Riverbend Farm with the Family!

this past weekend we enjoyed a really fun trip to riverbend farm in midland, nc with the wray family!! audrey and aims laid low at home this year, but k and deuce joined in on the adventure. the boys had a great time experiencing the tractor ride to the pumpkin patch, 40 foot silo slides, hot dogs and much more!! caroline...well, she enjoyed being chased around the wide open fields and trying to pick up pumpkins much bigger than she is...

all my pumpkins:)

ben david...taking a break in the pumpkin patch

c must have tried for at least 2 minutes to lift this pumpkin up...

tractor ride to the pumpkin patch

james makes his choice...

sweet cousins

posing with the pumpkin

a daddy's girl if there ever was one:)

trying out one of the 40 foot silo slides...WHEEEEEEEE!!!!

love the hairdo!

sweet little girl

a great place to hang out

my two pilgrims

Camping...Daddy Style:)

so...this past weekend, our fearless fathers...ben and evan...packed up ALL the kiddos (minus miss caroline and annascott) and off they went to pisgah forest in asheville for a super fun camping trip!!!! while my sister and i stayed home with the little girls, this crew of 2 adults and 6 kids took off for an adventure that included hiking, wading/swimming in the river, finding snakes, eating roasted hot dogs, and marshmellows, hot cocoa, mac and cheese, homeade croissants, biscuits AND pancakes!! all of this prepared via campfire and campstove...very impressive!!! the tent was pretty cool as well...three whole rooms! it was called the "XL 3 room vacation lodge"...almost enough to persuade me to come...almost. from what we have heard....this trip was a BLAST!! ben david continues to talk about the hot cocoa with marshmellows and james the super cool tent and snake that daddy found. these cousins had a great time together, and what amazing dads to provide such an exciting experience. there is no doubt this was the first of what will certainly be a fall tradition!!

i will have to snag some of evan's pics so we have some of ben as well...these are all from my camera, hence, none of ben!

"the lodge"

looking glass falls

campfire time

chef extraordinare...ho-bo's for the guys...

exploring...

yummy smores!!

Friends, Futbol and Fun Times!!

last weekend we had the great honor of entertaining our good friends, andreas, and his new bride...julia! these newlyweds are from germany, and are currently spending a few weeks in the states on their honeymoon.that being said...they voluntarily chose to spend the weekend with our family on the east coast leg of their tour of the US! we were flattered and delighted to host this wonderful couple.

the boys were so excited about their "friends" coming to visit. their fun started when ben took them friday evening to the airport for an exciting "picnic" where they got to watch the planes land. after that, they picked up our friends and even assisted with the luggage (see below).

the boys quickly took to andreas and julia. james immediately requested that andreas read him a book once they got home. actually...for the remainder of the weekend, ben and i were pretty much off duty. ben david and james made it clear all weekend that they wanted ride in the car (a very fun convertible) with their friends, have their friends take and pick them up from sunday school, play with them, etc....

and andreas and julia did not miss a beat..they jumped right into our weekend routine, starting with some yard sale hoping, followed by the traditional saturday morning "pancake breakfast at mcdonalds". this was actually julia's first time trying a pancake...and what better place to do that:) after breakfast..it was off to ben david's first soccer game!! we had a great time...and ben david proudly scored his very first goal!!

the weekend festivites continued as we took andreas and julia out for some mexican food that night at cantina 1511. sunday, we enjoyed church together, then a yummy lunch at the andersons. that night, we had a great time grilling out at ben's parents.

all in all...it was a terrific weekend!!!

WE MISS YOU ANDREAS AND JULIA...COME BACK SOON!!!!!!!:)

airport picnic!!

lots of helpers...

fast friends

sweet julia was willing to ride in the backseat with the boys!!


cruising in the convertible...

oh the adventures these two have had...

backseat buddies

james showing off his skills

warming up

our little soccer star!!!

in a rare moment of sibling harmony...james and caroline sharing some M&M's. at 9am in the morning. what can i say??

the faithful fans!!!

The Annual Emmrich, Wright, Anderson Beach Trip!!!

with september upon us, our thoughts turn towards cooler temperatures, falling leaves, the start of school and...
THE BEACH!!!!!!!!!!
yes...for our family, this is the time of year we pack up 3 families and make our way to ocean isle beach for one last fling!! this year was no exception as we, along with my parents, and the anderson crew traveled to the coast for this much anticipated trip.
this year brought lots of beach time, pool time, extra large trenches and moats dug, and fishing (with sting rays being caught per ben's usual). three new traditions were introduced on this 2010 trip...the night crab hunt, bingo and skit night!!
we had a great time and are already looking forward to next year.
here are an array of pictures from our fun week...

the fisherman in action

fearless in the water...miss caroline would run full speed into the ocean and LOVED being knocked down by the waves!!

always on the move...

crab imitation???

bros in law (aka...constant entertainment providers for the kids)

sweet james

the crew at play

big brother ben david playing with caroline

caroline modeling the extra large trench the guys dug...

annascott "babysitting" caroline

this little lady was NON STOP on the beach!!

JUMP!!!

mommy and her girl baby

8 best buddies

BINGO!!!

lots of laughs at skit night!!

oreo commerical during skit night, brought to you courtesy of aunt anna!!!

i will be in such big trouble for posting that pic...