Silas' 8th birthday

Well, we are days from heading back so it seemed only fitting to have a birthday party before we left. Seems we come to the US to celebrate a child's birthday and often leave just before another's.  Silas technically isn't 8 until September, but he wanted to celebrate here which worked for me. He wanted a Minecraft party and wanted a grass block as his cake. He didn't even want it to be an actual square (requiring a double layered cake) but just wanted it to be brown and green. Easiest cake ever. 

There were many games (he's not 10 yet :)) like finding different items for minecraft recipes, throwing TNT poppers, exploding TNT (mentos in diet coke), and fighting a creeper with water ballons.

He got some really cool gifts as well that all the kids have enjoyed playing with for hours. We are grateful to our friends who came and loved on our sweet Silas.

Silas is a tender-hearted  boy. He loves having his family together and is really sad when one of the gang isn't around. He loves hugs and snuggles. He is full of energy and loves to laugh. He is becoming a great reader and really strives to keep up with his brothers. He is a blessing and adds much joy to our family. We love you, Silas!

Holden Beach 2016

We made it to the beach with the family again this year. It's a long week at the beach with 7 kids coming in and out all the time but they really enjoy it so much that it makes it worth it. A friend told us that they don't use the word "vacation" as that implies rest and relaxation. They take family trips that have all the responsibilities as normal plus the added work of being in a different location, your kids being out of their routine, and you getting less sleep. I thought that very fitting. We enjoyed our family trip to the beach. :)

The boys immediately went out the first day to dig a big hole so that they could cover themselves as they have done every year.

We tried family pictures. It was really windy and we had some trying kids that day so only a few came out. This was the after pictures ice cream treat. The kids were cute as they all matched.

Haven was prepared with two sunscreens and Aunt Tricia's sun viser. 

 It's fun to watch her brothers love her so well. She is so very lucky.

Chilling eating her apple by the water. You may notice she is wearing the same bathing suit in every picture. Despite having three choices, she would only wear the one with "sowers on it."

 General Grievous in case you aren't a Star Wars fan.

The sky was beautiful on our last night.

Visit with the cousins

Jen and her family came in at the end of June and spent a month in Raleigh. Their time was literally bookended with Chick-fil-a, which is not surprising if you know my sister.

The kids had loads of fun together. The house was booming with noise and activity all the time (while their family spent the days at the house, they did thankfully sleep down the street. 13 people in the house would have been a bit too much).

Patrick did his biennial lighting of fireworks in the backyard. The first time he did this so many years ago the kids were way on the other side of the yard. They have become much more daring as the years go by.

Amazon prime day occurred while they were here. That meant tons and tons of boxes came to our house. Those boxes, along with various other items Mom had on hand and a glue gun, produced hours of fun not only in the creating but the playing afterwards as well.

There was also a visit to the Children's Museum. Somehow the building of a huge wall is fun at any age.

We were able to visit a friends' pool several times which was great for all the kids. Thanks to my mom and Tricia the kids also improved on their swimming skills.

One night the kids had a sleepover with each other and it started with silly string and spray chalk in the backyard. You would have thought we gave the kids a million bucks. They had so much fun and many statements like, "This is the best day ever!" were heard.

My sister, being the creative one she is, made tie-dyed shirts for everyone in the family during the sleepover. I often think of homemade shirts not looking that great but these turned out really well. I love everyone's. Shelby made hers, Haven's, and Grandma's alike so they could all match.

The month passed very quickly and the end came so fast. Time sure does fly when you are having fun. Memories will have to hold us until next time...2018.

Just some random pictures

I can't deny that one of my favorite places to go while in the States is Starbucks. Haven enjoyed one of our visits by putting goldfish in her water. She's a cutie even if she is crazy.

We got to stop by Yum Yum's in Greensboro which has the best ice cream in the world. I love getting to share a childhood memory with my kids.

Getting a haircut with a two year old. In case you are wondering, I don't recommend it. :)

Shaving cream is always fun

Rock climbing at the rock club. The boys have improved so much in the last two years.

I loved laying in the grass with this girl.

We worked to clean out the garage one morning. Haven enjoyed finding things to put on.

Look how strong he is!

Reconnecting with friends

It is sweet to be able to reconnect with friends when we are home. I am encouraged that even though two years have passed, when you are with good friends you can pick up where you left off. The longer we are out of the US I realize just how special these friends are.  (Pictures shown are only the ones I could easily access and do not include all the people who should be in this post).

We have loved our days with the Kirk family. They live about 45 minutes away which justifies a whole day get together. Or at least that it is the excuse we use. :)  At the end of their kids' school year, they had a strawberry festival which we got to enjoy. Unfortunately, it was a rainy day so picking strawberries was going to be hard. We went to a farm with ice cream and enjoyed that instead. :)

We then decided that we should at least pick one strawberry even if it was raining. So we all rain out for a little bit to collect some strawberries.

The funny thing was that we returned to their house and within an hour or so of this experience, the sun was shining and it was beautiful. I guess we should have waited but it was fun nonetheless.

 We got to see our friends, the Frances on our way back from Florida. They were friends from college for Brett and it is always a delight to see them.

We also visited other friends from UNC down in Wilmington.

I also got to reconnect with my college suite mates one afternoon that turned into a very late evening. We had so much fun. It had been 14 years since we were all together. We started with a three minute "where you have been the last 14 years" summary from each person. I think the first who went talked 15 minutes and then they just kept getting longer from there. :) It was so absolutely wonderful to be with everyone. We were struck at how though our lives have been very different, we have all had our struggles and learned great lessons and seen the faithfulness of God in deep ways. We have decided that we cannot wait 14 more years to get together again. And next time, we are doing a weekend trip, not just an afternoon.

I also got to see my two best friends from high school. I have seen both of them on my own throughout the years but the three of us haven't been together since the day we sat on my couch as we said goodbye before we all headed to college. I was the dramatic one who said we'd never see each other again. :) Allison said we for sure would and would keep up and Alisa said she didn't know. I am glad I was so very wrong. :) These ladies are dearer to me now than they were in high school. I giggled so many times in the night of our conversations and how life has changed from our high school days. Before we left the restaurant, we used the restroom and three younger girls were in there as well. It was like we were looking at our former selves. Hopefully our next reunion was be as long of a wait as this one.