July 2018 Catch Up

This past summer we spent July 4th week at Pirateland. We had an absolute blast. We love the beach- especially my little beach bums. We don't have to leave the campground all week if we don't want to and it is actually a very relaxing week... well... considering I still cook and clean and do laundry and entertain the kiddos :) 

We spent time each day at the pool/lazy river/ and splash pad. 

And we also spent lots of time in the hammocks at our camper. 

These two spent lots of time in the sand and surf. This boogie board has a lot of miles on it! It was Jonathans when he was younger and now the boys love to take it for a spin.

We also went crabbing and fishing in the pond behind our camper. I say
"we" but I don't exactly mean "me". 

After supper many nights, we went back to the beach. Someone took a little tumble in the sand.

We bought a trick kite and the boys loved to fly it on the beach in the evenings.

Last year, we participated in the 4th of July parade. This year, we just watched. The boys got candy and got to see the sights. They were happy :)

 

We soaked up so much sun! We spent some time EVERY day enjoying the beach. I'm so thankful these two love the beach as much as I do! It's in their Hamilton blood, that's for sure! 

Holden would dig in the sand all day long.

We also had a little tv area set up outside for a little downtime while mommy cooked.

I loved this spot this past year. It had a picnic shelter so I took full advantage with hammocks and lights. 

We spent time in the arcade at the campground too. This arcade only cost us about $100 for the week :)

Snacking was also a top priority- clearly. There's nothing like eating some chips and snacks with sandy hands. Note Holden's lack of pants. Once the sand started rubbing and chafing him, he took them right on off.

More photo shoots from an evening walk on the beach after supper.

After our nightly walks on the beach, we went on golf cart rides. Those rides usually ended with ice cream, fried cheesecake, or fried oreos.  

 No trip to the beach is complete without a replacement hermit crab or two! Meet Bob and Nicholas.

We went to some of the kid craft times at the campground. On this particular day, the boys painted starfish!

ONe night we let the boys take their bikes on the beach. This was a lot more challenging than any of us thought it would be!

I was determined to find a shark's tooth... and I did! 

 

God's beautiful creation at sunset.

Toward the end of the week, my parents came down to hang out with us. The boys loved having GaGa and Gee Gee with us for a few days.... and so did I... minus someone's snoring! :)

We left the camper to go grab some seafood and see the mermaids. This restaurant has become part of our tradition. Holden was quite perplexed by the "mermaids".

 Our humble abode all lit up at night.

After a fun week, we said good bye to our home for the week.

 

And as per tradition, I took the boys to the beach to say goodbye... until next year.

The rest of July was spent having fun and being tan. These two constantly make me laugh. Here they are playing daddy and baby. Bennett pulled out the baby carrier to carry Holden around the house. This didn't last long since Holden only weighs 9 pounds less than B.

We got ready for K3 by practicing our writing skills.

And we went for lunch dates together. He loved finding a Coke with GaGa's name on it!

We did a little geocaching around town too. This little magnetic metal plate had us stumped for a very long time! The man at the produce stand was even helping us look! 

Bennett went through a cowboy phase. Thankfully it was short lived because horses terrify me. The boys decided they wanted to ride a horse. We went down the road to Mr. Butch's. Bennett was a lot more timid than Holden which is actually pretty common. H actually ended up liking it more than Bennett did. 

We spent many mornings snuggling and sleeping late!

We spent so much time outside. Somehow these two always find some mud!

We soaked up time with each other. These two are best friends. They started their mornings with snuggles on the couch.

After some inspiration from the Futch's sandbox, I revamped ours. This provided hours of entertainment.

and so did this! Granddaddy's pool was out of commission so we borrowed GaGa and Gee Gee's inflatable pool. The boys didn't mind at all!

We also had a pretty good garden... as long as we could stay ahead of the rats and racoons that loved to eat the fruit!

We had four wheeler play dates with our friends.

And Bennett and Holden made their own little redneck country club in the back yard :)

We ended July with a quick dinner in Greenville with Uncle Dan and Aunt Jana. These two were our rock when daddy was sick and they were in the trenches with us during the last weeks. We could not have survived that time without them. They are such blessings to us!

This picture makes me smile. I was cleaning out Bennett's room and was feeling a little nostalgic. I looked through his baby book and found some cards from his first birthday. I recognized the handwriting on the envelope immediately and opened it up to find $20 from my daddy we never got out! Bennett was thrilled and I smiled myself.