Blair and I parted ways about 2 hours into this trip because, really, it's a workweek for him. So I have the 3 girls and the 2 dogs. My father met us at my brother's so he could take the dogs for me. He wanted the dogs bathed before he took them to his house. I offered to pay my nephews a few bucks to bathe them and they jumped on the opportunity for easy money! I couldn't keep my dogs at my brother because there isn't anywhere to keep them and my brother and Max don't get along....long story but really it just comes down to the fact that my brother has trouble following instructions...that whole problem with authority thing. So, imagine my surprise at this little scene.
That's right, that's my brother brushing Max after bathing him! Evidently the boys weren't doing it right, so Randy had to step in. I'm so glad I had my camera with me! Doesn't Max look like he's having a great time? LOL
The dogs enjoyed the freedom of the backyard while they could. They're not going anywhere. They both want to be wherever I am. The girls enjoyed playing with their cousins, Aunt, Uncle and Grandaddy.
(My Dad's shirt cracks me up. On the front it says 'We're all here because... ' and on the back it says 'we're not all there.' Oh my God, boat people crack me up!)
At some point, we realized that both of my Dad's children (that would be me and my brother) and all of his grandchildren were in the same place, so we decided to take advantage of the photo op. Now, none of us are great at following directions and my girls aren't exactly the easiest to get a group picture of, but thank God for digital. The series of shots cracks me up. We are obviously having fun trying to get the shot, dogs are wandering in and out of the picture, everyone is talking and my dear sister-in-law graciously agreed to be the photographer. Nice shot Carlyn! (click on the picture to make it bigger)
After dinner, Daddy headed back to his house with my dogs and we settled in for a little wine and conversation. Randy engaged the girls with a game of, oh, I don't know, let's call it "People in the Mirror". The object of the game is to see if 'those' people are still in the mirror. You do this by crouching down on the couch and then popping up to look. It was great entertainment for everyone involved!
(They're still there!)
So, this was Tuesday the 15th, and Rena tells me her tooth is loose. What! She's only 4! Are you kidding me? Nope, it's loose. Really loose. I check her other teeth to make sure they are all in place. Fine. She ends up loosing it on Saturday! It all happened so fast. Good thing the tooth fairy didn't have any trouble finding us. (Picture coming soon!)
Now because we aren't in North Carolina often, we have to make the most of the trip. I have an Aunt who lives about an hour away so we decided to go to Wallace to see her on Wednesday. I love going here and I hope my girls do too. Aunt Jewrell's house is this tiny little thing that she's lived in for as long as I can remember. She has a really nice little yard that the girls can play in and this is small town living at it's best. We went out for lunch and then we hung out with Aunt Jewrell on the backyard swing, while she told stories about what it was like growing up in Duplin county. I could listen to these stories all day. I stayed as long as I possible could, but I had promised to make dinner, so we did have to get going.
Thursday, I decided to go back down to my Dad's, check on the dogs and then take the ferry over to the aquarium at Ft. Fisher. Daddy went with us, brave soul that he is. I thought this was a great way for the girls to spend a little more time with their Grandfather. We could have driven to the aquarium from the north, but I wanted the girls to have the ferry experience. It was fun! Miffi (my father's wife) had given us crackers to feed the seagulls. (Thanks so much Miffi. That was great!) Obviously the gull know the complete ferry schedule.
(You see that bottle in Riley hands? It's a Sundrop we bought before we got on the ferry. She wouldn't share it. Do you know Sundrop is LOADED with caffeine? I didn't!)
Unfortunately, Riley, who needed a nap, had a complete meltdown (see Sundrop 'disclaimer above) about the time we got there. She HAD to be held or she pitched such a fit I was afraid they were going to ask us to leave. My dad was mortified. If I wasn't so damn tired, I probably would have been too. Rachel and Rena were having a good time though. Riley recuperated about half way through, thank goodness. Then we hit the gift shop and where my children evidently couldn't hear the words "Don't touch that" despite the fact we said it over and over. We managed to get out of there with a few souvenirs and then had a little snack before we headed back to the ferry.
(this alligator was eyeing Rena like she was going to be his lunch! She's just hot and sweaty in the tropical climate of down east NC)
The seagulls obvious knew that we were a good source of food. They followed us from the aquarium snack bar out into the parking lot. Rena had one last chip in her hand from the snack bar and THEY wanted it. They stalked her. She was weary of them. "Throw it Rena, throw it!" She did. They called in reinforcements and waited. Alas, they were out of luck. No more food.
We headed back to catch the ferry. We were the last ones on! How lucky for us that we caught it, because it was the last one out.
Friday we loaded up the boat and despite a brewing tropical storm, we headed to the island. It's not far at all from the marina. We anchor on the sound side and can walk across the island to the ocean. Perfect. The water was great. The girls had fun feeding the minnow and catching sandfiddlers. Carlyn's sister, brother in law and their 3 children were there too. Once the twins took a nap I walked over to the ocean with my brother. We had a nice little walk and we got to talk about some personal things. Later we cooked out and ate some burgers. Perfect I tell ya!
That night another friend showed up with his 4 year old daughter. So, there was my brother's family, my family, Carlyn's sister's family, Randy's friend and daughter...4+4+5+2. Wow. That's alot of people. But we had fun. Saturday, Blair joined us as did the tropical storm. It rained off and on all day, so none of our beach stuff got dried off before we had to pack up and head home. Yuck! Boy did I have my work cut out for me when we got back home.
We headed back to Georgia on Sunday. I was so thankful that Blair had come back and met us at Randy's. It sure makes traveling easier when there is another adult along.
All in all it was a great, albeit busy trip. So, until next summer. I'll be waiting
1 comment:
Looks like you had a fun vacation. Thanks for stopping by and commenting today! Come back anytime! = )
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