Nighttime Activities on the 4th!

We tried some sparklers again...unfortunately Ayden accidentally touched the wrong part and got a little burn...ooops. Maybe next year will go better!

He did have a blast with his friend Tyler and all the other neighborhood kids over in Tyler's part of our neighborhood!

The yummy peach tart that I brought from the Farmer's Market that we enjoyed that night!

The crew watching the fireworks. Our friends neighbors actually went to South Carolina and purchased the kind of fireworks that shoot up, "rocket style" way up into the sky! We had nothing to do with the purchase of them, I swear (they are illegal in NC, but legal in SC)!! They sure were fun to watch! We were only about 40 feet back from the launching site, so we had a great seat for the show!

Fireworks, good food and friends all remind me of fun times as a kid at my Grandma Jean's house on the 4th of July. I sure do miss those parties! We went to my Grandma's 4th of July party from the time I was born until probably my early 20's...it was hard to move on from that tradition...but we have had a fun couple of years here in NC with some friends on the 4th!

Parade on the 4th of July!

He didn't really mean to, but I love how he is waving at the camera! He was so into these necklaces that we got at our City of Cary 4th of July Parade!

The older boys (some neighbor friends: Tyler and Hunter with Ayden) decorated their bikes for the parade early that morning at Bond Park!

And here they are parading down the park roads! There were bag pipe players providing music and we were the only ones there for the first 45 minutes of the decorating time and then towards the end, the whole town showed up with their bikes already decorated! It was a great turnout!

Jumping Around!

This video was taken in late June on some random day at home when we were hanging out and having a little fun. It was right around the time that Gabriel learned to jump up and down and also starting running. He was so cute, he would just keep jumping if I said "Jumpy!" or "Can you jump Gabriel?" Onward we go with my physically inclined boys! :)

Sprinkler Fun with Friends!

Some time in late June when we were bored one afternoon and so were our neighbor friends, Lucy and Quentin, we just pulled the sprinker out in the little backyard and the kids ran through and did some dances too! Oh and some poses as well for the camera.

Father's Day!

Here are all the boys working on Dad's new barbeque on Father's Day (June 21st)! It had to be assembled and of course the little boys wanted to help! The BBQ was the big Father's Day gift to the Dad of the house! He of course got some cute handmade gifts from Ayden including a handmade photo frame and card. :)

First Swim Lessons of the Summer!

I had to post these photos of Ayden's first swim lesson of the Summer '09. These photos make me feel nostalgic, flashing back to memories of days when I was the little person on those stairs, learning how to swim. My mom has some of these same photos of me and now my little boy is becoming a swimmer. Right up there along with the soccer games, swim lessons (and hopefully swim team and swim meets soon) take me back to those old childhood memories! :)

A Train Ride...

at the Museum of Life and Science one random June afternoon! The kids love this museum, so we go there often. :)

Doughnut Makers in Training! :)

We had a playgroup date at Krispy Kreme in Raleigh in mid June before Granny and Papi went off to Puerto Rico. It was great...the kids learned about how doughnuts are made on the conveyer belt and got all sugared up with a sample!

Ayden and Bliss enjoying their hats!

Mmmmmm...give me one of those! :)

The whole group enjoying the doughnuts!

A chocolate doughnut for Ayden of course! :)

I Can Build Legos!!

It was towards late June (at 14 months) when Gabriel started to take an interest in actually stacking legos together to build them up. It was a bit of a milestone for our family since Julio, myself and Ayden all have had a love for legos! Ayden has loved them ever since he was Gabriel's age and still does!

A side shot of him building a tower of them!

Ayden was proud of Gabriel and so we of course had to pose for a photo. :)

Evening at Pullen Park!

I think it was a random mid June Sunday evening and we were bored, so we decided to take the kids to a fun park in Raleigh called Pullen Park. They have a merry-go-round, boat ride, train ride and lots of fun play equipment.

Ayden was so happy to be riding the train! (we had to wait in line) Apparently, Gabriel was not so happy. :(

On the train ride...it was a fun Summer night. :)

The End of Granny/Papi's Visit!

Here are some cute shots from the end of Granny/Papi's visit in early June. Up at the top, Granny kept the kids busy "cleaning" while I was in bed not feeling well. Then, Gabriel started learning how to actually ride the bike (pushing with his feet)! Next, Gabriel is "brushing" Ayden's teeth before church. :) And finally, some art work at their table together.

Life's a Beach!

This is a photo of the two chairs that we sat in all week at the beach! The rented chairs made it feel like we were officially at a resort on our beach vacation, so I loved it! Felt more like a grown up, I guess! :)
Ok, I know...I keep posting Hilton Head photos, but I couldn't leave some of them out! :) This is the way I do my sort of "photo album" work and so I have to include all the photos from the vacation! :) Now, I just need to find out how to turn a blog into an actual physical photo album!! Does anyone know of any websites or services that do that?
We have some awesome memories from this trip! This is definitely where I would rather be right now! Who wouldn't? :)

The Beach Bike Ride!

Good thing this guy was on the other side of the pathway! :)

It was like being in a dream or a movie! Absolutely gorgeous! Surreal!

They weren't having fun or anything! :)

Granny and Papi had to make the group of photos too! :) They loved it also!

A Storm was Brewing!

Don't those clouds look ominous?! It did start pouring about 10 minutes after this shot was taken!

Cheese! I think I've been at the beach a little too long today! :)

We took advantage of the fun classes that they had out at the beach at one of the neighboring resorts. The class that Ayden took was a "shark tooth necklace" making class. He loved it of course because he got to put a real shark tooth on his necklace. He also pout an "a" and a "g" on there for "Ayden" and "Gabriel." It was cute, he felt bad that his brother was sick that day. Gabriel did come down with some stomach virus that lasted until we got home. At least he caught it at the end of the trip!

A Trip Around the Island!

We thankfully took the trolley on the way back from our long walk around the area of the island that we stayed at.

Waiting for the trolley with smiles!

All the boys waiting for the trolley.

Yah, we made it! It was a fun walk! We found a fun playground, a cute little cafe to get some brunch food at and checked out some shops too.