Lazy 5 Ranch

At the beginning of the summer, Sarah and I talked about a couple of trips that we wanted to do with the kids while she was out of school.  All of a sudden, it was the end of July and we had not done either of them!!  The most desired was a trip to Lazy 5 Ranch.  We jumped on it and were able to schedule a trip on a weekday morning in August and even the daddies were able to go!!  We booked a wagon ride and packed a picnic lunch and headed to Mooresville, all seven of us loaded in the van!  We had such a blast, but I'm not sure whether the parents or kids had more fun!!

We were amazed how close all of the animals came to the wagon!

Jack loved the goats.

Caroline feeding the llama.

The giraffes were crazy!!

Jason and Caroline

We weren't supposed to feed the zebras,
but they weren't shy about coming over for leftovers.

The kangaroo has joey!!

Lovin on the donkey!

I love this pic!  He was so proud of himself!

Camel

There were some adorable pygmy goats and one of the them had figured out an escape route.  The kids had a fit because he barely came up to their knees!  So cute!

Swingin and a swingin!

We even got an updated family shot!
(I just wish we had gotten one of all seven of us.)

Summer Fun

Here are just a few photos of summer fun that I couldn't not include...

Matching shirts

Mommy got the amazing treat of Anna falling asleep on her shoulder.
When was the last time that happened?

Fun in (or at?) Caroline's crib

Anna and Mommy getting pedicures

Whenever the babies see Mimi's phone, it's automatically "stars, stars, stars".
Then they have to watch the special "twinkle, twinkle" version in her lap.

Anna wanted to have a cupcake stand just like on
Max and Ruby!  Aunt E was our first customer and
she ended up selling all of the cupcakes!!

Well, almost all of them!

Putt-putt

Anna finished her Kumon number book!

Ambidextrous Jack at ECW

Anna just before she left for her first non-parent play date--
Chloe Hire's birthday party!

Jack loves eating "ee-ee-o's" with Daddy in the morning!

Getting ready for soccer in all her pink!

The cousins on the porch at Cracker Barrel.

18 Month Old Jack

How can it be possible that my baby is 18 months old??  Time has flown by and he is growing so fast right before our eyes.  Here are some fav pics taken on his "birthday":

He is most definitely a boy, in all ways and completely.  He never stops moving, is into everything, and is always curious.  He is exhausting and exhilarating simultaneously.  He has the best little spirit--loving and laughing with a hint of mischief.

When I took him in for his well check, he weighs 29.5 pounds (88th %ile), is 34.5 inches tall (95th %ile), and his head circumference is in the 96th %ile.  He is a big boy!!!  He now wears size 5 diapers, 24 months and 2T clothes (although we can still get away with some 18 month shorts and pants right now), and size 6 shoes.  His 24 month one piece rompers that I love so much for summer are getting snug and I will be so sad when those don't fit anymore!!  He is taking one long nap in the afternoon (between 2 and 3+ hours) and sleeps from 8-7 at night.  He will eat absolutely anything you put in front of him and it shows!!  He has recently had a vocabulary explosion and is learning new words every day.  His speech is still a little difficult for non-family members to decipher, but he is definitely becoming somewhat of a parrot.  Some of my favorite words are horse "hwisss", off  "occck", thank you "da-du"(with a simultaneous hand to his cheek for the sign language version), Cheerios "ee-ee-o's", and deer "dee-ooo".  It is so fun to watch him as he learns new words and ways to communicate.

He is getting pretty independent with his mobility as well.  He will climb anything, and I do mean anything. He wants to walk down the stairs holding on to the rail without help (which makes Mommy nervous!!).  And he started pushing us away when we were holding him in the pool, so now he has water wings and can jump in and get out, mostly as he desires.  Can someone find a pause button please?!!

In the bounce house with Sissy.

His new obsession--pushing a kitchen chair to the wall
so he can climb up and turn the lights on and off!!

Jack, you are the sweetest little guy and make our family so complete.  We love you a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck!!

While the Kids Were Playing...

...Mommy and Daddy were partying!!  Will and his dad qualified one couple for the Lincoln Financial Elite Escape and his parents were sweet to let us go.  The trip was to the Montauk Yacht Club, near The Hamptons, on the tip of Long Island.  After staying a night in Wilmington to make sure the kids were good and settled, we flew from ILM to LGA and then made the looooooonng ride to Montauk.  Neither of us realized how long Long Island really is!!  After 3 hours (much shorter than our driver had made it the day before with more traffic), we arrived at our destination.  We were shocked that everything was so quaint and rustic and not at all the posh vision we had in our heads.  The corn fields and vegetable stands were what completely threw me off!!

A gorgeous windmill in The Hamptons

Our room key--isn't that sweet?

Our view of the marina

Happy to be there with no kids and a drink in our hands!!!

Will had a couple of "meetings" to attend during the 5 days, so I spent some quality time in the spa and by the pool.  There were dinners every night, so we got to know some others in the group pretty well and had a blast hanging out with them.  One afternoon we hitched a ride with another couple into The Hamptons to go shopping (mainly window).  It was insane!  Will passed on the $1000 pair of suede pants!  Good call, right?!

Dinner at North by Northeast

 Our excursion for the week was going out fishing on a fishing boat.  Will and I figured we would rarely have the opportunity to do something like that.  The morning was gorgeous and Will and I each popped a dramamine, just to cover our bases.  Unfortunately, Will's didn't quite take.  As soon as we reached our fishing spot about 45 minutes out, the rolling sea got to Will and he got severely sea sick.  Two others followed suit and we ended up calling the trip off early and heading back.  At least we caught a few before we had to head back in!

My "small" catch of the day, according to Pete.  It was huge to me!!

The Montauk Lighthouse--
first lighthouse commissioned by George Washington

We got to try out paddle boarding...

...and loved it!

On the last day, a presentation was made by an entertainment artist...
he painted all three of these in 45 minutes in front of us,
with his hands!!!  It was incredible!!

On the last night, we had a beautiful dinner by the
marina--a lobster bake and my first crack at
tackling a whole lobster.

Loved the table decorations!

We had a great time on our trip and definitely got to see an area that we would likely never visit on our own.  It was great to relax and sleep in and have some fun doing adult things.  But after 5 days away, this mama was ready to get back to her babies!!!