Awana, Mini Chefs Class & Library!

Now being 3 years old, Emery has had a blast being enrolled in some big girl activities!  Since we still aren't sending her to a mommies morning out this year (I love our time together and I know she'll be off to kindergarten soon enough!), I wanted to make sure we signed her up for some fun activities where she could learn from others and be around kiddos her age.  First up, AWANA!

It's totally random but my sister was hired to train the AWANA workers at a nearby church here in Huntersville (so I knew it was a good program!).  I'm so glad Tara encouraged me to call and register Em this year (I tried last year but it was super disorganized and didn't happen) as she LOVES IT.  She has weekly memorization verses, some homework and lessons and she just eats all of it up.  She's learning so much about the bible and she gets so excited when she earns a badge for her vest.  She loves her teachers and even tells us about a couple friends that she sits by every week.  It's Wednesday nights from 6:30-8:00, which is a good chunk of time to be away from Mommy and having fun!

Next, I signed her up for some Mini Chef Classes through our local Parks & Rec that happens once a month.  She loves helping me cook in the kitchen and it's a fun class where they get to be creative and then eat everything they make.  The teacher is really engaging and Em always has a great time.  (Plus you can't beat a $2 class!)

And lastly, we've moved up to the Preschool Library time.  She was literally the only child listening and sitting still in the Toddler Storytime so I knew it was time to bump her up.  It's kiddos only and the parents just sit outside for 30 minutes... I'm not complaining!  They read books and always do a fun craft.  I'm so proud of her for going into all these things on her own and not being afraid at all! Big girl!

Emery's 1st Dentist appointment!

Em had a wonderful 1st trip to the dentist... maybe because she's not afraid of him at all because he's the daddy of her best friend :) Matt let her go through the treasure box BEFORE her appointment so she was feeling pretty special by the time her checkup came.  Such a big girl-- listened really well and loved helping the hygienist with all the tools :)

No cavity club!

While we were in Shelby we took advantage of seeing Lauren, Merrin & Woods for a quick playdate at their local park.  Fun times!

Boone with the Cousins!

We spent a couple days up in Boone with the Dews, my parents and Gigi and had a great time.  Gorgeous weather and happy kiddos as always!

Emery showed her cousins how to float in the freezing cold river... one of her favorite things to do up there now!

Tara was the only brave adult to try it :)

The joy on Em's face is priceless!

Park time!

Campfire with smores!

This was the time when the "ALS Ice Bucket challenge" was circulating all over social media.  The kiddos got challenged by their cousin, Addyson, and I have to share this short clip of the video when Emery announces her name as "Emery Dew" haha.  She totally would love to be in their fam for sure!

After everyone left, Kyle drove up for the weekend and we had a blast spending time up there just our family trying out a couple new hikes.  We explored Blowing Rock and tried a new hike right off main street that led to a waterfall.  It was difficult with two kiddos and no backpack for Em but we did it!

Love summers in Boone!

August Birthdays!

We had some fun birthday parties in August with some cute pictures to share.  Emery's good friend, Hailey, turned 3 and had a FAIRY party.  Emery was needless to say in heaven and Jennifer planned such fun activities for all the kids to do... complete with fairy wings :)

Bean bag toss:

Decorating fairy houses:

Decorating fairy cupcakes:

Em with Hailey (on the left) and another friend:

Her cousin, Gunney, also turned 4 that same weekend, so Emery and Kyle headed to Raleigh for the day to celebrate with everyone.  His party was baseball themed, of course, and they had such a great time with family.  

Cousin love:

Fun fun!

G Beach Vacation 2014!

On Saturday, August 9th we headed to Carolina Beach for a 6 day beach vacation with just our family!  I am so grateful we made this trip a priority this year as it was so relaxing and we made such wonderful memories with our fam.  We stayed in a friends beach condo that overlooks the yacht basin and was two blocks from the beach!  We were a little unsure how the weather would be (upon arriving it said rain in the forecast all week) but we had blue skies and gorgeous weather everyday.  Just perfect!

This was our view from the condo!  We headed to the beach everyday around 10:30 staying until 2:30 then heading home for the kids to take naps.  Then every afternoon one of us would take Em down to the pool while Will continued to sleep and the other made dinner.  It worked out perfectly-- having a pool was clutch!  We only went out to dinner in Carolina Beach once, and the rest of the time enjoyed dinner at the condo out on the back deck overlooking the yacht basin.  So relaxing!  

First day arrived in late afternoon, went for a short walk on the beach, unpacked and went grocery shopping for the week!

This is how we rolled to the beach everyday:

Kyle was a trooper setting up all our gear every time we went to the beach.  I would definitely recommend having a beach shade, it's a must with a baby who is too young to wear sunscreen!  

Will took great morning naps underneath our beach shade while we played with Emery.  

Family time on the beach!

We were all soaking in this quality time with Kyle, as he was truly able to relax on this vacation and not have to be working!  Em had the best time skateboarding, swimming in the pool and boogie boarding with Daddy!

Love this video!

It was so nice to see Kyle be in relaxation mode--- as if you know him well he is constantly working on something and doesn't take much time to sit :)

Back porch time!

Em and Kyle picked up the famous Britt's donuts for us one morning... oh man they are the most amazing donuts on the planet!

A beautiful sunset on our last night!  I love that we didn't eat one meal inside.... every meal was on their back porch with this view! 

After cleaning the condo and packing up our stuff Thursday morning, we decided to take the ferry over to Southport before heading home!  We were the last car allowed on the ferry, which was total luck or else we would have had to wait over an hour for the next ride.  We love Southport!

We went to the same restaurant we did last year, Yacht Basin Provision company, and then treated ourselves to ice-cream afterwards!

I love comparison shots.... here is a picture from last year:

And one fro this year-- our little girl is growing up!

So thankful for our family and the quality time we had together at the beach this summer!  Already looking forward to next year :)