Avon, NC

The kids and I recently took a trip down to Avon, NC for the weekend. My uncle going to visit my cousin Jesse morphed into a small little family reunion of my mom and her siblings, so we were excited to be close enough to come join! I hadn't seen a lot of these family members in a long time, and most of them had never met the kids. 

We were fortunate the weather was still nice enough to enjoy the beach. We built sand castles, flew kites, and Bonnie inevitably got buried in the sand (as usual) and Riser wanted no part of that (as usual).

The siblings (minus Janet). Always so fun seeing them together.

Each night, cooking was the main event. I love that this side of the family is so passionate about cooking together and making it something everyone can be involved in. Bonnie was thrilled at this, and felt so grateful to be a part of the action.

We walked down to the nearby playground one morning.

We got to meet Jesse's neighbor who is an oyster farmer, and he was so nice to tell us all about it. We visited multiple times. The kids were not brave enough to try one.

Bonnie took a special interest in Jesse's longboard. 

The second night of dinner was homemade wontons. There were three teams, each planned and grocery shopped for their wontons separately. It was such a fun night and Bonnie LOVED it. I think we might need to start incorporating this type of tradition when we have family visit.

I'm pretty sure Bonnie made more wontons than anyone. She was so happy to be included, and even taught me how to make them. I didn't get a picture of the finished product but they were all delicious!

After dinner, Jesse had the sweetest idea to do a treasure hunt for the kids. He enlisted a lot of the adults' help to put it together and it was honestly amazing. There was an elaborate story about the ghost of Blackbeard visiting Uncle Danny, an old treasure map, a nighttime hunt with flashlights, and buried treasure. It was a memory Bonnie will have forever. 

X marks the spot!

I turned off the camera too soon, but the first thing Bonnie shouted was "I'm rich!"

There's always an adventure to be had with these two. 

They admired their treasure nonstop the rest of the trip. 

We had some really wonderful long conversations, and had a great visit. It was lovely to reconnect and spend some good time together. I left with a full heart!

September extras

September was a full month for us. School, soccer, and all of our regular activities are back in full swing. And between all that we went camping, went to the beach, celebrated Benny's birthday, and tried to get some good intentional family time when we were all home. 

The weather has continued to be beautiful out, which means lots of outside time. Typically when Bonnie gets home from school, we just play outside until dinnertime. 

I've gone on some walks with friends - sometimes it's comical to see our mob of moms with strollers walking CW.

We hosted our monthly family dinner at the beginning of the month - love that we've started this!

Riser and I have had lots of one-on-one time while Bonnie is in school. 

Playing with the dollhouse.

Bonnie accessorized Benny one day. 

Riser and I got to spend some time with Grandma.

We took advantage of a day Bonnie had off school and went to Busch Gardens.

Painting in the kitchen.

Always accessorizing.

Riser has been having a lot of fun playing Yahtzee with me. We just play the top half of the score card and he's getting the hang of it!

He's been helping me bake more lately.

I went to a concert with some friends in Richmond.

We got to celebrate Chris' 40th birthday with delicious brisket at the Stratton house. 

It was a fun month! Also looking forward to not trying to pack so much on our calendar in October.