grandma, grandpa and tyler visit

brooklyn's birthday cupcake...all she wanted was the butterfly cake at our local bakery but when we went back to get it it was gone, she still loved her butterfly cupcake though

brody's birthday cake he had to have the green cake (green is his favorite color) and it was surprisingly really really good

singing happy birthday with the fam

i had to post this shot by shot picture of them blowing the candles out. it was too cute.


brody wondering "did i beat her?!"

"yep, i did! okay, now i guess i will trip to help her"

escaping the heat of the day

the kids loved getting soaked (i wish i could have too with how hot it was...oh wait i did!)

grandma taking the kids on rides. brooklyn didnt know whether to like this ride or be scared of it.

another fun ride just for the kiddos

later in the day while brooklyn was taking her nap in the stroller, brody really wanted to go on this ride again...well so did everyone else. there is a bridge over the ride so i got some great shots of everyone going on it. here are scott and karen.

josh, brody and tyler

i was really shocked that earlier in the day brooklyn loved this ride as well. it was a pretty big drop for her but she was not scared. i have to say i loved it too.

brody and tyler before they leave to go home


tyler getting beat up by the kids

grandma and grandpa called one day and asked if they could come visit...of course! we love when grandma and grandpa come to visit and we were super lucky because they came when josh had two weeks off after taking step 2 and starting his first ortho rotation. the week they came went by way too fast but we had so much fun. we went to see a movie together (brookie and i watched "winnie the pooh" and everyone else went to see "captain america"), we went to busch gardens, we went to the beach, and we went shopping. it was a really fun trip. grandma and grandpa took the kids to toys r us and let them pick out their birthday gifts. of course the kids had a blast with that. we sang happy birthday to the kids even though their birthday was a month away still. the family wanted to be their to sing to them. busch gardens was a blast! it was so hot that day but we stayed cool by going on the wet rides. however, we went of the ride that you get drenched on not till late in the afternoon/evening when the sun was almost gone. we didnt know we would get that wet. it was way fun. it was so nice to spend some time with tyler before he leaves for his mission. we are really going to miss him and it meant a lot that he could come see us too. grandma and grandpa truly spoiled us as usual and we were so happy to see them. we were super lucky since we knew we would be seeing them soon when josh did his rotation in arizona in just a month and a half. thanks for coming scott and karen.

shenandoah camping trip 2011

look at her adorable face...she is so beautiful!

i love the food while camping...the breakfasts are probably my favorite but oh i also love the tin foil dinner. surprisingly so did brody and brooklyn who are very anti potatoes. i think they were just extra hungry from setting up camp that day.

and what is camping without s'mores! brody loved every minutes even though he caught his marshmallow on fire about four times. mommy helped brookie make it perfect. although, i think daddy got the best cooked marshmallow award this trip.

brody enjoying yummy goodness!

brooklyn making funny faces bright and early in the morning.

my handsome boy!

hiking down to the waterfall. the kids hiked the entire way down and brody hiked the whole way up by himself. brooklyn did pretty good herself hiking up. she needed a little help and lots of breaks. but they did awesome.

one of the many waterfalls in the park. after talking to the ranger, he said this one would be the best for the kids.

throwing rocks into the pool at the bottom of the waterfall.

daddy and brookie

mommy sticking her feet in the water to cool off...oh man! was it cold! with my feet in for only a few minutes they were bright red and numb but it felt great!

josh decided to hike up to the top of the waterfalls. it had some pretty steep rocks so the kids and i watched from the bottom.

another waterfall picture i took when we were hiking back to camp

josh's two week break part one, brought us out of the hot heat of virginia beach and to the cool air in the shenandoah mountains. we camped here our first year and couldnt wait to return. the long drive is well worth it. we took off early in the morning on saturday after josh took step 2 on friday. with some minor traffic delays we were finally on our way. we love to stop in charlottesville for lunch at a local pizza place, get grocerys and gas up. finally we made it to camp and just in time...we got the last spot in the campground. after setting up camp, we hiked a little and then started cooking dinner. josh and i had a wonderful night under the stars talking while the kids fell asleep. it was a memory i will never forget. on sunday we decided to hike to the waterfalls after a hearty breakfast. the hike was beautiful. we ate lunch at the waterfall and enjoyed exploring and throwing rocks. brooklyn did not like the bugs. she had a hard time with the bugs most of the trip (she gets her fear of bugs from me). after the waterfall we went back to camp for naps. then we decided to take a nice drive to the skyland resort and big meadows lodge. it was a beautiful drive. the most amazing thing we saw was right at the beginning of the drive we saw a black bear crossing the road. i have never seen a bear in the wild. it was pretty cool. the lodge had a beautiful view and the kids enjoyed the little rocking chairs and checkers insides the lodge. after our drive we had another yummy dinner. monday morning we had another great breakfast and were pretty lazy before we broke camp. josh had to get back to start studying that night. he is the best since he stopped off in williamsburg at the cheese shop for a yummy sandwich to enjoy before making the rest of the drive home. it was a great trip full of fun family memories. our kids love to camp and so do we. the wildlife we saw this trip (bunnies, deer, black bear, snakes, etc.) as well as the beauty of the mountains was breathtaking.