Weekend with Friends & Family

Filson & Vada playing at the creek that runs behind the Cunningham's house. Anna Leigh & I spent many hours playing at the creek behind her parent's house growing up, so it's neat that Vada & Isla will now have their own creek where they can go exploring.

Ian giving Baby Doll a liftLooks like trouble!

Anna Leigh & Isla

She is always so happy & has the cutest expressions

Never a dull moment with this crew ; )
Vada (3), Isla (6mth), Filson (4), Grant (4mth), Ian (2)

Ian & Grant snuggling at the motel Friday morning
On Thursday, we spent the day in Raleigh with Anna Leigh & the girls. It was a lot of fun to see them & watch the kids play together. We stayed at a hotel with John, who was working in the area, but Filson had a sleepover with Vada. It sounds like they were so worn out that they both crashed pretty easily, but it was extremely nice of Patrick & Anna Leigh to take on a 3rd child for the night!! She brought the kids to the hotel Friday morning & we took them swimming before heading back to Wilmington.
The Clark's came in from Greensboro Friday night to spend the weekend with us. It was so nice to see them & watch the boys get to play with their cousins. Holden & Reece are so good to the little guys! We took the boat out Saturday afternoon & ate dinner at Wrightsville Beach in the evening. This morning the boys played a little bit in the hot & steamy weather before they had to take off for home. We had a great visit & are so happy they came to see us!
It's been a fun couple of days for the Gaddum boys!

Reece (7), Holden (9) & Filson

Ian, Holden & Filson working on the beach

This horseshoe crab was in our beach area on Saturday.

The boys on the boat

Our dinner crew at the Oceanic

We had quite a view with beautiful blue water behind us

Filson's FOUR!

An early morning wake-up & ready to tear into the packages

Very excited about his new dolphin Pillow Pet from Mimi

A little attitude to go with this new age

Boo had a hard time with this birthday thing, he thought he was going to get something out of it too!

Blueberry cupcakes on request from the Birthday Boy, he started his day with one for breakfast

We took his buddy, Carter, with us to play mini-golf & go to Mellow Mushroom for pizza. It began to rain on our way to the course, so it was shut down when we arrived. They probably close the course frequently so the parents will get desperate & dump a load of money into the token machine at the arcade to keep everyone happy!! The boys jumped from one game to the next & within about 30 mins, they let us head out to the course.

Ian's trying to make himself as tall as the big boys

The boys' first experience at putt-putt

The course was wet, hot, humid & buggy & that was all intensified by carrying 15lbs of baby in the front & 15lbs of gear on my back. John & I rushed them through to make it the quickest round of mini-golf ever played, but I don't think the boys noticed & they seemed to have a great time!

Nothing like ending your birthday with a trip to Boombalattis for a blueberry cone!

The Underwear Artists

Ian's been "experimenting" with life without diapers for a week. I'm sure this will be a short-lived experiment! This is Filson's preferred outfit while at home & they look like quite the pair.

Love the crab on his tiny bum & those little baby feet. He rolls & rolls across the floor & never stays in one place for long.

The serious look of the artist....

....and the masterpiece he's working on ; )

The Boys

Mesmerized by their trains

Little Grant, he's always trying to keep up with what his brothers are doing

Ian, John & Filson playing in the waves

We took the boat to Wrightsville Beach Saturday to check out a surf competition. It was a great beach day with lots of sun & waves for the surfers.

4 Months Old

Our little Grant is beginning to outgrow his sock monkey buddy! He has become very aware of his surroundings, plays with his hands a lot & has started grabbing toys. He follows every move his brothers make! This was a big month for him as he took his first airplane ride & met a lot of people in Iowa. He proved to be a good traveler & continues to be a chill little guy. We love his smiles & bright eyes!

Topsail Beach

For a change of scenery, we drove about 30 minutes north to Topsail Beach today and had a fun afternoon. The weather was great, so we grabbed lunch by the water & let the boys dig & swim in the ocean for awhile.

Cleaning up after the beach

Not sure what's going on here, but I don't blame Grant for looking frightened : )

Happy 4th of July!

The boys on their scooters for the kiddie paradeOur 3 firecrackers

Ian & Filson on 1 of the many laps they did around the cul de sac last night

The 'hood waiting for the show to begin

Earplugs in, ready to go! Wish we had a picture of Grant, he had huge headphones on that were the size of his head. They did the trick, he sat gazing at the sky for the entire show.

Ian & a buddy playing on the float today

Filson found a deep hole that he & some big boys loved jumping into

That little head is Filson, swimming in front of our boat

The boys & I cooling off

Worn out after a day of fun in the sun

Our neighborhood had our celebration last night & it's always fun to cook out with everyone & see the awesome fireworks show they put on. Today we spent a long day out on the beach hanging out with friends. It was great to have a 3 day weekend!!