Nantucket!

Two weeks ago (yes, two weeks. I know that's a long time to wait for a recap of such a fun trip, but a little thing called VBS owned my life the last week and a half) ...two weeks ago our little family of three returned from an awesome vacation with my fam in Nantucket. I have been wanting to spend some time at an East coast beach town pretty much since realizing we were going to be living in Pennsylvania, and this was all that I hoped for and more! Nantucket is an absolutely adorable little island, and we relaxed and explored to our hearts content. (Now, to be honest, we totally pulled the copy cat move on this little vacay idea when we saw pictures that my cousins posted of their trip just a couple months prior to ours. We even got an awesome list of all the best things to see, do, and eat while there. So, thanks guy!! Where are you headed next? We're ready for our itinerary :)

Anyhow, I'll first let the charm of the island win your hearts with these pics that all came from Marie's artful eye.

After arriving (in our pint-sized-flying-sauna of a plane) we had a couple hours to kill while waiting for our house to be ready for us. So we ate Mexican food (even though they all just came from California and we probably should have embraced the many seafood options at our fingertips) and shopped up and down the adorable cobblestone streets of the town.

I even staged Lee by the Lee sign :)

Then we found the house that was to be our home for the week, smiled at our awesome set-up, and started settling in.

not too shabby :)

My mom and I went grocery shopping while Audrey got to hang out with these fun people:

Crazy Aunt Marie. Every family's gotta have one...

reunited

We chilled around the house that evening-- catching up, playing with the baby (best form of entertainment), eating some good food around a big table, and soaking in a decidedly not-big hot tub. (Everyone's knees were touching, and the tub actually looked like a barrel, so it was a classic barrel of monkeys moment. Who ended up with that picture? Sarah?)

And, maybe there was some ice cream involved...Let's be honest, when my dad's in the picture there is always ice cream involved. 

The next day we walked/rode bikes down the hill to this perfect little beach. Yes, Lee had that rainbow umbrella sticking out of the back of his bike like a carnival man.

And guess who was the main form of entertainment at the beach?

This little lady right here:

This was a big improvement from her past beach experiences in Cayman when she kinda freaked out if a grain of sand got on her. This time it didn't take her long to realize that sand is cool and filling buckets is the best way to spend an hour (or two).

She was so focused on the sand, though, I couldn't get her to look up for a descent smiling picture, except for that wave behind the fascinating funnel. She could have watched that thing spin 50 times in a row.

While sitting in our little family circle my dad piped up with something like this:

"So what's our ice cream plan for the day? I'm concerned that we don't have one."

We, of course, then had to make one.

Then it was time for a family walk to the water where Daddy showed Audrey his rock skipping skills and Mama almost let her suck on a nasty crab claw.

We walked along the beach with the fam for a little ways, collecting all sorts of interesting shells and gawking at enormous houses right on the water.

The next day bikes were ridden, sun was soaked, naps were taken, and ice cream was eaten. (I actually even tried a maple and bacon flavored ice cream... It was interesting, but the mint Oreo was everyone's favorite. On a handmade waffle cone...mmmmm. That is what drew Lee's nose into the shop the first day. They were incredible. There was even a two-cone-back-to-back night for Lee and my dad. Had to compare the two top shops.)

The we ended up at a restaurant on the other side of the island for dinner. 

Audrey fell asleep in the car and was a little out-of-sorts when waking, so people rotated who got to walk with her through the gardens and down to the beach.

Turns out she was out-of-sorts because she was getting sick. Poor thing. Unfortunately it was really bad timing because we had scheduled a photographer to come the next morning to take some family pictures. Audrey ended up spending much of the photo shoot time like this:

We still ended up with some good shots, and I'll get those up here soon, but I'll warn you now that she doesn't look like her happy, smiling self in many of them. It taught us a lesson though--always bring her breathing machine when traveling! It was awful watching her little lungs have to work so hard.  

Luckily her breathing had improved a lot and she was feeling better that afternoon so we took to the seas for a little cruise on a cute sailboat.

Love these shots. (Thanks Marie!)

This was fitting since it was actually Lee and Jaimie's anniversary
and on their honeymoon they sailed their own boat for a week
around the Mediterranean.

I really wish this was in focus...Such a great one!

Audrey got a little fussy towards the end, so Daddy came to the rescue with all sorts of entertainment for her.

Next up? Dinner, ice cream, and a bike ride to the beach!

How adorable is his passenger?

Matching sweatshirts with Aunt Sarah!

And now for some big news....

Check out the most adorable pig tails I have ever seen!!

as if her profile wasn't sweet enough already

Now how do we convince the hair on the front of her head to start growing more?

Well, if anyone can handle the baby mullet I think she can.

Ryan, Audrey, and I had to leave a couple days before the rest of the crew, so we had a yummy farewell breakfast before heading to the airport. Audrey was such a big girl, didn't even need to sit by us and ate her fruit and yogurt like a champ.

I think she's going to miss being the mealtime entertainment.

Okay, I think that about sums up the highlights of the trip.

Except for this:

We actually left before this moment happened, 

so I can't even tell you what's going on. But I love it.

All in all, it was a great couple of days. I wish we could have made it last longer, but at least we made every moment count. 

Oh yeah, and did I mention we ate ice cream?

Family and the 4th of July

We had a full house the past week and a half, and Audrey was loving it!

First, Grandma came to visit, and the two of them acted as if they hadn't skipped a beat. Skype definitely helps fill those months apart. Audrey and Grandma had lots of quality one-on-one time while Daddy was working and Mama was at various meetings. We also got to go shopping with Grandma (lost luggage after a crazy day of delayed flights deserves that :) and take a trip to Ikea. We attempted a trip to the zoo one day, only to turn around after a worthy effort to get there. Detours, road blocks, and my bad navigation skills took the wind out of our sails before we even found the parking lot. Add a crazy hot day and an impending nap time and we decided it just wasn't worth it. Maybe another time... Instead we went out to lunch at Panera where Audrey ate her mac and cheese like a champ, and then proceeded to vomit it up right in front of the door when we were making our exit. Good times.

Audrey loved getting to show off her crawling skills to a new and enthusiastic cheerleader. And she really hammed up her playing to get all sorts of laughter out of Grandma. Not to mention laughter out of Audrey! There is a bath time video that has a bunch of crazy squeals in it as they played together. There is also a video documenting Audrey's insane love of garlic hummus which impressed Grandma greatly. And a video of Audrey's energetic peek-a-boo game in her new teepee. So, while we documented their time well with videos, we were a little lacking on the photos, which meant we had to do a little photo shoot before taking Grandma to the airport.

Story time.
Grandma came with lots of new books for her girl, so they spent a lot of time reading together.

surprise face!
 (Audrey does this all the time, it's pretty cute:)

swinging

my favorite :)

Grandma left on the 2nd of July, then on the 3rd we got a little patriotic and drew some fireworks on Audrey's chalkboard. Audrey's are the type that shoot off the ground, in case you couldn't tell.

Add a bow and a cute smile and you've got yourself an Instagram picture!

On the 4th we decided to be twins. 

I only felt a little bit silly going to the grocery store like this...

patriotism doen't get much cuter than this.

That afternoon Candyce, Jeff, Carina, and Zach arrived! We hung out at the house and played, baked cupcakes, and cooked a yummy dinner while they recovered a bit from their long drive down from NH. Then it was off to watch some fireworks! I had high hopes of getting good seats for the big show down town, but I didn't exactly account for travel time, traffic, not knowing where I was going, finding a parking spot, and walking in the heat at 8 months pregnant. All those factors combined together and resulted in us parking in some random (and slightly sketchy) lot up the hill from the venue and watching them from the hood of our cars. It was actually a pretty good view, and maybe being farther away was easier for Audrey. She startles pretty easily and might not have done well being too close to the loud noises. As it was she loved them! Her sweet eyes were open wide, her mouth slightly parted in awe, and her finger pointing at all the bright and glittery flashes. Precious.

The next morning we had fun around the breakfast table.

We read some books.

We talked to Grandma and Grandpa on Skype.

And then we headed out for the Crayola Factory! (or just "The Factory," and C and Z like to refer to it)

It was redone since our visit last year, and even though it was ridiculously crowded, it didn't disappoint with all the art projects and souvenirs. Carina and Zach didn't seem to be too bothered by the crowds as they were running eagerly from one station to the next making crayons and markers, decorating puzzles, making drip wax art, and playing with modeling clay... but most of it was still a good deal above Audrey's head.

She was able to enjoy some of it. Namely this activity table:

and the glowing, color-changing, giant crayons.

When we got back home we were all pretty beat and took some awesome naps.

Then the girls got in a little reading time before dinner.

After dinner it was bath time!

too much fun :)

The next day was a hang around the house sort of day. 

After a lazy morning and a big breakfast (that included a very smokey house from bacon grease dripping in the oven) we suited up and splashed in the pool for a while.

I love this shot. They definitely look related :)

Getting sprayed by the whale's spout!

time to retire another bathing suit... it's a little snug.

eating some frozen yogurt pops in the shade

During Audrey's nap time I got to be girly with Carina and paint her nails. I believe we used ten different colors. I love the fashion choices of little girls. 

A yummy barbecue dinner that night just about wrapped up the visit. They headed home in the morning and we took off to church. But we snapped one more cute picture before saying our goodbyes.

Carina got me all excited to be a mom of a big girl. So much so that I actually bought Audrey her first little purse today :)  (Shhh, Daddy doesn't know yet. I'm sure he'll be thrilled.---It's so she can practice her fine motor skills of zipping and unzipping, Babe. I was two seconds away from buying her a bracelet too, but I practiced restraint on that one, so at least that counts for something ;) 

So far all that's in the purse is a toy dinosaur, but she proudly sits with it hung over her shoulder. 

I love it :) She's growing up and it's so much fun to watch. She really seemed to want to be like the big kids while her cousins were here. She crawled after them, proudly showed them her toys, and watched all they did with complete fascination. Zach is just hilarious and really left me hoping that we'll have a son some day. Boys are wild and crazy and yet so incredibly sweet at the same time. And Carina is the perfect big sister. She was so good about taking care of Audrey, playing with her, and trying to understand her babble. I know you're going to have two brothers, hun, but don't feel outnumbered, I have a feeling that Audrey will always adore you like a sister. 

We're excited to head up your way sometime in the fall to meet that newest little boy!