Kannapolis SPLASH pad

This summer we finally ventured over to the much talked about Kannapolis splash pad...and boy was it worth it! The kids had a blast!! It was quite possibly one of the hottest days this summer (which says a lot, considering it was 100 degrees almost 90% of the summer!). The splash pad itself was really fun and Reilly just ran around like a crazy woman with her friends Jack & Jack Green. Braxton thought it was pretty cool too but he was definitely more interested in the snacks we brought :) After we had a picnic lunch, we lugged all the kids over for a train ride....that lasted no more than 3 minutes :) But, they had so much fun and that's all the matters! We'll definitely go back for more splash fun next summer.







Reilly's newest friend: Jack Green
and our good buddy Jack (Wilder)

Babysitting Codee (Reilly's best friend!)

Mom and Dad had a vacation in Asheville at the end of July and Reilly gladly accepted the responsibility of babysitting Codee while they were gone! She seriously thinks he is her best friend! It is so funny to watch her treat him like a child, too. She could not wait to take him to the Petstore to get a cookie from the "treat bar" that they have....how cool....taking a dog to the store! She loved it!! We decided to take him to the park and let him get some exercise too. We've never taken Reilly and Braxton to play discgolf, so we thought it would be fun! After we played 9 holes, we checked out the Nature Museum at Reedy Creek Park for a while. The kids had a blast!! And Codee was exhausted :)

Happy Birthday Shawn!

I had quite a high standard set for birthdays after last year's big 3-0 celebration! So, this birthday was pretty boring in comparison, for sure :) But, never the less, we had fun celebrating "Daddy" all day! We started with the tradition pancake breakfast followed by a trip downtown to ride the train and have lunch at PIKE'S with the Dreschers. He also got to celebrate his birthday with both his mom and his dad, which hasn't happened in a lotta years!! :) Shawn, Reilly and Braxton had pizza and cake with Nana, Aunt Kelly, and Shaun Friday night and then we had dinner with Grandpa and Nanny on Saturday night for more birthday celebrations.

Beach trip: July 4th!

We are so blessed to have the awesome luxury of a free place to stay and an incredible hostess anytime we want to go to the beach. My grandmother is so gracious to open her home to all that want to visit! We couldn't wait for the first beach trip of the season and for Braxton's real first time to play on the beach. We got to spend 4 days down at Ocean Isle and somehow I found myself doing 4 photo shoots while we were there!! It was great, really, b/c I had 2 current clients that planned trips while we were there so I could do their family pictures on the beach, and I also got to do sessions for my extended family (the Prudens) and some friends of ours as well. We had so much doing so many "beach" things...

Last year Braxton was really too young to get down and dirty on the beach...well, this year, he definitely made up for it! He was covered from head to toe in sand every day! He did great out there for about 45 minutes and then got kinda bored :)

Reilly's new favorite thing was "riding" the boogie boards. She really only put it in about 2" of water, but thought it was awesome when the waves came and moved her ever so slightly :)








We were so excited Shaun-y could come with us! He had a BLAST! He would have stayed out on the beach all day long if someone could stay with him! He loved it.
We introduced Reilly to putt-putt for the first time! She had so much fun. Of course, the "teaching" portion only last about 45 seconds before she promptly began saying, "I got it Daddy! I don't need help, I can do it!" with her most independent attitude :)



She let Poppi give her a few pointers about half way through though...



And of course Daddy had to spoil his girl (and Shaun) with some sparklers. Boy they thought that was super cool.

One of the best things about OIB during July 4th is the parade!! People all over the island go all out decorating their golf carts and drive down the main roads. There literally were hundreds of carts, tons of bikes and strollers, and even some cars and boats all decked out for July 4th. The kids loved this!




last day on the beach....



Reilly is obsessed with "dance parties", so of course she had to have one with Memama, DeeDee, and little Shaun. Braxton just sat and watched and laughed. What silly girls, huh B?!


We got a whole bucket of crabs from the neighbors, so DeeDee thought it was perfect for a "science/beach" lesson on cooking the crabs for Reilly and Shaun.


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