Houston's Birthday

On August 3rd, it was Houston's 8th birthday. (Houston is Steve and Rebecca's oldest son) We celebrated by "night swimming" and having cake. (Their family spent the day at the aquarium.) Auntie Diane and Holly playing a little "tennis".

Luke taking a swing at it.

It was a great night for a fire.
Caroline and Caleb in the "hot tub". (we fill it with hot water from the sink whenever Caleb comes over)

mmmmmmmmm........
Daddy and Uncle Colin
Caroline and Caleb. . . Caroline can't get enough of him. :)
cheeeeeese!!!We were so happy to have ALL of the cousins together!!!! What a blessing!!

Blueberry Picking

Before we left Bethany Beach, we decided to go blueberry picking. . . good decision. :) We had a great time. We didn't stay too long because it started to pour while we were there!!! We got a lot of blueberries, though. yummmmm...Luke put most of the berries in his mouth, which I was thrilled about because I could never get him to eat blueberries before. (he is a very picky eater) Grandpa was very thorough. He made sure to get every good berry on the bush before moving on. :)Caroline was very good at determining if the berries were ripe enough.

(Did you know that blueberries don't ripen any more after they have been picked?)Grandma picking berries. . .looks like a very hot summer day, right? It started POURING right after this picture!!

Both Caroline and Jake helped Luke fill his bucket.It was so nice of Aunt Marg to help us pick!!! (in the rain!!!)

Big Brother

I love this picture because it really shows what Jake is all about.

We had already walked a mile to the dunes and then up the dunes (after playing all day at the beach). On the way back from the dunes, Jake's feet were hurting. He had mentioned it several times.

Jake saw Luke struggling to keep walking, so he bent down , picked up Luke and carried him . . . hurt feet and all. I love how compassionate Jake is.

The Dunes

When we were at Bethany Beach, we walked a mile to the dunes. The kids were hot and tired, but they gathered enough energy to make the trek up the dune . . . they LOVED running down it so fast!!! All of a sudden, they had a burst of energy and wanted to climb it again. Too bad the parents didn't get that same burst of energy. . .plus, we had to make that mile walk back before it got dark!

Grandpa and Uncle Dan on the way there. . .good to see the brothers together.

At the bottom. . .before we hiked up.

Up, up, up. . .

Down, down, down... go Jake!!

Poor John wanted to do flips down the dune, but he didn't think the doctor would approve after his Achilles tendon surgery.Here comes Luke!!
Weeee!
Am I going too fast????
Here we come!!!

Luke and Dawson getting a little help from the daddys on the way home.

Uncle Steve and Auntie Becca.

We better hurry. . .the sun is going down!!

Luke and I took a little break from the walking. :)

Look at the beautiful sunset we got to see.

Fun with Family at Bethany Beach

Not all of our fun was on the sand and in the water while we were at Bethany Beach . . . we had just as much fun just spending time together with family in the house and at the park. :)On Saturday night, there was a Christian brass band concert, which was fantastic!! The cousins were intently listening.

Getting a ride on Grandpa.

"Hang me upside down!!"

(Caroline always says that Grandma loves her and Grandpa hangs her upside down) Grandma

Luke and me at dinner after church on Sunday. . .they have a really great church at Bethany Beach!

Auntie Becca and Uncle Steve.


Uncle Steve sharing a laugh with Holly (and Grandpa)
Tickle time!!!
Auntie Becca is tickling Dawson, too!

Caroline, Holly, and Houston reading a book about insects.

Houston going through his new collection of rocks from the beach.

Holly learned how to do the Hula Hoop!!!

Holly and Caroline

A highlight of the trip for Caroline was being able to pick out any flavor of ice cream at The Well (the ice cream/candy shop at the beach). Caroline picked Blue Moon. She enjoyed every bit of it since I usually never let her get that kind because of all the blue food coloring in it. It is officially her favorite kind of ice cream :) mmmm....
We brought the kids' scooters so they could get around easily.
The cousins getting dizzy together.

We had so much fun and were so glad that Uncle Steve, Auntie Becca, Houston, Holly, and Dawson were there, too!!! What a blessing it was to spend time with family.

p.s... I'll post more pictures tomorrow!!