im on a boat

"be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong." -1 Corinthians 16:13

early friday morning, mom picked me up from raleigh and we headed back to holden beach. my family had planned to spend another weekend at the beach, but due to prior rehearsals and commitments, i was only able to stay for a day.

my day trip to the beach was absolutely worth it though- i had an amazing time with my family as always! (but we missed you seester!)

when dad's friends and their two sons arrived, we walked down to our dock, hopped on their boat, and took a ride to oak island for dinner.






brooks was completely prepared in his new mini lifejacket!

he was also very excited about getting on the boat - he hasnt been on one since he was in his momma's tummy!



pretty blue eyes. hes gonna be a heartbreaker

dad and mom on the boat.



jamie - such a cutie.

joshua - he had the coolest harry potter glasses.

here is the restaurant we stopped at for dinner: the fish house. we docked our boat and headed in for some awesome seafood!

mmmm coconut shrimp!

brooks loves french fries. dont try putting anything else in his mouth.



so happy for dinner time.

after our bellies were full (literally bursting with seafood), we got back in the boat and went home.

here is their awesome boat.



it was a beautiful ride home.

especially with the amazing sunset.

that night, we went to our favorite ice cream restaurant with the whole crew! what an awesome day with family and friends! i cant wait to get back to holden beach as soon as possible!!

family memories

"for whenever two or three of you are gathered together in my name, I am there with you." -matthew 18:20

on saturday afternoon, we decided to take some family photos, hoping to find a perfect christmas picture! im pretty sure we found our winner, but i wont be posting that one because i dont want to ruin the surprise - youll just have to wait until Christmas! :)

pretty seester.

my mom rocks.

oh hey pops.

waiting for picture time - always a favorite pastime of these two.

running to the beach with pure joy for family pictures!

a big thanks to danny, renate, and sydnie snipes who were a HUGE help in taking our family photos. we will have a much merrier christmas knowing that we already have our photo taken care of. :)

from the dock to the beach...

photogenic children.

david and katie - soon to be mr and mrs!

momma's boy.

holden beach dunes.

the whole crew. dont worry, we only got a little sand in our pants.

mom and dad.

seester and me.

the girlies.



pictures in the sunset!

crazy sydnie - we just wanted a hug! :)

meredith, chris, and brooks.

soon the sun was setting and it was too dark for more pictures - the guys were happy about that and the girls we ready for italian ice!

so we went to sunset slush - only the BEST italian ice in holden beach! mmmmmm! this is my new koozie that i got to use on refills every time i visit (which i promise you will be very often).

and of course sydnie got four scoops of lemon lime. i stuck with my usual: one scoop watermelon, one scoop blue raspberry.

what an awesome day of memories and family fun. i am so blessed to have been able to spend an entire weekend with my whole family at our very own beach house. God is so good.

i wear my sunglasses all day

"the name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe." -proverbs 18:10

saturday began with a trip to the golf course.



dad, chris, mere, and david decided to take a shot at it.







team picture.

that afternoon, the whole fam went out to the beach. here is a view looking back at the houses.

if you look closely, you can see our house! (the third from the left)

brooks was keeping everyone entertained.







dad, chris, lauren, and david played in the ocean for awhile.

it was a gorgeous day at holden beach.





stud.

when we got back to the house, renate brought baby saylor over for a visit.





later that night, we took a number of family photos in hopes to find one that would work for our christmas picture. i promise to post some of those later!