Hey everyone! Thought I would make a post and give an update on our drive down, the house and first couple days of our vacation. Well, for the 4th year we have had excellent weather for the drive down. Last year we stopped a few days earlier in Williamsburg and visited Busch Gardens. This year we didn't do that but did stop at Grave Digger's Dungeon on the way down! This year Evan attended his first ever Monster Jam and Grave Digger is his favorite! And to top it off the original driver Dennis Anderson was there signing autographs. We didn't tell Evan about this stop so it was a delightful surprise for him! What made it even sweeter was his brother met us there too! Could it get better??
YESSS!! They offered Monster Truck rides!!!
Evan after his Monster Truck Ride!!
Evan giving the thumbs up with Dennis Anderson!
Of course Evan had to give Dennis his signature Fist Pump!!
Dennis signed Evan's Grave Digger shirt he got at the Monster Jam earlier this year!
Evan in the big cool chair...looking cute of course! He was a happy boy!
So after we toured the grounds which were really cool and you got to see the garage where they assemble all the Grave Diggers for racing! It was awesome. But it was time to hit the road and make our way north again to Corolla. After this Evan fell asleep in the car on the drive up.
I love seeing this sign!
We arrived at the house safe and SOUND! This year we stayed on the Soundside for the first time. We usually stay Oceanside. However, since we prefer to go to the 4x4 beach anyway we tried something different. What a SOUND DECISION that was!! So far we love it! The view is spectacular, we've seen Osprey, snakes, Herons, Egrets, frogs, giant spiders!!! It's been amazing! The sunsets just can't be beat! And we think we may have found our house. We've been staying in a different house nearly every year to find "the one". This may be it! It has laundry on EVERY floor!! I would love that at home. Koren and Jesse don't arrive until Thursday night and they have 3 bedrooms to choose from! Evan likes the fact that he has his very own play room! The first day we spent the evening in the pool and settling in. Of course we are saving our ceremonial first night's dinner of Enchiladas for when Koren and Jesse arrive!
The view out of the back of the house. Really...crazy beautiful!
So that would end the journey down and our first day! We love it here in Corolla. As I type this, on Tuesday August 31st, Earl is threatening us! In 2008 we were here for Hurricane Hannah and we hope we can ride this one out too! Even if they do evacuate us we would probably would just go to Chris's house and then come back to Corolla after the storm passes. Yesterday we went to the beach and today Evan and I explored the resort beach/pool and got in our pool with Chris. I'll add some more pictures soon!
Never have I realized it more than in the past week that I should have been blogging more these past few months. I guess I'll try to start at the beginning. I'd been slacking off on blogging because it seems as if everyone is on Facebook. At the end of the day I really felt like it was just repetitive and tedious.
Then last week my hard drive on my Mac decided to go south in a big big way! Leaving me back on my PC. BUT, I didn't back up and lost a TON of pictures. Yes, no need to lecture me, I have thoroughly beat my self up about it.
Which leads me back to why I should have been blogging. There are some pictures like our recent family trip to Steamtown National Park that are gone forever. And it really got me thinking as to why I began his blog wayyy back when I was pregnant with the little bean. My goal then and is now to document his life so that he and others can look at it later and have a record some interesting parts of his life. Who cares if nobody is looking at it now? I want him and his family to have it later. Evan, my dear, I'm sorry that I got lazy and stopped making posts! Here and now I'm committing to do a better job. My goal is the same. It's not to be professional or somehow really WOW anyone else but Evan. When I go back and look at the posts before he was born it really zaps you back to that moment in time. Can you imagine when he's 16 and looking at all of this? I hope we can share a lot of laughs and a few "MOM why did you post that????"!!!!!
Since I really can't post any pictures...I'll give you a little update on how our summer went and where it's going!
We went to Maui in June for 2 weeks. I did post a link to some pictures and NO we didn't lose those!! It was simply a fabulous trip. We went hiking, saw volcanoes, flew in a helicopter, took a a private SUV tour of the Road to Hana, swam, laid on the beach, I went to the Spa and we just had blast all around! I would like to get some more pictures up of that trip and will try to do that.
Our next trip was to Jacksonville, North Carolina to welcome Evan's Brother Chris home from his deployment to Afghanistan. There are pictures of that too, and I'll post some of those soon. That experience was like no other. Evan really loves his brother and sister. The three of them have a special relationship. I look forward to watching it grow through the years. That trip really made me realize what an awesome family I have. Evan is lucky too, to have a brother and sister like Chris and Koren. Trips and experiences like this really bring about all the good there is in family. Welcome Home Chris and thank you for doing your part...AGAIN!!
/>Just a few weeks after Chris got home we had a pending trip scheduled to visit Steamtown National Park and tickets to attend the Scranton Minor League Baseball teams home game. All of us went! Jim, Me, Evan, Koren, Jesse and Chris! And we all drove up together in my new obsession!! My husband bought me a 2011 Toyota Sienna Limited for my Birthday! I absolutely adore this car! So we packed up the "Shark" (my nickname) and went on a road trip. The game was so much fun even if it was a feeder team to the Yankees! And anyone with kids, especially boys, should put Steamtown on a "must do" list! It's an amazing place. We took a 2 hour train ride and Evan was overjoyed! Sadly, though, unless the Geek Squad saves me these pictures and video are gone forever. :( I guess we'll just have to go back!!
Evan continues to attend the Little Gym and loves it! So do I! Evan has been going since he was about 1 year old. He did Sports Camp this summer too. He's registered this fall to attend the Sports Skills Class there. We also signed him up for his 1st T-ball team! Look for those pictures late this fall. Sure to be a hit! (yes...I'm funny)
Evan will start his first full year of Pre-School this year and we are both excited. Well, maybe just me! But he is going back to the same school as last year and he really did love it there. He's going to go 3 afternoons a week. This summer Evan's speech just flourished. He really opened the flood gates while we were in Hawaii...not sure what it was but the boy was just inspired. We just started back with Speech Therapy with his amazing therapist today. It's an amazing thing to hear him express himself and be able to finally tell me he loves me. And when I asked him the other day was he glad he could now talk and tell me stuff he said "Yes, I don't wanna be like a baby anymore, I'm a big boy". His best buddies are Jamie, Owen, Thomas, and McKenzie. Although he loves playing with my friend Stacy's 3 girls and Mrs. Davis's Abby!! Who wouldn't?? Evan seems to be making friends more and more now that he can really talk with them! Never mind how charming and funny he is. And cute...really cute!!
Our next big adventure begins this weekend when we take off to our annual 2 week retreat! Corolla, NC in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. We first went there in 2007 because we didn't want to go on a vacation that required us to fly with a baby! Well, we found a piece of paradise in Corolla. Next year will probably be our last year to enjoy the quietness of the off-season. Evan starts Kindergarten in 2012! But we will enjoy it for 2 more years
Let's see, I think that brings us up to date! Enough anyway! You can still comment here on the blog, which I always thought was a cool way for Evan to see what people thought about him! Who knows if Facebook will be around forever, but this blog will be.
