Free Spirits!

Our dear friends (Jared and Ashley) are traveling around America for three months; living out of their car, hiking, visiting friends, and being free spirits. We were lucky to have them stop by for two nights and entertain us! We went to the park, the new Science Museum, and chatted about life. 

   

Ashley, Addy, and Jared in front of the Science Museum.

It had been three years since we had seen our good friends, SO glad they stopped by!

Busy Girl!

Adelynn has been busy with art class, crafts, bugs, and has an obsession with finding Big Foot. This girl keeps me SO busy. She is always coming up with something new to learn about or something to create! Please forgive me today, I realize I am blogging about my children. But, lately they have been consuming ALL my time and energy.

 

 This was Addy's playhouse she made and put a lamp in it. 

 She is ALWAYS catching bugs. She has caught countless bugs and butterflies this year.

 She even talked Corey into making a pipe-cleaner bug for her. 

 Last Saturday the Young Women (from our church) had a yard sale and bake sale. 

Addy thought it was the perfect opportunity to have a lemonade stand. 

She made her own signs, and helped them raise $$ for girl's camp.(Too bad it was a cold day, which rarely happens here, and nobody wanted lemonade).

 We came home with a bunch of  "stuff " from the yard sale, 

but this doll house has been her favorite toy for a week now!

 Addy's art class projects

A few nights ago I found her on the kitchen table painting a box for her puppy she is getting when she's 10.

Big Boy!

Jack turned 18 months on May 30th! It is weird for me to think that my baby is growing up, because he is still pretty attached to his Mommy. I thought I would include a few pictures of him from the past month and let you know what this goofy boy has been up to. He doesn't talk much yet. His first word was DUCK, about two months ago when we were at Shelly Lake feeding the ducks. I was SO excited. He loves to say Momma, Daa, and words like truck, rock, cup, etc. He is my cuddle bug! If Adelynn even tries to sit on my lap he is immediately pinching her and yelling. I love having my boy, who wants to cuddle! However, I was disappointed on Sunday when I took Jack to nursery for the first time (at church) and he screamed when I left. He wont go to nursery unless I am there with him. I never had this problem with Addy, because she was always pushing me away and wanted to be independent. So, this is all new for me, and I am beginning to think Jack is spoiled by having his Mom around all the time. But, I'm just enjoying this adorable boy, because some day he will be grown and it wont be cool to sit on Mom's lap. :)

 

 He wouldn't quit playing in the toilet, so I decided it was time to teach him HOW to use it. So far he has been VERY successful, and he enjoys the reading time he gets on the potty.

 Hanging out in his new pj's.

 His shirt explains it all: WATCH OUT, I get into EVERYTHING!

He loves to make messes and then watch Mom clean them up!

Beach House!

What's better than a beach house??? A FREE beach house! Corey's study buddy just happens to have the sweetest parents EVER, and they let us stay at their beach house for two nights. It was great to see the beach in May, because the waves seemed bigger and there were tons of great shells. Also, hardly anybody on the beach! Below are a few pictures from our mini-vacation.

A pillow we found on one of the beds.

 Hanging out on the deck.

The view

 LOVE this picture, and his crazy hair.

This is as close to the water as Addy will get. 

Ever since she was 18 months and first saw the ocean, 

she has never wanted to get in the water. She loves to swim, 

but I think she's heard too many shark stories. 

 Found a jelly fish, but it was dead. Corey and I both touched it though. 

 My cute man, not sure why he's running, but cute anyway. :)

THE AQUARIUM:  

Since we were at the Pine Knolls Beach, we were about a mile from one of the NC Aquariums. We had to take advantage of this opportunity:

 Penguins

 Jelly Fish

A scary fake alligator

A big thank you to the Barry family for letting us stay in their lovely home.

Great Friends

The day after we moved to North Carolina I was trying to find our friend's apartment, she was the only person we "knew" in North Carolina. I began walking all over our apartment complex (it's huge) with my two children in 90 degree weather and I had NO LUCK finding the right apartment. But, then I thought I found it, I knocked on the door, and a guy came to the door in a BYU t-shirt. I was shocked, I just said, "You must be Mormon, do you know where The Swift's live?" Needless to say, he was Mormon, he did know where the Swift's lived, and he had a WONDERFUL wife and two adorable children. That day I accidentally knocked on the Roisum's door, they have become great friends. But, nine months later they have decided to leave and go back to Idaho for the summer. So, that called for a going away get together! We had a LOT of fun and the kids did too. Living this far from my own family has helped me realize the importance of GOOD friends, and we have found some great friends here in North Carolina!

 

  

I love having lots of kids around playing, it reminds me of my childhood!

The ice cream and cake were a hit!

 Salem and Craig Roisum, Sheri and Jeff Swift

I enjoy having people over to our little apartment,  but

I can't wait until I actually have a house that can hold a bigger group! 

Young Women Campout

I had a great time with all the Young Women at a camp-out near Falls Lake! Can you find me in this picture? Every time I hang out with these girls I feel like I am a teenager again, in fact I often forget I'm a Mom of two who's almost thirty. I truly love my young women, and I could write several pages on their AMAZING examples of courage and strength!

P.S. A huge thank you to Corey! He takes great care of the kids so I can "party" with the Young Women.

My Childhood Dream...

We had the time of our lives at the Cole Brother's Circus a few weeks ago. Going to a circus has always been on my bucket list, and who can resist when the kids get in free?!? By the way, that's the catch. Once we got in there every toy, drink, or food item was about $10. Good thing we brought in our own stash of snacks! 

Jack loved everything and Addy still talks about the COOL magic tricks. 

Tigers 

Elephants

These girls were hanging by their hair!!!

 They did SO many tricks with their bodies hanging by their hair.

$8 later Addy got to ride an elephant! 

The ending was the best when they shot a guy out of a canon. 

Yeah for the circus (minus the weirdos, the stinky-nasty bathrooms, and the creepy clowns,)! Oh, and the animal cruelty. (Yikes!)