Family Fun in North Carolina

We decided to take a family vacation to North Carolina to visit my sister Cindy and her family. They were given access to a beach house on Bald Head Island so they invited us to join them out there for the second half of the week. We had a great time! The salt marshes of Bald Head Island.
Aunt Cindy, Uncle Mark, David, Alex, and Danielle waving from the dock.

Annika insisted on flying her kite - rain or shine. So here is Lauren, attempting to fly a kite, in the rain.
Our windiest day on the island. Can you tell?
Climbing up the lighthouse - built in 1817.
Lauren, Alex, Annika and David.
The White family. . .

Everyone was up at 6:45 so we decided to "drive" to the beach to see the sunrise. It was a fun trip, despite not seeing the sunrise.
Cousin David reading stories to the girls.
Mark and Cindy were kind enough to watch the kids so Karl and I could go kayaking in the salt marsh. We saw osprey, stingray, dolphins, and crab - it was a great experience.

Bug bingo on a rainy day.

Annika keeping Danielle company on the beach.
This is as close as Annika would get to the waves.
Lauren loved holding baby Danielle. Just practicing for the future, right Lauren?
Aunt Cindy and Danielle on a hike through the salt marsh.
Our mode of transportation on the island - golf cart! Add myself, Uncle Mark, and David to this golf cart and we'll call it a full load. Yes, we did bottom out on steep hills. :-)

This gives you an idea of the crowd that hangs out on this island - those people in white are playing croquet on an offical croquet "field."
Alligator watching with Grandpa and Grandma Pollack. They came to visit for half a day.

Lauren didn't like the waves either. All of the grown-ups, though, did go in the water and play in the waves.

Hanging out on the ferry ride.
Fun in the tram on the way to the beach house.
Annika and Daddy walking the beach at sunset.
Beach time.

Family fun in North Carolina - Race Day

It sounded like a great idea - signing up Annika and Lauren for a 200 yard dash to raise money in the fight against breast cancer. Pre-race activities.
The starting line - I see cousin Alex, but where are Annika and Lauren? Hmmmm.
There's Lauren - in my arms. Don't I have good form? It's a good thing it was only a 200 yard "dash." Annika, however, didn't even dare to step onto the course. She did enjoy the T-shirt, medal, and painting.

Cousins Annika and Alex. They had so much fun together.
Look at all that pink!
Sisters. We did the 5K walk while the men watched the kids. Yes!
Annika could have spent all day at the painting wall.
Back home at the playground.

September Happenings

Annika loved showing us around her pre-school on Open House night. Notice the words they are water-coloring. . .I should have tried that in my high school classrooms! Dress-up at the dry erase board. No wonder Annika loves pre-school!
I'm singing in the rain. . . can you tell which one doesn't have her own rain jacket?
Aunt Lesley came to visit for a few days! Annika is somewhere in the yard throwing a fit about not wanting to get her picture taken. . .it's like she's 3 or something.
Somehow Aunt Lesley was able to get us all to smile.

Fun at the Church Retreat

Our church retreat was at a new place this year. We had fun (the boats and "sleeping" in a tent were the highlight for the girls) and everyone (except Daddy) fell asleep on the way home. Lauren running away from us. The pavilion is where we had church on Sunday morning.
Nothing more fun than a rock pile.

I believe that is our Pastor's wife, Lisa being shot up into the air on the BLOB. Impressive height, Lisa!
Our "camp." The girls started out both nights in their own sleeping bags, but sometime around 3 AM ended up next to us on the airbed. Annika chose this occasion to decide she needs to get up in the night to go potty (as opposed to just going in her pull-up).
Moss time with Ella.
Lauren running away from us. . .again.
Meal time at the cafeteria. It was so nice to not have to cook and clean up.

This is actually part of a ropes initiative course. We found out later we really weren't supposed to be playing on the tires - whoops.

Daddy's co-pilot.
The McBrides having some fun in the sun! It was pretty cute when Annika and Olivia started yelling back and forth to each other.
Lauren and Mommy out for a ride. For some reason I ended up doing all of the paddling. . .