Harding Randoms

No more pictures mom!

Making homemade pizza.

angry birds + lincoln logs = AWESOME!

Post chocolate ice cream cone beard:

Watch out for the fierce skeleton dragon!

Beach Trip #2

We went to Holden Beach with the Mattice side of the family at the end of August, and it was a great way to relax, reconnect, stuff ourselves with yummy food, and say goodbye to summer vacation! I especially loved watching Harding, Shelby and Riley playing....they are already kindling their cousin love for each other!

This is what our daily beach camp looked like. The kiddie pool was key to keeping Riley and Shelby happy.
The surf fishing was phenomenal and Harding was allowed to reel in several fish.

Part of one day's catch. We also caught several small sharks and didn't keep them. Pretty creepy what you share the ocean with when you are swimming!

End of the week feast from the fish that we had caught. Plus green beans and tomato pie! We had a lot of fun with the lazy susan on this big table.
Harding and Riley making cookies with my mom.
Shelby getting some snuggle time with Cambridge.
Harding became quite attached to this feather and used it to draw several pictures in the sand.
Sadly, this is one of our better attempts at a picture of all three of the kids.
Being silly with Nana.
This is Harding's take on a sand flea.

BeBe, Papa, and all the Young'ins.
The whole crew!

The Elbow Crawl

Shelby has learned to how to crawl, on elbows and knees, with her BELLY OFF THE GROUND. She's been working towards it all summer and I knew it was only a matter of time. Here is the video that my sister took of her earlier this week, please excuse the blaring Fleetwood Mac music in the background as well as my sister's exuberant cheers (we're at the beach).



Shelby is getting faster at this crawling every day....I'm so excited for her and can't wait to see what's next!

Gwynn's Island

Wow, is it really already August already? My friend Laura and I are both school teachers and were talking about how August can feel like a perpetual Sunday if you let it (you know that sinking feeling that the weekend is about to end)? Anyway, I am determined not to feel that way. Its really not that hard right now, since we're at Holden Beach with my family having a great time. But more about that later.

Rewind to July--a couple weeks ago my mom and I traveled to the Chesapeake Bay with the kids to stay at my Aunt Dearing's house on Gwynn's Island with Dearing, my cousin Kate, and her daughter, Allie Grace. We had so much fun enjoying the water, good food, chick flicks, and each other's company. Harding spent most of his time playing with the dogs by the water and trying to get Allie Grace to laugh at him, which she did a lot. Shelby was content to play in the kiddie pool by the water. These pictures are all from Kate's camera.

Shelby cackling:

Serious little Allie Grace:

Mom and Dearing (scary how much they resemble one another):

Harding throwing the ball for Muddy:

A gorgeous full moon on the island:

Thanks Dearing!