Summer Beach Vacation

This month is whizzing on by! We have so much going on and are having a lot of fun with all of our traveling. It is a bit exhausting and leaves little time for relaxing when we're home, but still lots of fun. Our last trip was to Myrtle Beach for a long weekend at the beach. It ended up raining a little bit every day, but we still managed to get to the beach every day, as well. And we did a lot of other fun stuff and had a great time! Click on the album to view some highlights of the trip. :)

Beach Vacation 2008

While we were at the beach, we did plenty of non-beach things. We went to the IMAX theater one day while it was raining. We went to the Aquarium, which was a lot of fun. Camden especially loved the ray tank and the horseshoe crabs - because he could touch the rays and even pick up the horseshoe crabs. We also got to see divers in a couple different tanks for feeding time. We played putt-putt - Camden and I not taking it all that seriously, while Ryan would line up his ball and even take a couple practice swings before he went. Camden kept calling him "Mr. Perfect." ;) Camden, however, would take sometimes six swings to get the ball in, and he didn't mind one bit. I was pleased with how happy he was just to play, not caring how long it took to get the ball in the hole. :)

We went out to eat at a few good and a few not-so-good places. The ones worth visiting another time were The Melting Pot (of course!) and Planet Hollywood (lots of yummy things there, great servings, and not overpriced).

Putt-putt and dinner at the Melting Pot

Some places we plan to NEVER eat at again - Senor Frogs and Calabash Seafood (their seafood buffet was over $25 per person and did not look worth it in the least! Ryan and I shared a meal from the menu, which was still way overpriced and not that good...).

Camden up bright and early, ready to head out to the beach!


The boys playing in the water

One funny thing I found out about Camden... He (like me) is picky about how the toothpaste is squeezed. You know how this is one of the prime examples of husband/wife differences that come to surface after marriage - this really is one for me and Ryan. I like to go from the bottom up, he just squeezes. I tease him about it and just continue to do it how I like. We don't actually argue over it. But Camden comes out of the bathroom one morning, saying "MOM! Who squeezed the toothpaste like this?!" He likes it like I do. Random but something I wanted to mention because I thought it was pretty funny.

Me and my hubby

Happy Father's Day!!!

Since we were traveling over Father's Day, we decided to celebrate it a little late. Ryan didn't know what we had planned, if anything. But we surprised him tonight when he got home from work. We had already packed a picnic dinner and put it in the car trunk moments before he pulled up, so he didn't have a clue. We instructed him to put on some outdoor clothes (couldn't have him going outside in his long pants and shirt from work - that would just be mean!) and told him nothing else.

We drove to a park nearby, where we ate dinner and then opened gifts. We don't go all out for gifts, but Camden and I happened to find a few "daddy" books, which many of you probably know are very, very difficult to find! I found a board book that he can read to Aiden, and Camden found two others that he liked. One was special b/c he has a book by the same author and illustrator that is written about the child and mom - this one is about the child and dad! He was really excited about that. They're young for his age, but great books for bedtime or just taking a few minutes to cuddle up together - exactly what we were looking for anyway.

After all that, we went to an open field and played frisbee for a while, then it was home to some yummy rootbeer floats. All in all, it was a nice, relaxing family time together. Except of course for the time Camden thought it was funny watching me trying to get the frisbee when it went over my head. I couldn't run, of course, and he said I looked "jiggly" and then proceeded to act like me trying to bend down to get the frisbee from the ground (which of course probably does look rather humorous at this point...). Yep, the kid loves me! ;)

Happy Father's Day, Ryan!!!

Murray-Cowan Visit and Spence-Berry Wedding

Well, the week with Sonia and family went by waaaaayyyy too quickly! A week sounded like a long time at first, but then I felt like we needed more time before they headed home! It was a lot of fun - having a baby in the house, getting some girl time with one of my closest friends, having the whole family around. Everything was great. Sonia and I even got to go out one night just us. We did a tiny bit of shopping, then sat for some ice cream and talked for about 4 hours - no kidding! I've really missed being able to do things like that! Here are a few more pictures from the visit...

We spent one afternoon at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences

We can't seem to ever get out of the museum without taking pictures in the "tree" and with the T-Rex head!

Here Christian was enjoying having mommy's sunglasses...and then she took them away

I have a ton more pictures of this cutie (and some more pics of the others, as well) on our picasa albums - link is over on the right side of the blog. This baby is just the most adorable little guy ever! And such a happy kid, too!

And here are the ladies, ready for a girls night out - no guys or kids :)

(and a picture of me and Ryan since we get so few!)

***

Then after they left, it was a road trip to WV for us to go to Steve and Amanda's wedding. Our 6-hour trip there ended up taking much, much longer (over four hours longer...). First, Ryan slept in an hour later than he had planned (and for those of you that know Ryan, this isn't common, and he doesn't get happy about it when it does happen). Then, after being on the road for an hour, I realize I forgot my dress. I had it hanging up and reminded myself oodles (and I mean oodles!) of times don't forget the dress! don't forget the dress! So, of course I forgot it. As soon as I realized it, I said it out loud and then started bawling! (Remember, those pregnancy hormones are in high gear by now!!) Ryan (who HATES to be late for things) was awesome and so gentle about it all. So, I turn the car around, and we drive another hour back to get the dress... Then we run into a terrible, terrible hail storm that slowed us down b/c we couldn't see hardly ten feet in front of us. Then two traffic jams for construction. So, we left an hour late and then were on the road for an EXTRA four hours.... But we made it!

Camden told me when putting this on - and no pictures, mom! So, of course I took a picture... He doesn't realize it yet.

The wedding was the next day, and it was great. Perfect weather for an outdoor wedding. True, it was sunny and warm, but there was no rain, which is what you really want (no rain, I mean)! :) The bride was gorgeous! And Steve looked so happy throughout the entire night. Here are a few pics of us and some of the newlyweds, too.

All dressed up!

Amanda and Steve Berry's first dance together as husband and wife :)


The couple and some of the guys (We got one with the significant others added in, but I was in that picture so I couldn't take a shot of it...)

Another Busy Weekend - Best Friends, Birthday Bashes, and Babies!!

This weekend has been another whirlwind! On Friday, I picked up one of my best friends and her two kids from the airport. I've definitely missed her and was thrilled to see her, but it was also exciting because it was the first time I have met her little baby, Christian, who is now 8 months! What a cutie! I am loving having them around and having a baby in the house. It's a great preview of what is to come soon - and a reminder of what we need to keep in mind when preparing! (For example, our place is not totally baby-proofed yet!)

Saturday we had Camden's birthday party with his friends from school, soccer, and those in the neighborhood. We threw a huge pool party, complete with hot dogs, cupcakes, ice cream - the works! Since there was swimming, we asked parents to stay, too, and there were about 50-60 guests! Whoa! It was a lot of fun, though - even though it was over 100 degrees outside (no kidding at all). I stayed inside as much as possible, or in the shade, but the pool felt great! (And we started the party early in the morning so we would hopefully not have to suffer too much with the heat! Camden still managed to come home a little red, which he's not used to b/c we just don't burn easily. I think next time I remind him to reapply sunscreen, maybe he'll do it...)

Here are some pics from the weekend, so far...

Breaking from the pool to eat.


Blowing out the candles!

Christian laughing at the pool

Ryan getting some practice in! ;)

More pictures of our fun-filled week to come soon...

NON-Stress Test My *PBTH* and Dr Office Nightmares...

Ok - so here goes my venting about the last two days, where I spent the majority of the time in FOUR doctors offices. Two visits were routine - One was visiting with Aiden's future dr to ask questions (went really well!) and the other was a dentist appt. The other two visits were a little more dramatic...

On Tuesday, right after the appt with the family dr, we mentioned to my OB office that the baby wasn't moving as much suddenly. He normally is very, very active, then Monday I noticed he wasn't. He hardly moved at all. I know this can happen, but when it was the same story on Tuesday, I thought we would call the OB to see what they said. They wanted me to rush in to be monitored to check it out (the office is 45 minutes away). I thought - I'm glad they take this so seriously, though it did worry me a little more because of that. When I arrived, they put me on the monitor for a non-stress test, and the nurse said the dr would be in w/in 20 minutes. I proceeded to watch the screen - seeing the heartbeat (which is normally checked to be around 145 bpm) range from below 100 up to the 130's, but not going above that much. Then it would just disappear for a while sometimes. So I'm getting a bit anxious. Then what happens - nothing. I was left on that monitor for an hour with no way of getting up to get anyone and no reassurance from the dr! A nurse finally comes by to see if I'm ok - I explain I have been there for an hour, and she goes to get the dr. I hear them talking outside the door - the dr was never told I was even there, and she "hasn't even had lunch yet" (um...neither have I!).

The dr finally made it in and said everything was just fine. But I was not happy that with something they told me to rush in for - they just simply "forgot" about once I was there. It's one thing if that was a routine non-stress test (which they still shouldn't forget about me even then), but for something where there is concern.... no.

And then yesterday while I'm at the dentist in Raleigh, Camden falls off the slide at school - from the very top. (I later ask him why does he always get hurt when I'm in Raleigh - this seems to be the case...) I get a call with the message that his neck was really sore (he didn't land on his neck, thank goodness!). While I'm calling his teacher on the way back to get him, Ryan tries to call the dr to get us in...and they JUST closed for lunch - for an hour and a half!! (What dr office closes for lunch for that long??) So I call the answering service b/c they're not telling Ryan anything - my mama bear instinct is kicking in at this point, and SOMEBODY is going to see my child! (He was trying to "make an appt" which the answering service doesn't do - I tell them I NEED someone to see my child and tell them what happened - our minds work a little differently, don't they - moms and dads do, I mean. He did nothing wrong, but I wasn't about to let these people tell me to call back in an hour and a half!) So they say they will have the on-call dr call me to see what I need to do or if I need to go to the ER.

After I get Camden (it's been 30 minutes by now) - I call back b/c the on-call dr never called. They page again. Nothing. So I just take him to the dr office - they're about to open by now anyway. They did get him in, but I was really angry about how their lunch break time is handled.This is just a peds office, and I was surprised they took such a long lunch break with no way of getting help if it's really needed. Then we were there for a few hours - getting x-rays, etc. Nothing broken, which I could tell, but I was glad they checked. He strained his neck muscle really badly and it really hurts him a lot. Right now, I'm just thankful b/c a fall like that could have been much worse!


Other good news - as I said, the visit with the new dr went really well. We even presented her with an alternate immunization schedule (we're not opposed to them really but want a different schedule after doing our research), and she was fine with it - whatever we wanted, she said. That's not what a lot of people hear, so we were very pleased. I figured it would go well, though. She is my dr (well, technically, she's a RN, but she is great!) AND she just had a baby in the fall, so I know she's aware of a lot of the same issues we are worried about. So that went GREAT. We'll be switching Camden over to start seeing her after Aiden is born, too, b/c we'll be putting him on that insurance then. I don't even think this office closes for lunch..... Haha.

Busy Weekend!!

First up this weekend - Soccer Tournament. The team played well up against another good team. They tied the game and went into Penalty Kicks to determine the winner. After quite a few PK's, the other team came out ahead. Here are some of the kids at Coach Scott's house for a cookout Saturday night.
Since we had a little time free up in the afternoon after the loss, we decided to go see the new Narnia movie - Prince Caspian. Great movie!! Afterwards, Camden and I were discussing the Christian symbolism in the movie, like we did with the first movie (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe). At first, Camden said he hadn't thought about the connections, but after I mentioned a couple things, he was on a roll. He even brought up something I hadn't thought of - the character Peter. He said, he's like Peter in the Bible. Peter in the Bible wanted proof before believing who Jesus was, just like Peter in the movie wanted proof that Aslan was still around to help. In the movie, Peter said he wanted proof of Aslan, and Lucy said, maybe it's us who needs to prove ourselves instead of the other way around. Sometimes we all need to be reminded of this when it comes to our belief and trust in God. I was so impressed with Camden's connection! The boy really does love reading his Bible, and I'm so glad to see that he is really taking it in and learning so much!

After the movie, we were off to the Star's team cookout at the coach's house. We had lots of fun eating way too much food, hanging out with the other families, and getting trophies. Can't wait for the next season in the fall! :)

So then Sunday was another busy day! First church, then some fishing at Bond Park. I got some great shots of the guys there.

Camden looking up at Ryan trying to fix his rod. This was the first time using it, and halfway through the fishing, something broke on it. Camden was patient about it but disappointed. Good thing we had an extra!

I know he's disappointed here. I can't help but love the face, though. I could stare at his precious face all day long!!!

Then our church had Kidspace, an awesome fun-filled event for the kids. Camden brought one of his best friends, Hannah, and she thought it was great, too. They do this twice a year, and Camden always gets really excited about it! Here are some pics of the outdoor activities the kids enjoyed.

Camden took on the rock-climbing wall and made it to the top - making it look soooo easy, even barefoot!

We have more pics here: