Double Trouble turns 2!

I can hardly believe we have 2 two year olds in our house! Of course, they definitely act like they are two year olds and won't let you forget!

Last Sunday was the boys actual birthday, but all the kids had been sick that week so we decided to keep things low key. We went to both churches and then had a nice lunch out. After that, everyone came home and had a big nap and then we just spent time together as a family. It was a nice day.

I snapped some pictures of them that evening, and when I loaded them on to my computer, I couldn't believe it. These boys had somehow turned into little men overnight. Goodness, they just look so big to me! (Excuse the hair . . .. we had planned on getting a haircut, but then everyone got sick!)

Charlie

Alex

Then, this past Saturday, we went to City Lake Park and had the boys' birthday party. Right now, the boys really like trains (as most little boys do!) and they love to ride the train at the park. While the park was crowded, we were still able to find a nice set of picnic tables in the shade.

Charlie (with a haircut!), ready to go party!

Party time!

 We got everyone settled down to eat some food. I knew that these boys would be a lot more fun at their party if they had dinner! ;)

After dinner, it was time to ride the train! :) We had to wait for the train because the park was so crowded; usually, we visit the park right when the rides open in the mornings so the boys aren't used to waiting! ;) They passed the time by watching the train go by.

Lucy and Daddy

Pappy and Harper

Uncle Joe and Charlie

Charlie, looking through the gate for the train

Daddy and Alex, ready to ride!

Mommy and Charlie

Waving as we rode by

After the train ride, it was time for cupcakes. We got the boys some vegan cupcakes - just because you can't eat dairy, doesn't mean you can't have birthday cake! :)

 Getting ready to light the candles!

Singing Happy Birthday

Clapping after the song! :) 

Lucy and Harper enjoyed cupcakes too! :)

After cupcakes, we had a little run around time! :)

Uncle Lattie and Charlie

Soon it was present time. The boys got so many nice toys, clothes, books, and CDs. First they opened Lucy's gift - a Sesame Street train track. We probably should have waited to open that toward the end because the boys were so excited about the trains!

It was a wonderful birthday celebration. I cannot imagine this world without my two babies . . . who have very little baby left in them. Happy Birthday, Charlie and Alex. Mommy and Daddy love you so much!!!

Flack Beach Trip (Part 2)

Thursday morning, we started off easy. Uncle Day Day was coming up in the afternoon so we wanted to wait and go to the beach with him. We lounged around the house for a little while.

The boys enjoyed stuffing their faces with banana. :)

Of course, mornings seem to start sometime between five and six every day, so we had a lot of time to try and fill before we got to lunch and nap. The kids started to get a little restless, so we took them out to walk up and down the pier.

The boys enjoyed walking all the way to the end of the pier and they loved looking out at the ocean. They also liked looking through the planks to see the ocean down below them. I thought they would be more interested in the fish that some of the fisherman had caught, but they could have cared less. It didn't take long for them to lose interest though and be ready to move on to the next thing! Michael and I took our kids to get some ice cream/italian ice and then back to the beach house. Gramma bought kites for Lucy and Harper to decorate which they enjoyed. 

After lunch/naptime, it was time to go to the beach with Uncle Day Day! Lucy had been excited all week about this!

Uncle Day Day and Aunt Lauren dug a big hole for the kids and they had a great time climbing in and out of it. Harper like to slide down into the hole and Lucy loved to jump in when a wave would come up and fill it with some water.

Lucy enjoyed playing mermaid in the water.

 Uncle Day Day is not as cute a mermaid as Lucy. . . . 

 After all our beach fun, we came back and Uncle Day Day cooked us a huge dinner. I wish I had a picture of all the food that was covering the table, but we were all too busy eating!

There were thunderstorms happening when we went to bed on Thursday night. Around 4 AM, there was the loudest clap of thunder I have ever heard. It woke everyone in the house up . . .except for my three boys!! The thunder even caused the smoke alarm in our room to sound its test so they slept through all that beeping too! When we got up in the morning, we realized that several of the breakers had tripped and that the cable box downstairs as well as the TV no longer worked.  So what do you do when there's no TV? Read a book, of course!

Charlie wanted to read Pappy's book!

Uncle Day Day had to leave to go back to work . . . 

We took the kids to the beach that morning, but they were so tired after our eventful evening and just not really in the mood to play for long. Michael and I took the kids to Wings so that the could have a change of scenery. We let them pick out a small toy to play with - they were very excited. Lucy got a shell bracelet, much like the lovely beach jewelry I used to get as a child. Alex picked out a blue monster truck and Charlie got a yellow VW beetle.

After Wings, we drove around looking for a playground. We didn't find one, but we found an amazing deli called Archibald's. MMMMM!!! We came back to the beach house and had a little dessert before naptime.

We quickly found out that due to the storm the previous night, the air conditioning upstairs had quit working. It became unbearable upstairs and so no one was able to nap. The air conditioning repairman came to save the day though so we would be able to sleep that evening. While he was working and we were waiting to leave for dinner, we took the kids down to the beach to take our Flack Family of Five feet picture.

I wanted to take a picture of all three, but with no nap, this is the best you are going to get! ;)

We met the Thrifts for dinner that night in Calabash. It was a yummy meal and good to get to visit with everyone, even if it was such a short time. Lucy had a good time talking to Nathan. I think they would be good buddies if we lived closer. As we were leaving, we saw the giant shrimp outside and reenacted a photo of Lucy and her Daddy from when she was little. Here is the one from our trip this year. . .

And here's the one from when she was 3 months old. . . 

We had a great time. Lots of good food, lots of fun activities, and lots of quality time with family.  :)