More Cousins!

I forgot! I had taken all these silly pictures of the cousins at the beach, but forgot to post them. They do deserve their own post, just to show you all their silliness! I wanted shots on the stairs, like we used to do with my cousins when I was little, but the wind was not helping. The pictures turned out fairly cute anyway, if you don't mind a little bit of hair in a face! Think of them like a string of photos from one of those photo booths...

I think the one below is frame-able. And it was the second shot!

Blacks and Blues

As another alternative to attending the Eno Festival, we decided to go on a berry picking adventure over the weekend. This time, we took along some friends to introduce them to the glory of picking blackberries and blueberries and ice cream all at the same place! It was a hot day but we had a lovely time picking and playing and eating. (We definitely recommend Vollmer Farm for an outing - just beware that the price/lb for the U-pick berries is pretty high. ) We only picked a few blueberries because we'd picked at a different farm a couple days earlier, but we did pick a bunch of blackberries so we could make jam. And we made a delicious black and blue cobbler the next day!

smile if you like berries!

look at the size of that one!

get me that one, right up there.....please!

beautiful berries

berry buddies

that's a heavy load he's pulling

riding the tire horse.

Want a berry muncher? They come in small....

medium....

and large!

matching wits at checkers

say cheese!

just enjoying daddy time on the swing

whoops, we forgot. she was probably at least a lb lighter when we arrived!

cooling off

YUM! homemade ice cream in home made cones. can't be beat!

happiness

the ice cream line up

The Fourth

We wimped out a bit for the Fourth of July. Instead of our typical trip to the Festival for the Eno, we opted to stay home. The weather was questionable, it had been rainy A LOT and it was going to be SUPER SOGGY there. (a couple days before one of the stages was almost under water!), it cost a lot and we had been SO busy with the beach and visitors that we needed a break.

festive popsicle!

we had blueberries ready to harvest!

 So instead of the Eno, we stayed home and had a quieter fourth. It was nice. Dad came over for a dinner of burgers and corn on the cob. The girls and I made a lovely flag cookie tart. We even had sparklers as the sky darkened.

M- I want some berries!!!!

 

 

And since we weren't tired out from partying at the Eno, we finally went to some fireworks in Durham. Not quite the spectacle of State College (oh how I miss those fireworks) but it worked quite well to find a spot with a view of the Bulls' stadium and keep the girls up late. A lovely little Fourth!

fireworks!

Happy Fourth of July!

Beach Babes

To back track just a little bit, at the end of June we headed to Topsail Island for a week at the beach with the DeRousie side of the family. We all shared a 5 bedroom house together, right on the ocean. By all of us I mean, 2 grandparents, 3 parents, and 6 children. Crowded but great fun. The cousins had a blast hanging out together - inside, outside and everywhere in between. I think we're still finding sand from the week! (and we even used seashells we collected to make necklaces at Hayden's party.) After the beach, we all had one more night together in Durham, before the extended family headed up to Ohio. I'd tell you more about what we did, but I think pictures really tell more about the week than words, so have a looksy!

the beach from our upper deck

playing in the sand

Double hatting it - with a cooler for snacks later!

freeze  pops for dessert for the cousin crew!

bed buddies work together on a sand project

our house is the one on the right. walk out the walkway, over the dune and there's the beach!

contemplating the ocean...

beach baby!

the digging crew

Molly and a bucket.

ocean-side spa, complete with built in chairs

M was fascinated with putting rocks thru the knothole in the deck.

M and J enjoying the evening

chillaxin' is fun!

bed buddies being goofy with treasure maps!

the younger half of the sextet

striking a pose on a cloudy evening (camera was a bit foggy from the humidity!)

Molly and me

I've had it with this beach!

looking oh so comfortable on the sand

digging a hole

beach curls!

surf was fairly rough, good to form a human chain. can you find 4 kids in this picture?

another popsicle lineup

deck chair tent

brother and sister - united again!

sparklers!

the original DeRousie family unit, plus a couple extras :)

one last cousin group shot!