Fun Summer!

We are having a really busy and great summer! I know I keep saying this, but it is really hard to believe how quickly our little girl is growing. It's crazy to watch the months fly by until she is getting closer to a year old! It reminds me of in a cartoon when they show the passage of time by calendar pages quickly flying off the wall one by one.

Here are some random fun pictures from the summer so far!

In my shoes, ready to go to church! Kenna is at the stage where she loves to pull things- pulling hair, pulling ears, pulling shoes off... so we don't wear them very often!

You can only get away with jammies this cool when you are 7 months old!

Still loving the pool time (when the sun isn't in her eyes, that is)! We borrowed a float like this from a friend while we were at the pool, and she loved it so much we got her own.

On good days or bad, this little sweetheart is always brings smiles to our faces! What a blessing from the Lord this sweet baby girl is! "Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him." Psalm 127:3

Topsail Beach Trip

A few weeks after that, Matt and I went to Topsail beach for a few days for our "official" summer vacation! Our first day included a trip to the grocery store where Kenna tried out the seat of the shopping cart for the first time:
The first evening we went out on the beach together was windy and miserable... Kenna would get sand in her eyes and then try to rub them. We only lasted a few minutes before having to go back in. On day two, it rained, so we drove to the Aquarium in Fort Fisher and had a great time! Kenna camped out in the peanut shell and ate lunch, watched the fish swim, and took a nap all while snuggled next to me. Matt had fun taking lots of pictures of the albino alligator, jelly fish, seahorses, and all the other super colorful and photogenic fish. (the rest of the pictures are here)
I don't know if it was more fun to watch all the fish or all the people (Kenna loves to people-watch)! Apparently the aquarium is a popular place on rainy, muggy days at the beach. It was a fun little drive together- we had iced coffees on the way there and an ice cream cone on the way home. When we got home late that afternoon, it was perfect weather for a not-so-hot walk on the beach, and we took Pontouf out with us.
The next day the rain had packed the sand down and it was a gorgeous, breezy day instead of windy- the perfect day for Kenna! She did much better in that kind of weather. Matt and I sat next to her on a bodyboard down near the shore. She had a blast with her little toy cups, scooping up the water and smacking them together. She loved it when the waves came up around her, and we got to spend a great afternoon together all out on the beach! That evening, we went out for a seafood dinner (of course!). Kenna was babbling really loudly- it doesn't sound like a big deal here, but the restaurant was fairly small and quiet-ish and people kept looking over and laughing at her. We missed the really loud part, but here is a cute little video of her:

After dinner we explored a little beach arcade that had putt-putt, games, ice cream, and lots of twinkly lights hanging from the ceiling! Matt and I rocked the basketball game and skee ball and then gave our tickets away to another family there with little kids.
Kenna had her first real taste of ice cream, and (surprise, surprise) she loved it! She was so entertaining, we took some videos and photos.


We also spent some time napping, watching movies, and just sitting and listening to the waves. It was such a relaxing and good time!
Beautiful beach!

Friends in town

We've been slackers about updating our blog recently, and subsequently have lots to tell!

A few weeks ago, we got the opportunity to spend some time with our friends Brian and Mandy Davis and their sweet almost-2-year old, Kate Joy. After catching a quick glimpse of them at church, they came over for a cook out and some fun pool time in our neighborhood. The Davises are missionaries with the IMB in Macedonia and are home for a few months to have their second baby, a little boy who is due in November! We had a great time with them, swimming in the pool, catching up on each other's lives, and getting to know Kate (who has her very own blog!)
The dads and girls in the pool! Brian was Matt's rock climbing partner for several years, and it's so fun now for our families to be able to hang out. Kate's face here cracks me up! I think the sun was in her eyes.
Brian taking a video of Mandy and Kate swimming- because they live overseas, they make lots of efforts to update the grandparents on Kate's adventures! After the pool, we ate burgers and the girls played together. Kate is so well behaved, even for a 2 year old! When it was time for them to leave, she was hugging us and telling Kenna to come with her. So sweet!

Lindsey's Craft Show

Lindsey has a craft show tomorrow (Saturday, July 11th; free to the public) from 9-3 in Downtown Raleigh in the parking lot of Ornamentia (near Mellow Mushroom). They have over 40 vendors of handmade merchandise and we would love for you to stop by to say "hi" while you walk around and check out all the vendors. She will also be at the Sept. 12th one. Just look for :::ellebeestudio::: and Lindsey's smiling face!

The website is:
http://www.designersdowntownmarket.com/

Hope to see all who can come!

4th of July and events of note

What a busy month this has been! Matt has been working through Greek 1 and Greek 2 over the past 6 weeks and to culminate his head exploding, we got go see some fireworks. Lindsey has been preparing for a craft show being held in Downtown Raleigh on the 11th. Kenna has learned to squawk and is infatuated with Pontouf. Pontouf is still unsure of this little girl though. Also, Lindsey's Dad and Jana have made several trips in the past few weeks, both together and separately, to bring the remains of the Dean estate to Raleigh as they prepare to embark on their new missions endeavor! It was amazing that they could be found underneath all of the boxes and we appreciated them making special trips up here to meet Emerson (our new niece) and to bring some of Lindsey and Jason's childhood toys and memories. We tried a group shot while we all were together.
This past Saturday was the 4th of July and after an invitation for a cookout from the Creeches, we were off to some fun and fireworks in Wendell. The Creech family practically adopted Matt in middle school and have claimed Lindsey and Kenna as part of their clan as well. It's always fun to spend time with godly friends and blow up fireworks (regardless of whether or not the day falls on a national holiday). I didn't end up with that many photographs of the food (hamburgers, hot dogs, chocolate chip cookies made by Emma, baked beans, salsa and chips, pasta salad, etc.) or unfortunately the people, but here's a few!
Happy (Belated) 4th of July!!!