To the Mountains We Go!

We had our annual trip to the mountains this last week.  We have grown by 2 kids and had that much more fun this year.  Our kids did a great job of playing well together most of the time, went on lots of explorations, drew with chalk all up and down the mountain and just brought us much joy!  We went back to sliding rock, on our boat ride and to the park.  It was certainly a whirlwind of a week, but I can't wait for our trip next year!  What dear friends we have!

Parks making a camp fire for the kids.  They begged him to make one and then freaked out when he got close to the flames to blow on them to make them bigger.  They were so afraid he was going to get in the fire!

I wonder if I will ever get a picture of these two smiling together!  I tried all weekend.  I hate that it is blurry, but it is so true to who they are: Charlotte with a little sass and Samuel screaming as loud as he can!

This picture makes me laugh and just reminds me of the fun and joy these kids had and bring us!

At the playground

mini photo shoot with the munchkin!  He had a great time playing in the grass

Our newest additions.  Matthew was just 7 weeks old last year!

playing in the drain.  Somehow Ben and Samuel can seek out any drain and lots of rocks wherever we go!

my failed attempt at getting all the kids together.  Samuel was looking at the creek, June didn't want to sit, Matthew was hungry, Charlotte didn't want to take the picture, Jacob picking his nose, and Lily Kate posed and ready to go!  Whoever said it was easy to get 10 kids to sit down at the same time was CRAZY!

The water was SOOOOOO cold, but it didn't stop Samuel.  He had a great time!

Charlie and the other babies cheered on our daddies and siblings as they slid down the rock!

Playing and splashing in the water

LK and Jacob didn't want to slide down the water part, so they opted to slide down the dry part of the rock!

My little daredevil!

taking a little nap

the crazy daddies!

Samuel had sand on his hands and didn't want to wash them off.  So he hate his sandwich by bending over and taking huge bites out of the bread.  Crazy kid!

Crazy boat hair!

Samuel loves to drive!

The beautiful waterfall at the bottom of our mountain!

minivan central.  We all have Odysseys and love them!  3 of us got our vans within the last 6 months!  Truly family people!

Some Fun Days with BeBe

Ryan had an operator retreat so I decided to drive across NC by myself with the boys to see BeBe in the mountains.  We had a GREAT time playing "chalks", bowling, finding bugs, climbing rocks, and all those fun things little boys do!  The kids did GREAT on the trip and we just enjoyed the peace and quiet (at least as much as you can get with a toddler and 6mo old with you!) for a few days!

The peonies in my grandmother's garden were blooming and they were GORGEOUS!!!

BeBe found a snail on this piece of wood.  Samuel touched it a couple times and then picked up and threw it in the woods!  Totally 100% boy!

Samuel told me "I climb all by myself", which made me a little nervous, but he did it all on his own!

And promptly found a stick to play with!

Porch time with BeBe.  She always makes it special!  Here she taught Samuel how to eat those flower shaped butter cookies we all eat as kids.  He LOVED that it fit on his little finger, though it didn't last too long!

Charlie playing with his new ball machine.  He was fascinated watching the balls jumping up and out of the alligator!

Our Kids Have Grown

This is a picture of our kids (Thomas girls, Carpenter girls, Phelps boys and Samuel) from our montains trip last year.

This was our attempt this year at the group shot.  Though I think LK is the only one wanting this picture, all the kids are here!  Man, they have grown!

Our newest additions!  Charlie, Hadley and Matthew

Pirate Ship

One of the ships from Pirates of the Caribbean is at port in the Cape Fear River this weekend.  If you know Samuel at all you know he is a pirate at heart.  We try to encourage him to be a good pirate that likes to share instead of pillage and plunder...he mostly wants people to walk the plank and squint while saying "arrrrgh".  I knew he would just love seeing the ship so we headed downtown today.

 The moment the ship was in view he ran as fast as he could yelling, "Mommy! Mommy!  Look look, a pirate ship, arrrrrgh"  He had so much fun walking around, looking for pirates, telling passers by to walk the plank.  He's so cute!

Charlie had a great time too and was very happy.  

Monkey see...

 ...Monkey do!

I told Samuel to look and smile for me, so he decided to scream at the top of his lungs.

And then smile.  What a funny kid!

The Penguins Have Arrived

The aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores has a new penguin exhibit so we went for a road trip on Monday.  It was a long trip but we had our buddies in the car with us, so it made for a lot of fun!  The kids enjoyed going to a new aquarium and it was fun to see some new animals!

This was really cool.  The lighter space on the floor was interactive.  It acted like the continuation of the stream and when you walked on it the "water" rippled just like it would if you were walking in it.  The kids had a great time making the water move and jumping from the rocks.

Yes, that dare devil kid behind the viewing goggles is Samuel.  They all got as high as they could and stayed like this for about 15 minutes.  May have been the favorite part of the whole aquarium...watching the crabs and fish in the marsh eat on the cheese stick Samuel kindly put in the water, always thinking of others!

Green Beans & Raspberries

First Harvest of the Year

Can you guess what we're having for dinner tonight?  They taste so delicious!!!