August 06, 2010

Back to the Beach















We headed back to the beach for a little R&R! I spent the first hour child-proofing and since it was our second visit, I already knew what needed to be gathered and hauled off to the closet. What I didn't expect was Isla to land eye first into the nightstand... My tough little girl didn't shed a tear over the incident so I was SHOCKED when, within seconds her little eye turned black and blue. If this it what it is like to be a second child, I can't even imagine what our third will look like! Aside from a few second glances from strangers and the occasional, "Oh no! What happened sweetheart?" the eye didn't slow us down a bit. We spent most of our time down at the beach, or daydreaming about owning our own beach house someday while poking around the island. We walked around the picturesque coastal towns of Beaufort and Moorehead City and visited the NC Maritime Museum. This area is called the "Graveyard of the Atlantic," and is said to have more than 1000 shipwrecks along it's coastline-and to Jack's delight-many pirate ships. We took a tour of Fort Macon (a definite milestone of getting older-visiting a historic site of your own free will)and spent an evening at the Aquarium for Shark Night. We miniature golfed, played at local parks and ate yummy seafood. On our way home, we stopped for a few hours in New Bern-another charming coastal town. We had lunch at a great Amish restaurant, drank Pepsi at the pharmacy it was created in and watched boats return to the harbor.

July 11, 2010

Memories by TLC







To view our slideshow visit Memories by TLC, go to proofing and enter Stephens.

July 06, 2010








Costal Living had an article on the best places to watch fire works and as luck would have it-Wilmington made the list! We LOVE Wilmington and are always looking for reasons to visit-so this worked out PERFECT. Fireworks and pizza at the Cape Fear River on Sunday and sunshine and hot dogs at Wrightsville beach on Monday. The trip was short but oh-so-sweet.

June 20, 2010

Father's Day




The kids' father's day project, (Jack even helped with cutting out the fish he painted)! We wish all the great dad's in our life a wonderful day. We love you!

June 09, 2010

Of course!




I finally booked a photographer for pictures of the kids-scheduled for this Friday.

May 02, 2010















Just a few of my favorites from the trip!

May 01, 2010

Coastal Living








We LOVED the beach house at Emerald Isle! Jack calls it "our other house," and he "likes it the best." It has an outdoor shower that Jack still talks about on a daily. It was pretty awesome! Adam has another break in July and we are planning on going back for a week. The drive to the island wasn't bad-three hours door to door. Crossing the bridge that takes you to the island-I felt my body immediately relax. With the Sound to the west and the Atlantic to the east, just driving down the narrow island road was an experience of it's own. The beach was a three minute walk to the ocean-perfect for a vacation with kids. I think I would have worried a bit if we were right on the beach-Jack can be a bit on an escape artist... I am already counting down the days to return.

April 05, 2010

Easter







Easter. Already. Didn't we JUST celebrate Christmas? Now on to those taxes...

Welcome Spring






Nothing can lift my spirits quicker than the change from winter to spring. I just love everything (except the bugs) that comes with warmer weather-the flowers (Adam would beg to differ), visits to the park, ice cream, dining outside and the array of events that begin once the season turns-like farmer's markets, street music the Durham Bulls baseball games and BBQ-ing with friends. We were so excited by the arrival of spring, in fact, that we crammed everything I've listed above into this last weekend (not to mention one major holiday to celebrate). It's Monday and I am EXHAUSTED-Lord help me...

March 28, 2010

A year at a glance-part2


1 Minute Old



1 Month



2 Months



3 Months



4 Months



5 Months



6 Months



7 Months



8 Months



9 Months



10 Months




11 Months



Diva 1 Year Old!


A year ALREADY?! We did this with Jack so we decided to keep with the tradition. I love having record of how much the kids change during the first year (even though it makes me a bit sad by how fast they grow up). What I love the most is seeing how much Isla looked like her big brother in the early months-can I help it that I just think they are the cutest kids ever?!