Beach and Aquarium...what fun!!

This past weekend, we decided to get away for a little family vacay and went Havelock first, to stay the night Saturday, and then got up and went to Morehead City to go to the beach. Gabby absolutely loved the beach. Cavan and I had to wait in the car while he ate, and Clay took Gabby on down to play. He said they built sand castles and then she decided to be brave and went into the water. You can see her standing out in the water and then sitting in it. She has become quite brave since her last visit, where she ran from the waves half of the time. She is so funny! Zaidy did a lot better too. She actually let the waves hit her and didn't try to run too much.

We lasted about a hour and a half at the beach before they put the red flag up. Such a bummer, and you could see the waves getting worse and worse. Gabby did not want to leave, but we told her we were going to the Aquarium and she was okay. We're in the car eating before going into the Aquarium and Gabby of course, was into everything.

We were attempting to get her to make that crazy face she made the last time we were there, but of course, as you can tell, she was not feeling it. =0)

So...in this last collage, I'm trying to take a picture with Gabby. Well, she was fine with the first one, but as you can tell in the bottom right picture, she is telling me to leave so she can take a picture by herself. The two by herself, show her real enthusiasm about being in the big shark mouth. Such a silly kid!

It was weird trying to pack for our last minute trip. It took forever and I left a ton of stuff behind that we needed. We've decided that with two kids now, there will be no more last minute trips. Ha ha! Well, at least for now! =0)

Guess what I did?????

As many of you know, I have not wanted to cut Gabby's hair. I knew that that would say goodbye to her little curls that hang at the end. So I have been putting it off, trying to tie it up everyday and even putting it in braids at night so it wouldn't be in her face. Well, the other night, I decided that it was time. =0)
Before:

After:

Thankfully, Cavan slept through the whole fiasco! =0) I love having a swing!

The pink blanket was courtesy of Gabby! =0)

Need to take more pictures!

I finally decided it was time to give Cavan his first "real" bath. =0) We had been doing the lovely sponge bath since he came home, however I just have been putting off dunking him. Poor kid peed twice, once in his face and even had a bit of poop end up in the water. Needless to say we had to clean the water out, this mind you, is why I hesitated for so long. Baths always end up being longer and more trouble sometimes than they need to be. Anyways, he did great other than that. He did cry a couple of times, and his little bottom lip did shiver a few times, but other than that, he did great! =0) He is so stinkin' cute too!

Last Monday, Daddy and Gabby got back in their pool to cool off and play and Cavan and I were able to come out and snap some pictures of them, and a few of us. Oddly enough, I never have pictures of me and my kids. Sonja and Mom snapped a few of me in the hospital, which I am grateful for. I sometimes think maybe my kids should know I was around a little bit and not always behind the camera. =0)

The other night I had a hankering' for some yummy food, and I know Clay loves red velvet cake, so I decided to combine my desire for food and his like of cake, and made some Red velvet cupcakes. When I was done, Gabby was more than happy to help me "decorate" them. After each sprinkle, that cupcake was picked up and bit off of. I caught onto her at cupcake number 3, and told her she needed to eat the ones she had already started on. In the end, there were more sprinkles on the floor and counter than on the cupcakes. Gotta love a very obliging and giving child! She did do really good helping me though and thoroughly enjoyed herself! =0)

iParte de mi Testimonio!

"The great Atonement was the supreme act of forgiveness. The magnitude of that Atonement is beyond our ability to completely understand. I know only that it happened, and that it was for me and for you. The suffering was so great, the agony so intense, that none of us can comprehend it when the Savior offered Himself as a ransom for the sins of all mankind.

It is through Him that we gain forgiveness. It is through Him that there comes the certain promise that all mankind will be granted the blessings of salvation, with resurrection from the dead. It is through Him and His great overarching sacrifice that we are offered the opportunity through obedience of exaltation and eternal life.

May God help us to be a little kinder, showing forth greater forbearance, to be more forgiving, more willing to walk the second mile, to reach down and lift up those who may have sinned but have brought forth the fruits of repentance, to lay aside old grudges and nurture them no more. For this I humbly pray, in the sacred name of our Redeemer, even the Lord Jesus Christ, amen." ~ President Hinckley

I love President Hinckley. He was such a wonderful Prophet, and a great Man! I was reading some post made by some FB buddies, and for some reason it made me think of this talk given back, right after Clay and I were married. We reached 5 years of marriage back at the beginning of June. In a fireside given last night, it was said that most marriages these days last 0 to 5 years. I looked at Clay when that was said, and told him "I think we made it!". Of course, that doesn't mean anything, marriage is always a work in progress. =0) I love this message from President Hinckley, because I can truthfully tell you, that this has been the hardest lesson for me to learn during our marriage. Pride has always been a issue with me, not suffering from it so to speak (I know many would say I am prideful), but seeing it in others and not wanting them to suffer the consequences of it. There was another quote given last night, that as usual opened my eyes once again (repetition is so important). "Pride is about who is right while humility is concerned with what is right." ~ President Kimball. I too, suffer from the first part of this sentence, which just reminds me that I am human, and that I have a very long way to go. I know all of this is kind of random, I'm tired as usual, but just felt like posting. I pray every day that I can be a better person, one worthy of what my Savior did for me during that time in the Garden of Gethsemane. He is my older Brother, a great example to the world, and the one I strive to be like. =0)

Lovely Aquarium!!!

We went to the Pine Knolls Shore Aquarium this past Saturday with Dianne and Scarlett. We had so much fun. I think one of the best parts of the day, was watching the excitement on both Gabby and Scarlett as they were walking into the aquarium, running everywhere, so excited to see it all. It was a blast!!

My favorite picture has to be the bottom right picture in this one below with the stuffed Alligator. Gabby is so funny! She was showing us what it looked like.

Daddy was trying his hardest to get her to go "Aaahhhhhh", but it came out more of a surprised look!! Ha ha!! =0)
They had this cool play area opened this time where the kids could come and color or play with toys. So we stopped in for a bit! It ended up being "work" for Dianne and I. =0)
I think Gabby would have enjoyed the ocean a bit more, however she kind of got dunked and almost swept away a few times, and so most of the time she spent running up onto the sand and trying to bury herself, or on Daddy's back. So silly!! =0)

I should have cleaned these off a long time ago!

I finally cleared the photos off of my phone, all 226 of them!! Thanks Mom for letting me use your little card! =0) Here are just a few that I thought were so fun, I needed to share!

Pirate Fest....Arrrrrrrgh!!!! =0)

This morning, we decided we'd take Gabby to the Pirate Fest downtown. We have actually never been ourselves, so it was new for us too!! It ended up being very cool!! We discovered there was so much more at the very end, which was a bummer for us, because we were ready to leave. Gabby loved every minute of it. We forgot the stroller, so she had the wonderful privilege of walking, which she would have wanted anyways. =0) Paw Paw, Grandma and Aunt Ya ya came with us, making it extra fun, especially for Gabby!!

Last night, Uncle David and Aunt Ya ya came down to give Gabby some gifts. She immediately opened the jewelry, however the Dora hat they got her, she still claims is Uncle David's, because he came in the house with it on his head. So silly!!! =0) I had to snap some shots of Gabby helping Uncle David out with her jewelry! Doesn't he look great??

Snow Day!!

We decided to go ahead and brave the sleet and go out and play in the snow! The weather channel said we were going to have freezing rain later today and so we didn't want to miss the chance to let Gabby play in the snow. We were all drenched by the time we came inside. Aunt Ya ya came down and played with us for a few minutes too. We felt bad we called and had her come and then stayed out like another five minutes. =0)

What do you mean the ornaments have to stay on the tree...

We had a grand ol' time decorating the tree yesterday. Gabby had been sick over the weekend, and was still last night, however we decided to go ahead and give it a shot. It was so fun watching her enjoy it all for about 15 minutes. Then the boredom set in and she was so busy taking ornaments off of the tree and then getting into what Daddy was doing, that it just made the evening such a joy (please note sarcasm). =0) We put candy canes on it today and she has already attempted to eat any in sight. Gotta love the Season!!!

Already getting bored. Don't ya just love the face? =0)

At one point she was asking for Oreo's and so to appease the storm that was raging, we gave her one. If you zoom in, you can see it all over her face. =0)