The Beach with Grandmary and Grandpa

We were lucky enough to have Dave's parents in town for Labor Day, AND Dave had the weekend off, AND we went to the beach! It was all around a fabulous weekend.



I knew it was off to a good start when we checked into our hotel and they were serving ice cream with toppings! Anna was too excited she could barely keep her shorts on (well actually they are a little big for her still) Once she got her ice cream, she zoned out and scraped every last bit out of the bowl that she could.

Anna eating her ice cream in her ice cream shirt. And she didn't even plan it!

We stayed at a great place on Carolina Beach and Anna was so excited that she could see the beach from our room. She must have remembered it from last time because she kept pointing out the window saying, "Beach! Beach!"

Anna dancing excitedly out on the balcony

Anna thought it was funny to have her feet buried by daddy.

Anna LOVES the sand. I feel a little guilty about not having a sandbox for her, but I'm not sure if I want to deal with the mess. So maybe it will just have to be a good excuse to visit the beach often. Any thoughts from sandbox moms? How do you keep it out of the house, and out of their hair and diapers?

"culdoo! culdoo!"

(That is Anna for Cool Dude! whenever she puts on sunglasses)

Anna loved playing with Grandma and Grandpa at the beach. (And I think the feelings were mutual!)

The next day we went to Wilmington and toured around the cute charming old city.

Here we are with the horses and trolley that took us around the city.

Last time we went to the Aquarium we bought a pass, so we just had to go back for more under the sea fun.

Anna loves playing in the tide pool - especially touching the starfish.

always making time to stop and smell the flowers

Later that evening, we found another little beach park that had a nice walking trail. I didn't want to get out at first because I knew I would just be chasing Anna around and telling her to not throw rocks. But I'm glad we did because it was a nice relaxing walk with beautiful surroundings. Don't get me wrong, Anna still ran and picked up rocks, but Dave promised he would be in charge. So yes, it was relaxing.

Anna pondering life on her rock bench

On our final day we had to check out by noon, so we had a few more fun hours at the beach. Anna liked getting her toes in the ocean, but didn't want to go swimming this time. She loved collecting seashells and sitting in her water hole. We timed it right, because this was the beach that got the big storm from Hurricane Hannah last weekend.

After check out, we took Dave's parents back to the alligator/turtle park that we went to before. No alligator sightings this time, but plenty of turtles. This park fascinates me just because it's so unique to me. Nothing like I've ever seen before. I'm sure they're a dime a dozen in the south, but it's new to us, so we love it.

We had a great time with Colin and Mary on their quick visit. Anna LOVES having Grandma (and Grandpa) around and usually has to be in her arms the whole time. We hope they come back to visit again soon!

our sweetheart. This picture just sums her up to me. Ice cream on her face, down her shirt (along with drool, juice and who knows what else), sticky fingers, and a look with those big blue eyes that melts my heart.

Weekend at the Beach

Last weekend, Dave's last weekend of freedom, we decided to pack up and head for the coast. We've heard so much about the Carolina Beaches, we wanted to go check them out and have a fun weekend together before Dave officially started at the hospital. We headed to one of the closest beaches, Wilmington, which is only 3 hours away. It was seriously one of the greatest weekends we've ever had! It was so great to go on a little getaway amidst the craziness of moving.

And of course there were lots of pictures. We consider this advertising for you all to come visit the great state of North Carolina. So without further adieu...

PackingUp

Anna saw us carrying all of the bags, and insisted on carrying a few of her own. She's a good helper, just a little slow. (And by the way, we stayed at the Town Place Suites by Marriott. It was great! I highly recommend them next time you travel. Reasonable rates, nice new clean rooms with kitchens, free internet, and a yummy breakfast. Fab all around! That's my travel tip for the day)

Wilmington

Wilmington is one of the biggest coastal cities in NC. And, just for your Jeopardy knowledge bank, is also famous for being Michael Jordan's hometown. We had no idea what to expect but we sure loved this charming city! The first night we walked around the historic city along the boardwalk. It was a cute old town with a big party goin on. I kept saying that they should shoot movies here because it was so cute. I found out that they actually do! It's known as "East Hollywood" and they shoot tons of stuff in Wilmington, including Dawsons Creek and One Tree Hill for all you WB (or CW) fans out there, and my favorite, I know what you did last summer. Anyway, that was a tangent. We had a fun night strolling around and then dancing at the party with Anna.

Enjoying some delicious peach ice cream. Yum

Anna loves being with her daddy. When he's with us, she soaks up every minute with him that she can.

the beach!

The next day was beach day! We went to Wrightsville Beach after a quick stop at Wal-Mart for an umbrella and some chairs. Anna LOVED the beach! She was nonstop all day and she couldn't decide if she liked the sand or the water more. Hundreds of pictures later, here are some of my favorites.

As soon as she got in the water, she got the biggest smile on her face.

After a little bit of playing in the ocean, it was time for her to get busy. For some reason she thought it was her job to collect all of the sea shells of the shore and put them back into the water. She went back and forth for a good half hour.

Probably one of her smiliest days!

I think she looks like my brother Ryan in this picture.

And it wouldn't be a day at the beach without sampling some sand.

Going into the ocean with daddy.

Love this picture.

Our beach neighbor dug this big hole and Anna sort of took it over. Don't worry it wasn't a full on invasion, she was invited diplomatically. Anna loved it. The tide would come up and fill the hold and she would just sit in it and laugh and laugh.

We had to call it a day and Anna did not want to leave. Hopefully we can go back again soon!

Greenfield Park

That night we found this cool humongous park. It was so beautiful and unlike anything that we would ever have in Utah. Trees were growing right in the middle of the lake. Not on island, just on huge roots. It was so cool.

Can you tell she really wanted to hang out with her daddy this weekend?

We drove around a little more and found this cool bridge that went across the lake. We went to go check it out and this is what we found under us. Yes, that's an alligator, surrounded by tons of turtles.

Which is why I got nervous when Anna kept doing this...

Actually, she's feeding the turtles rice puffs. A cute couple shared some with her.

In Utah we go and feed the ducks. I guess in North Carolina you feed the turtles?

AQUARIUM

The next day we went to the aquarium before heading home. Anna loved seeing all the fishies and did her best guppie noises ever.

She was so excited and had the funniest expressions all day long. Sorry about the weird ghostly flash.

Shhhhh!

She's telling us that the alligator is sleeping.

I just loved her cute face in this one. I'm glad that's strong glass!

Cute as she is, sometimes she can be a real crab.

That was a glimpse into our weekend at the coast. We hope to visit a new part of the coast whenever we get the chance. And we hope at least some of you will be able to come with us!

Oh, and some people have asked to post a picture of our new house on the blog, but I feel weird about doing it. but I guess if you really want to see it, here it is...

We wish! This is only a wing of the Biltmore mansion in Asheville, NC. We went there with Dave's parents while they were visiting. It is the largest residence in the entire U.S. It really is quite unbelievable. Our home is not so big, but much more cozy. And maybe one day I'll post a few real pics.