SSI and the 4th of July

SSI 2009 beach trip
drawing in the sand
Swimming with Aunt Kelly and Cousin Cori
playing with uncle Brian and Aunt Kelly
Carter with his Great Grandmother.
swimming with daddy
So happy
Swimming with Nana
Not crabby at all! Carter is all smiles these days.
jumping to daddy in the pool
Carter and Ella Catherine hanging out with cousin Cori
Searching for seashells with daddy
Drawing in the sand
Taking a brief moment from running to stop and look at mom
Washing her feet off after playing on the beach.

We made a trip to Georgia to introduce Carter to his great grandmother and to go to the beach! We visited one of my favorite places St. Simons Island, Georgia. This is one of the beaches that I grew up vacationing at and it is also where Matt proposed. So, it was only fitting that this was where Ella Catherine experienced the beach and the ocean for the first time. This trip was especially great as my whole family was able to make it. We had a fabulous time at the beach. Ella Catherine had a ball running between the water and making sand castles. She wasn't frightened at all by the ocean. Carter even made a brief appearance on the sand but spent most of his trip indoors in the condo. She enjoyed the pool at the condo just as much. She was able to jump from the side of the pool and play games with her Nana, daddy, aunts and uncles. At night once the little kids went to bed, the big kids enjoyed playing Mexican Train Dominoes. Winning was fairly distributed but I will have to give my husband "the belt" on this one. He was the overall winner from the week and underwent much heckling for it. As an added bonus Matt and I were even able to enjoy an adult night out thanks to my parents. It was fun spending some adult time with my siblings and their spouses plus my second brother, Phil and his wife, Debbie.

Matt and I would also like to Congratulate our friends Katie and Ed Thomas on the birth of their son, Taylor Cole Thomas. He is so precious and we are so excited for them. We would also like to Congratulate our friends Emily and Adam Patterson on the birth of their daughter, Olivia Hayes Patterson. She is Beautiful and we couldn't be more excited for them as well. Our families are growing by leaps and bounds!