4th of July Vacation

Friday we drove to Beaufort, SC and spent the night w/ Kristin (Dru was out of town).  

Sat we visited Kristin's work, then drove to Ocean Isle, NC.  

We spent a great week at the beach w/ Eddie's family --- 

the kids had tons of fun playing together

we went to the beach, swam in the pool, rented ocean kayaks, etc.

Ali, Rye, Avery, Eddie, Carrie, William, Cameron, Jay, Adrienne, 

Pat, Katherine, Ron, Nathaniel, Lyell, Charlotte & Amie @ Ocean Isle, NC

Ali & Avery enjoying the beach...

Our little family of 4...

Katherine, Charlotte & Nathaniel collecting sand diggers...

  

Aunt Debbie with the kiddos...

Carrie brought a fun art project for all the kids -- 

she gave each of them a t-shirt and let them use puff paint 

to create their own 4th of July shirts.  

Everyone had a blast!  Aren't these cousins so cute!

Baby William... learning to crawl!

Cameron organized a circus and here all the girls getting ready and making a poster...

Nana & Guga with all their grand babies!

And the attempt to get everyone together for a picture...

Next to impossible!

Eddie's family...

Amie's family...

Carrie's family...

The whole crew...

Friday my parents drove in for a day on the beach and to celebrate Avery's 1st birthday --

Cici & PopPop with their grand kids!

Then it was time for some fun at the beach!

Avery loved walking around and exploring with Cici...

Ali learned to boogie board and was having a blast...

Ali's my little beach baby surfer girl ;)

    

A fun 4th of July Parade...

Eddie, Carrie & Amie w/ their next generation legacy...

Ali & Avery...

Nana w/ Avery & William...

 Ali & Charlotte had a super fun time playing together...

Let the Adventures Continue...

Ocean Isle --> Beaufort --> JAX --> Home

Saturday we left Ocean Isle, NC and drove down with my parents to Beaufort, SC to stay with Dru & Kristin.  The next AM we went on a walk and waited patiently for the ice cream truck...

 Dru and Kristin are such wonderful hosts and made us feel right at home.  I am so happy for them both!  God's plan is very apparent in their lives - first just bringing them together, then getting to really know one another, then for everything to work out for Kristin's job in Beaufort (less than 1/ 2mile from their gorgeous neighborhood)...
Me & Dru -- I'm so proud of my little brother!
I love you DRU!

The beauty of Beaufort, SC

The newlyweds...

Sunday, we went to the beach!  Uncle Dru did a fly-by with one of his students while we were enjoying the day at Hunting Island...

 Monday we had a great visit w/ Dr. Jackel at the Mayo Clinic 

and he gave us the great news that Eddie's scans looked awesome!  

Praise God!

We drove back to Melbourne that afternoon, and tried to get the majority of things unpacked and ready for the week...

Avery's Walking...

Avery's walking well -- She took her first steps not too long ago, but now, there's no stopping her!

The transition phase... crawling --> walking

 Avery will have a memorable 4th of July Holiday... 

it's basically when she really started walking!  Really walking!

 

She gained some confidence just days before the beach trip, but she got lots of practice walking to all her cousins.  She did an amazing job at the beach with the waves and soft sand!

It's so cute to watch her concentrate on balancing and strategically place each footstep...