Friday morning, we headed out at 6 am (a new record for us!) and headed to Huntersville, NC to see my family for the weekend. The kids were excited and hopped right in the car, but 30 minutes later, they were snoozing. Greg and I were in amazement....Nate NEVER sleeps in the car! Guess he's taking this summer thing seriously :)
The reason we left so early was to avoid Memorial Day weekend traffic. However, we got super lucky and didn't have *any* traffic at all! 8 hours later, we pulled into Becky's driveway and it was quite the cousin reunion :)
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| Playtime inside |
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| Playtime outside |
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| Poppy & his boys |
Bec & Mike cooked a delicious dinner, and we ate outside on the back patio since it was such a pretty night.
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| Nate started that book in the morning and almost finished the *entire* thing by bedtime! #bookworm |
The last time we visited the Statons, the weather wasn't cooperating, so we didn't get to enjoy their new fire pit. Thank goodness we got to this time! We had s'mores (some with Reese's Cups) and they were oh so good....
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| Nate was voted the best marshmallow roaster; Abby the messiest eater :) |
Saturday morning, Poppy took Abby & Anderson to their first garage sale! (Big moment for Poppy.) Both kids were sent with $2 each, but somehow came home with all of this junk amazing stuff. Thanks Poppy! Abby even picked out a book for Nate with Poppy's money :)
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| Abby's favorite purchase was the green & pink striped purse! |
That morning, we headed out to Patterson Farms for some strawberry picking!! We went last year for the first time and had so much fun, because there is a ton of activities to do once you finish picking strawberries.
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| Nate & Anderson paired off to make the "boy team" and were determined to find the best strawberries. I told them I would be the judge at the end. Anderson didn't pick any strawberries, but was happy to carry their team basket and follow Nate around! |
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| Other pickers, hard at work |
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| Most of the gang |
Next up, it was time for the cow train! This was a favorite activity last year, and proved to be once again. Man, is it a bumpy ride though!!! #sportsbrarequired
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| Petting zoo & duck races |
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| Slide & playground fun |
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| We all scream for ice cream!! |
After lunch and naptime, we headed to one of the neighborhood pools. Nate was excited to go down the slide for the first time! (Technically, you have to be 10 years old but we rounded up since his birthday is in 3 months. He was *very* nervous that we were bending the truth. Ha! But those nerves quickly turned to excitement after his first trip down the slide.)
We had a lazy night and just ordered pizza at the house. Such a fun and busy day!
Sunday, the guest of honor arrived around 10 am.....OTIS! Surprisingly, Gibson was obsessed with him from the get go. He wanted to constantly hold his hand or have him in his lap. So sweet! (And that bodes well for September, when Gibson will be getting a baby brother/sister!)
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| Love this little guy. |
Abby & Anderson were VERY busy Sunday morning and created a "show" for everyone. They took us to the playroom one at a time, and led us through 3 stations after we read the rules! :) The silly dance station (where Anderson performed), the craft station (where Abby helped everyone create a paper lantern) and the planetarium station (where they used a piece of junk treasure from the previous day's yard sale to do a star and planet presentation in the closet). It was awesome and everyone was good sports for attending :) Uncle John even commented that the lantern was his first craft ever!
We headed to the pool in different shifts, as Otis and Gibson had overlapping naps. The water was cooooold (or so they said; I didn't get in)! Otis is such a chill baby and hardly cried at all in the cold water.
Sunday night, it was time for Gibson's birthday party!!! Luckily, the rain stayed away and we got to enjoy Bec & Mike's awesome backyard. Lots of kids, adult beverages, and burgers/dogs!
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| Sisters :) |
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| Nate played football most of the party - with Poppy, and then with Jesse (one of Mike's nephews) |
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| Bec & Kelly were roommates college, and are now having babies together. Like literally, their due date is the same day!! |
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Otis eyeing the beer
Mike and his awesome new outdoor kitchen (!)
Bec with Nanny & her mother-in-law, Robyn
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| Part of Otis' fan club :) |
Gibson is such a fun 2 year old.....which is not a phrase you hear often! He is so lovable, goofy, and smart. All he asked for his birthday was CAKE! So Bec went all out and got a really special one. He was thrilled!!
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| Cutest thing ever: after we all sang "Happy Birthday," he continued to sing it to himself. Over and over :) |
Monday morning, we were able to snag a picture with ALL of the cousins for the first time!!! Aren't they the cutest?!
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| Monday was Gibson's actual birthday, so yes, we sang "Happy Birthday" to him once again. He loved it. |
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| Then, we had to head home. Again, we got lucky and barely had any traffic. The kids were great and I think a Happy Meal toy (Bongo the Monkey) helped, plus a Rolo McFlurry! |
It was so fun to see all the cousins together, and I'm excited to do it again soon. In fact, in just 5 short weeks, we will be seeing the whole gang again at the beach. Can't wait!!! A big thank you to Bec & Mike for hosting such a great Memorial Day weekend :)
