Bike Parade 2011

For the 4th year in a row we have participated in Wake Forest's Fourth of July Bike Parade!  This is such a tradition for our family - the kids have practically grown up doing it.  There is such a patriotic feel and even Uncle Sam shows up!  This year I bought the boys matching t-shirts from the fireworks display a few nights earlier.  Always a great time!

Members of the family :)

Since we've always travelled so much, having a live pet at home that needs to be cared for while we're away has never seemed like a viable option.  Hence, all of our stuffed animal friends :)  Here are a few of the favorites that made the trip to the beach with us.  They each have names and their own personalities AND they travel in style as you can tell by the fact they received their own, private luggage cart at the hotel :)  These sweet animals know they are loved by sweet, caring boys :)

Fore!

Well, they're not in the PGA just yet, but they're getting there :)  What's a vacation without a little Jungle Mini-Golf??!!!  The boys always love mini-golf and trying to improve their scores from the last time.  The ice cream at the end is always a nice incentive as well!

Wrightsville Beach, NC

To say we love the beach is probably a huge understatement :)  I think I would live at the beach if I could.  There's something very soothing about that big, beautiful ocean God made and we enjoy spending time there.  This was our first trip to Wrightsville Beach, just outside of Wilmington, and it was a very nice, family-friendly beach.  We hope to return soon!

Fort Fisher Aquarium

In June we had the opportunity to visit another one of NC's fantastic aquariums :)  Being from Florida I think they always remind me of there and the wonderful aquatic life.  This was our first time visiting this particular and we loved the fact that it is situated directly on the coast.  We were able to watch a live dive show where they fed all sorts of sea creatures, including sharks!  The diver wore a microphone and we were able to ask questions and hear him speaking from underwater :)  The last pic shows the boys enjoying the turtles that were trying to hide in the leaves - a pretty calm activity considering Nathan was almost eaten by an alligator :()

Tae-Kwon-Do Camp

Each summer our church has a TKDO camp as an outreach and ministry to the community.  He really enjoyed learning all the moves and techniques and practicing them at home :)  His brothers were pretty impressed with his board-breaking skills :)

Nathan's Bats baseball team

Nathan completed another exciting season of baseball, well, at least it ended very excitingly :)  The Bats started the season 0-7 losing all of their first 7 games.  Then . . . something clicked and they came together as a team, winning the next 6 in a row, including beating 2 undefeated teams in back to back games and making it to the Championship game.  They lost the final game, but came in a very respectable second place!  They were beyond excited and the parents were even more excited and proud.  What a fun run it was!  The coach rewarded the team with a trip to Krispey Kreme donuts, which was better than any trophy to them.  Nathan truly improved his skills at every level this season and received the game ball early on AND a free burger courtesy of the coach :)