On the Beach

I love to go for walks on the beach at sunrise and sunset-here are some of my favorite images from the late summer here at Emerald Isle. These were taken early one morning as Moses and I walked along the beach while Mommy, Sarah and Silas slept in!

Happy Birthday Miss Sarah!

It's hard to believe our little girl is three! She is growing up so fast!

For her birthday we celebrated at RuckerJohn's with our neighbors and also had a party at Matt & Naomi's with their family and Ryan, Denise & Hayden. It was a great birthday for our little Miss!

Dawg Days of Summer

It has been hot & humid here in Eastern Carolina and nothing is better on a hot day than a popsicle!

OOPS!

Look who's riding too! He is so proud!

Buddies

The other day I overheard Moses say, "Come on Silas, be my buddy". And for the most part they really are buddies. They seem to share a special affection for one another. Here they are after doing "guy stuff" with Daddy (washing the motorcycle)! They are having so much fun when Daddy lets them "drive".

Moses Rides Part II

After the monumental removing of the training wheels in the spring they ended up going back on. But after the week of vacation and seeing all his big cousins riding their bikes along with a little encouragement from a neighbor (who promised she would bake him cookies if he could ride without training wheels) he said goodbye to the training wheels and just picked up the bike and started to ride. He is super fast and keeps the neighbors on their toes as he buzzes around the neighborhood. He has even motivated the other four year olds on the block to ride their bikes. One mom told me today that her daughter wants to ride her bike more so she can be as fast as Moses! Anyways...here are a few shots of the day he took off without the training wheels! So proud!

Summer Nights

We love evenings on the beach and since Mark works most evenings we especially cherish the nights when we can stroll the beach, fly a kite or search for shells. And that is just what we did on this evening in June. It is hard to believe it has already been a month since our family vacation and the night these pitctures were taken but life just seems to be in fast forward these days. Anyways...we are hoping to catch up and give you a few peeks into what summer brings us here on the island!

Family Vacation

Last week the Buckwalter family came to Emerald Isle. We had a great time connecting, playing on the beach, and eating! It seemed especially sweet this year since some of us hadn't seen each other in a year and we now live so far apart from one another! We savored the time we had together! Thanks guys for a great week!

Baseball

Silas loves baseball...actually any kind of ball really. He especially is drawn to baseball...and he loves to throw. He actually has quite an arm for a little guy. When the Buckwalter family was down last week, we all headed out to the baseball field/park for a little game. Silas wanted so badly to join in the game. Here is a little peak into what was happening on the sidelines.

Three's Company

There are times when the three of these guys seem like they can hardly get along at all and other moments when it seems like they really do love each other. We captured of few of those 'love' moments...

Sand Dollars & Sand Crabs

We discovered the Point, the tip of the island, where tidal pools form and shells and sea creatures live in abundance. It is our new favorite place to go! On Tuesday afternoon we were walking through the tidal pools at low tide and I reached into the water and pulled up a sand dollar. Excited, we continued our shell hunt. Mark found a few more pieces of broken sand dollars and then later a woman walked up to Mark and Sarah on the beach and handed them another whole sand dollar! That same day we came across a baby turtle going for a swim in the ocean and caught some minnows and a hermit crab. The kids are enjoying learning about all the ocean life and Mark got a kick out of capturing the yellow sand crab below!