Still Catching Up...The Beach

I posted some photos of our annual trip to Maryland and North Carolina awhile back, but I wanted to post a few more before I started adding things that happened after that.  Anyway, here they are:

In the water with cousins-Maya is in the middle

Shayne and Greg catching a wave

 Maya making herself into a mermaid

 Doing ballet at dusk

 

I know I have posted lighthouse pictures before, but I really like how the clouds look in this one.

What would the beach be without industrious castle building?

Jonathan

 Greg, Drew and Jonathan

 Alex

Here are some other pictures that I liked.  Everyone is not represented here...just the folks that happened to be around when I had the camera out.

 Shawn

 

Crystal

 Tom and  James

 Alison and Matt

Steve

Crystal wearing Grandma's shoes

The boys playing some sort of sword game with driftwood

 James

Crystal scooting backwards in her PJs right before our twilight ferry ride

 Sydney and Maya

Needless to say, a great time was had by all :)

Our Boat Ride

 Our kids had never been on a boat before this summer.  There is a ferry that runs between Hatteras Island and Okracoke Island (in North Carolina).  We rode it once during the day and once with almost everyone else in the family at night when there was a full moon.  Both times were beautiful and fun.

Summer Continued...

This summer, Alison and I were both out to Maryland before our husbands.  We made an ambitious list of things we wanted to do with the kids before we left for North Carolina, and we got about half way through it!  One of the things we wanted to do was to go to one of the concerts on the National Mall.  On the night we went, the U.S. Air Force band was playing.  They played right at the bottom of the capital steps as dusk neared, and we watched the concert as the sun set in the background.  The band was fantastic, and the kids loved having the chance to see all the instruments up close.  Grandma and Grandpa met us down there toward the end and a fun time was had by all.  If you ever find yourself in downtown Washington in the summer around sundown, see if there is a concert going on.  They offer them to the public several times a week all summer long and it is definitely worth seeing.

 

 

Another thing we did was go to the zoo with Tom and Sarah and their kids. 

 Maya, Sydney and Rayzel taking a break

It was hot!!

We also went to Tom and Sarah's house and had girls day/boys day.  The girls played Wii Dance and the boys went with Uncle Tom to see Transformers.  We also went to some museums and spent some time at Dale and Tammy's house and picked delicious blueberries at a farm near their house.  I didn't get any pictures of those things though...Soon after that it was off to the beach in North Carolina.  Pictures of that to follow soon...

Updates from the Summer

I am going to attempt to catch up on a few highlights from the summer.  One thing we did when we were in Maryland, on the Fourth of July, was go swimming at the creek near my parents' house.  We used to go swimming there with my Grandma and Grandpa when we were kids and always loved it.  Dale, Alison and Steve were there with their kids also, along with my mom and dad.  We all had a great time, and those in my generation appreciated seeing our children enjoying one of the things we liked most as kids.   

 

Grandpa and Maya

 

Sydney, Maya and Melissa

 

Maya braving the rapids with big cousin Melissa

 

Shayne and David being carried by the current

 

What is it about kids and sticks?

 

 

 

Even baby Crystal got in on the stick thing