very favorite of the week.  Taken a decade apart, yet both priceless:

2011.

2021.

This is the way to live your best life while logged in to online school:

We also went mini-golfing one afternoon, where I spotted two pirates:

Mandatory putt-putt pics.

Creepy or cute?! 

My golfing crew.

It was the perfect Topsail beach week- Thank you, Mimi and Gawa, for such a fun time!

 

Teenager Alert!

We have our first teenager!  Luke's 13th birthday was filled with his favorite things: sleep, food, music, presents, and chocolate.  In fact, he ate an entire full-sized pepperoni pizza for lunch, and so far is perfectly living up to the bottomless pit/growing teen boy stereotype.  Luke measured 6 feet tall at his 13-year well check, and is hungry all the time.  Mark assures me that it's all normal, and the pediatrician told me that Luke's nowhere near done growing yet, so here we are... me, reminiscing about my tiny, NICU preemie baby, while this man-child gets taller and taller:

We booby-trapped Luke's door the night before his birthday, and Millie was so confused:

She stood in the hall for most of the evening just trying to figure out what was happening.  Finally she plopped down, staring at her brother's decorated doorway:

The next morning, Luke's devoted fluffy sister patiently waited for him to come downstairs to open presents:

Luke's most eagerly anticipated birthday gift was an electric bass guitar.  We took lots of pictures, because there's only one day in your life that you receive your first guitar!

Leah gave Luke two guitar books with sheet music, which were a hit:

Amp from Grandpa

And just for the record, this kid still loves Legos.  He's just more selective in his sets/collections now:

Luke also asked to re-do his room to become less little boy/more teen-friendly.  Down came the adorable wall art, out went the beloved Pottery Barn Kids chair and quilt, and the stuffed animals were shoved into the closet this spring ("because I'm not quite ready to get rid of them yet, Mom...").  Replacing it was new teen-approved decor, including this cool print from Beanie: 

Perfect for our Tuba Dude. 

Luke chose a Death By Chocolate ice cream cake from Cold Stone Creamery for his birthday dessert: 

Happy, happy birthday to our special boy.  We love watching you grow, and each stage brings new adventures.  On this milestone birthday, we hope you know how much you are adored and treasured.  Daddy and I insist that we are not old enough to be parents of a teenager, but somehow, you turned 13 in the blink of an eye.  We love you so much, Bubbie!