Last Trip as a Family of Three

A few weeks ago, we went on our last mini vacation as a family of three.  (No more travel for me until after Baby Girl arrives.)  We wanted some special time with Sims before the craziness of having a newborn is added to the family.  We let Sims choose where he wanted to go, and he chose Great Wolf Lodge.  He had been talking about our last visit there, which was a year and a half ago, a lot recently, so we weren't surprised when he said he wanted to go there. 

This time we only stayed one night, but we got there early to take full advantage of the 2 days of the water park.  We had a lot of fun going from one pool to the other, and Sims didn't mind being sprayed with water as much as he was last time.  Before we left, he even got brave enough to go down one of the slides from the treehouse area, which was the largest size slide he could go on due to his height.  I don't think he loved the slide that much, but he is already talking about going down it again on our next visit!  We were very proud of his courage to go down it!

Sims loved the room about as much as the water park.  He was so excited to be able to sleep in a bunk bed in a "tent".  He is still talking about the trip and planning what he is going to do on our next visit.  He loves this place!  It was wonderful having some special family time, and I'm happy that Sims got to go somewhere he was so excited about visiting!  That was the purpose, after all.

Sims' 4th Birthday

I know that I'm 2 months past due with these pictures, but better late than never.  Sims' actual birthday was pretty low-key, since it was in the middle of the week.  He got to choose what we had for dinner (pizza), then we took his new bike out for a ride. 

He was so excited to get his first bike.  He had been talking about wanting one for quite a while, so we figured his birthday was the perfect time to finally get it!  He loves his pirate bike that he picked out.

A few days later, we had a space themed science party for him at the neatest place, Science Fun For Everyone.  All the kids and adults seemed to like it.  I think Jason even wants to have his birthday party there.

The kids played with hydrophobic sand, made "alien sneeze" (slime), and launched rockets into the air.  All of the kids wore lab coats, which made it even better!

Sims helping with the Mentos in Coke experiment

His wonderful reaction to the result

Sims came home with a goody bag full of great stuff, including a lab coat, goggles and a tornado tube.  He plays with the tornado tube a lot!  He loves that he can make a tornado.  I think his party was a success!

Fishing for the First Time

Sims has been talking about going fishing for a while now.  He even told his teachers at school that his daddy took him fishing at a lake, and he had this long detailed story about it, which had no truth to it.  That was when I realized that this kid needed a fishing rod!  We got him one before the Ocracoke trip, so he got to fish for the first time in Silver Lake on Ocracoke.  He was so excited!

Jason bought some squid for bait, and the boys had a lot of fun sitting at the dock and waiting and waiting and waiting for a bite.

I was amazed with Sims' patience.  He seemed so happy just to have a fishing rod in his hand.  Finally, his patience was rewarded!

He caught a pinfish!  Now he has a true story to tell.  Wait!  Does anyone tell true stories when it comes to fishing?

Independence Day

We were lucky to spend the week of Independence Day in one of our favorite locations...

This year we had my family along for the Ocracoke trip, since we won't all be able to make a beach trip in late September this year due to Baby Girl's arrival.  We were so excited to show off our favorite island to all of them!  I didn't take many pictures during the week.  It rained a lot for the first few days, but we got a chance to go to the beach every day.  I did take photos on July 4th though.  Many, many photos...

We started off the day by going to the beach, but we made sure that we were back in time for the parade.  This is my all-time favorite parade because there is nothing commercial about it.  You won't see any typical parade floats.  Locals and visitors just decorate their trucks and golf carts and throw candy to the kids.  Small time fun at its best!

If the Founding Fathers Were Surfers

Blackbeard is a requirement in Ocracoke.

After dinner, we headed to the square dance.  Sims loved dancing on the sidelines,

but Isla wanted to be a part of the circle dance.  You can tell she loved every minute of it!

It was a great day and week!  I'm so happy that my family could join us this year!

Happy Birthday, Sims!

It's hard to believe, but Sims is 4 years old today. 

In his element on the miniature golf course in Calabash this weekend

He was woken up this morning by Jason and I singing "Happy Birthday" (very badly) to him.  He was all smiles.  Tonight, he gets to choose dinner (pizza, I think), then we're headed to the greenway to try out his new bike.  He is so excited! 

How did he get to be this big?!  Four years old sounds so old! 

Happy birthday, Sims!

Big News

We've got some news, and Sims would like to share it with you.

He is going to be a big brother!  The due date is October 4. 

From the moment we told Sims the news, he said that he wanted a sister.  And we found out last week that he is getting what he wants.  It's a girl!  We are super excited for all of the big changes ahead!

Easter

Okay, I know that I am a month behind on posting this, but better late than never.  I've got a lot of catch up to do on the blog, and the best place to start is Easter.

We stayed at home Easter weekend and dyed eggs on Saturday.  Actually, Jason and I did most of the egg dying.  Sims ended up not feeling so great after we got everything set up, so he only dyed one or two of them. 

We woke up early on Easter to find that the Easter Bunny had visited.

Even though Sims looks mad or scary in this picture (this is what happens when I tell him to smile at the camera), he was actually very happy to finally get real golf clubs and golf gloves. He had been asking for real clubs for months!  He got one right-handed club and glove and one left-handed club and glove.  He seems to hit both ways, and the Easter Bunny didn't know which one to get.  (We have now determined that he is a lefty, when it comes to golf.) 

Sims wore his very first suit to church, and he loved being dressed like his daddy.  After church, we went to Mom and Smith's house for a big dinner. 

Then we spent the rest of the afternoon playing games and watching Sims play golf for hours.  It took him a while to get used to how heavy the real clubs are, but even a blister didn't stop him.  We have never seen him spend this much time doing anything! 

 

It was a wonderful, relaxing Easter day!