Beach Pictures

Pawley's Island

We spent the first week of summer vacation at the beach. It was Niklas and my nephew Gavin's first beach experience. Ellie Grace is in love with the beach and was excited to be there with my parents for the fourth year in a row. Erik didn't get to go last year due to our quick referral and travel to China so he was ready for a bit of R&R this year. It was great to spend time with my brother Brian, Vickie, baby Gavin, and my parents (known as Nana and Pop).
Ellie Grace really wanted her Uncle Brian to dig a big hole like he has done in the past years but she was content to make drip castles with me, fly the kite that Aunt Kristi sent her, and go in the water with daddy and Niklas. Niklas enjoyed sitting in the shallow water or wading out while holding tightly to Erik's hand. He played in the sand a little but his interest was in being in the water.
Erik and I are grateful to Nana(who broke her ankle the first night) and Pop for allowing us to have a "date night" while we were there. We had a wonderful dinner at a historic restaurant that Brian and Vickie had eaten at earlier in the week.

I have a kindergartener!

Our New Ride

I saw a few friends get new mini-vans and wondered if that would be a good vehicle for our family. We had enough room for the four of us in the Highlander but we couldn't fit anyone else in it. I started thinking about how nice it would be to carpool, take a friend to the park, have the grandparents go with us somewhere, etc.
We knew that a new car would probably not fit our budget but we began to consider buying a used one without too many miles.
We drove home in a Sienna van after some discussions, internet research, and a few test drives.
I was a bit sad to say good-bye to the Highlander (it was a great car) and Niklas kept repeating "Mama's car all gone" for a few days. It has taken a week and a half of driving the van to say that I am over the shock of how quickly it all happened and now I like it very much!

Fun Day and Picnic at RPP

Baby Gavin