Happy 4th from Holden Beach!

we sure have had a wonderful time here at holden beach! ben and i were able to enjoy the first few days all to ourselves while our very gracious parents took care of the boys. it was wonderful to have some time as a couple!

here were some of the more stressful moments during those first few days:

-realizing our chairs were facing the wrong direction on the beach and required rotating to achieve maximum sun

-trying to decide where to eat that night for dinner

-whether to play minature golf or go to a movie

all in all...we had a great time of R&R:

here are a few pics from those first few days:

just call me tiger woods! here we are at the 18th hole... i beat ben for the first time ever in minature golf! shocking, i know, as my husband can pretty much ace any sporting event he tries the first time. i even got 2 holes in one (hole in ones??...golf lingo is beyond me)

romantic, delicious dinner at captain pete's...our favorite!

AND THEN THE TROOPS ARRIVED!!!

we sure missed our little guys and it was great seeing them again. they had a blast at the beach! james tried to eat both sand and seashells at least 50 times in spite of our attempts to stop him. we discovered that he enjoyed "face planting" in the sand on purpose also. ben david loved the "sand pit" daddy dug for him and enjoying stealing other peoples shovels and pails too.

our mode of transportation to the beach

(this does not show that the wagon containing the boys was, in fact, tied to a motorized scooter that ben rode while simaltaneously pulling the wagon behind him.) i was on a second scooter following behind, praying for a safe ride and preparing to jump if necessary to catch anyone who decided to bail last minute.

ben david couldn't wait to get down to the beach!

the cutest little beach bums ever!

lots of fun with marmie and poppie at lockwood folly pool!

hurricane-like wind contributed to our appearance in this shot...

and that's a wrap!:)

WELCOME HOME DADDY!

here is a small taste of what it is like for ben when he gets home:
daddy...the human jungle gym!:)

we are ALL always excited to see him!!

Good Times with Marmie, "Mamie" and "Kais"

today we got to spend some quality time with three of our favorite folks: marmie, "mamie and kais", (as ben david has affectionally dubed his aunt and cousin...not a clue why he has chosen to pluralize kai's name, but he has).
we had a lot of fun hanging out in the blow-up pool and eating lunch together. beautiful weather and so fun to catch up with our family. even lucy got in on the action...she and ben david are the best of buds.
thanks mom and amy for taking care of my kids for me!! you don't see me in these pics because i was sitting in a lounge chair drinking margaritas the whole time...j/k:)

Fun Photo Shoot

as part of ben's father's day present, we had amy's sweet friend ginny take some fun candid shots of us to put up in his office. don't worry...he also received a game of golf with dan!:)

here are a few of our favorites. thanks ginny!

Who's Your Daddy??

in my husband's words, it makes no sense to give him a father's day gift as he is not my dad. so please understand that i am simply typing this email while james and ben david are dictating the following to me!:)

our dad is the best!! no matter how tired he is after a day of work, he come home and entertains us. he plays fire truck, trains, ball...anything you can think of, he does it. he always seems so excited to see us and that makes us feel so special.

some dads have no idea what their kids schedules and routines are like, but our dad has ours down. he knows exactly what we like for breakfast, lunch and dinner. he knows just when to put us down for a nap. he even knows that we like bubbles in our bathtub!:) he knows we like to hear the book about the "pig and the pancake" every night and that we require two favorite blankets and two pacis to go to bed. he changes our diapers without complaint, no matter how bad they are. he even helps with potty training!:) there is no task he is unwilling to do on our behalf.

he takes us on runs when he gets home from work so our mommy can have a little "break" (though we are not sure what a "break" is, she sure seems to enjoy it:). he even lets her sleep in on weekends and has been known to take both of us on outings so she can have some "downtime" (something else we don't quite understand, but again, she seems to really appreciate it).

we really think we have the best dad and we are so grateful for him!! thank you daddy for all you do and for just being you. we are two blessed little guys.

p.s...mommy says to tell you she thinks you are pretty special too:)

Pool Days!

here are some pics of our first trip to the pool for the summer. while i managed to dodge the camera, ben entertained ben david and james in the baby pool. we quickly learned that james was a little waterbug and couldn't get enough. ben david sported his intertube/bathing suit combo that ben purchased secondhand for him. while not the most stylish of all the kids there, it turned out to be a real hit! ben david had a great time trying on other people's goggles and stealing kids toys. he is quite brave and willing to jump right off the side of the big pool with no encouragement!

more pics to follow from future trips to the pool.

Road Trip Birmy.

I recently had the pleasure of spending 2 days with Dan Wray (aka Deuce) on a road trip to down south. We made a quick stop in Doraville, GA to see a project we had started and then down to Birmingham, AL to look at a few past jobs and to look at some new possible work. Dan is now not only the CEO of FHG but is also becoming a Project manager so this was Dans first Bid walk and chance to bid a project.

I just wanted to take a minute to highlight Dan and how much i appreciated him taking care of the company vehicle that we drove down in. I cleaned the car especially for Dan - I mean what other lowly project manager wouldn't want to impress the CEO of a company with how well he takes care of FHG equipment?

Well i have to say after 2 days in the car on our road trip Dan has almost destroyed the vehicle. Below are a couple pictures highlighting Dans actions:

Thanks for taking such good care of the car. This will be the last time you eat a pack of Lance in my car...