Friends!

One awesome perk about living in NC: being a 10 hour drive from our home of FL. I was super excited when my lifelong friend, Sheryl, and her two kiddos wanted to come visit! Absolutely! It was so much fun to catch up with her and to see our kids play together. It was like the year we hadn't seen each other didn't exist.

We spent our days having good old-fashioned fun. Water balloon fights, running around in the sprinkler, eating popsicles, playing tag and red light-green light, board games, swimming. We filled our evenings with grilling dinners, drinking wine, and staying up til 2 am chatting. For the almost 10 years I have been married, I have never been able to host Sheryl and her family. We have always lived too far. It was really nice to welcome her into our home and see a glimpse into our lives:)

 Ella couldn't get enough of Makayla's AG doll, Isabelle

 Sheryl brought everyone cupcakes from the shop she owns in FL! We celebrated Madeline's birthday a little early and she loved every bit of the attention!

 Coloring aka quiet time.

 Such a princess;)

 A morning at the Children's Museum...

 Taking turns being the weather person!

 Jackson playing with the egg drop. He was way nicer than Sam who just threw the eggs every time.

Madeline...the mail carrier.

 Future...firefighter chicks.

 After the museum, we spent some time having a picnic in a park nearby!

Getting Settled

New house. New city. New state. New bedrooms. New surroundings...

The joys of moving.

I miss Newport. I miss it so very much. I miss the pretty scenery. I miss my friends. I miss our church. I miss how close Dunkin Donuts always seemed to be. I miss going to really awesome playgrounds and not sweating.

I will say the one thing I love about NC so far is how friendly the people are! But other than that...

I know, I know. Every duty station is what we make of it. I get it. I have heard it 1000x before. My mind is open. I hope eventually I feel settled and comfortable and make new friends, and explore this state to it's fullest. I bet I end up loving it.

Luckily, the kids seem to be doing just fine! They are loving the pool in the neighborhood and playing outside everyday. I guess if they're happy, mama is happy:)

 A little bit of JBK artwork in my house;)

 Ummmm my drive. This is all I see. Ever.

 He was really happy to be home!

The Move.

After we left Newport, we headed to Long Island to visit family annnnnnd drop our three sweet children off. Back in March, my mom and aunts came up with the plan to take the kids during the move and unpacking part. At first, I thought I couldn't be away from my children for that long, but then one of them would do something to make me mad and all of a sudden it was the best idea on the planet. My family in NY knows what a difficult move we experienced last summer with Madeline being sick, our stuff being lost/stolen/delivered a month late and just the general stress a PCS move puts on young children. They wanted to make it a lot easier on us as a family and it turned out to be the very best idea ever.

Tom and I were able to unpack the entire house, set up rooms, get rid of boxes, and organize it all in the week they had our children. While we were cutting boxes open and swimming in the sea of cardboard and packing paper, our kids were off at the aquarium, children's museum, parks, swimming, playing with cousins, eating an endless supply of snacks, watching fireworks, staying up late and getting ALL of the attention in the world. Which is something I knew I couldn't give them during a move.

We are beyond grateful for everyone who helped in taking care of our babes. The old saying is true "It takes a village to raise a child." Orrrrr just my NY family;) Love you ALL so much.

Warning: Pic Overload! 

Hanging with Mila. I tried to get her to smile...nothing.

 Tom takes her for two seconds: WHAT??

 Sabrina with Sam

And then the parents left for NC and left their babies behind. 

 Swimming at Uncle Joe's house! His pool is a saltwater one and absolutely gorgeous!

4th of July FUN!

I promise the flags were in the ground and Sam threw them everywhere;)

My loves

 He was mad that he only had one hot dog for dinner. How is he so tiny when he eats like a teenage boy??

 A really cool house was turned into a puppet theater. Part creepy. Part interesting.

Mermaid chandelier 

 Children's Museum fun!

 Learning how sand is made

 The gluing station. Could be Madeline's most favorite place ever.

 Ohhhhhh Lordy. 7 Madelines.

 I think Ella would love a few clones of herself;)

 Sam just chillin'

 Swimming before the storm hit!

That tushy!!!

 Aquarium/fishing fun with Aunt Lorraine!

Selfie with Aunt Jeanne!

 Cousins!

 Meanwhile, in North Carolina...

They're home!