Raleigh North Carolina Temple

On our way to North Carolina, it occurred to me that we should have made plans to take Katie and her cousins to the temple while we were going to be there. I was kicking myself for not thinking of it sooner, because neither of us had our temple recommends with us. So I talked to my bishop (thank goodness we are tight and he's so understanding of my forgetfulness) and he made a call for us. ;)



So tonight we got the three twelve year olds together and went to the temple to do baptisms.



It was such a beautiful night.



So of course we had to have a mini photo session.



I am so glad we were able to get these three together for such a special night.



I just adore these three beautiful young women. It's hard to believe they are 12 now. That was a fast 12 years!



We were just missing two of the five girls who were born within a year of each other. They both turn 12 within a few months. So next summer we'll have to try to get all five of them together for a temple night. That would be awesome!

This was my sweet niece Elise's first time going to the temple.



I'm so glad Katie and Kyleigh got to go with her on her first time.



They are seriously so cute I can hardly stand it!



Me and my awesome sister, Melissa.



Me and my sweet Katie.



Melissa and Kyleigh.



We were waiting for my brother Cory to show up, and were starting to wonder if he was going to make it in time for our appointment. We were all so happy to see that he finally made it, but not quite as happy as this girl. She was relieved that her Daddy made it in time.



He got to do the baptisms for these three sweeties.



It was a pretty special night.



What a blessing to spend a Friday night with some of my favorites in one of my favorite places!

Cousin Time

It was so fun for the kids to be able to watch their cousins play in several of their ball games while we were in NC. We love cousin time!

Grandma Barnett

Today we stopped by to visit Grandma Barnett. We had a fun time visiting with her for a little while. She is just as sweet as ever. And just as short too. Katie thought it was pretty cool that she was "towering over Grandma Barnett." It made me think of Grandma's twin sister, Aunt Estella. She and Grandma were opposite in several ways. While Grandma is short and quiet, Aunt Estella was tall and talkative. I wish my kids could have met her, so they could have seen for themselves how different they were. But, they were similar in that they were both sweet as sugar!

Carolina Beach & Fort Fisher

Today we drove down to my favorite beach....Carolina Beach! It was a great day for the beach! It was a nice, sunny day, but not too hot, and there was a nice breeze coming off the water. It was gorgeous!



The waves were pretty rough though, so we didn't to out too far in the water.



But the kids had a blast anyway.



Jumping the waves. I have to confess I still like to do it too.



It just never gets old.



My sweet little nephew, Charlie came with us to the beach, and that boy was in love with the water. It was his first time being in the ocean and he absolutely loved it! He and John David had a great time playing together.



Katie striking a pose. She's so cute!



I love that my babies love the ocean too!









Yes, I went a little crazy with the camera......as usual.



Katie doing the Baywatch run. Haha!



Sweet little Charlie playing in the sand. Every time the kids would come play in the sand, he would say, "Let's go back to the water!" He just couldn't get enough of it!



My niece, Ally, came with us to the beach too. She is just as sweet as she is pretty!



The kids decided to bury Ally in the sand.



Yep....she's still cute!



More jumping waves and playing in the water.



My sweet Sarah Grace. I do love my freckle faced girl!

And my sweet Katie. Love her to pieces too!



We were so glad to have Grandma with us at the beach.



She's not normally a beach goer, but she decided to tag along and we loved having her with us.



Just before we left we saw this pretty sail boat.



John David thought it was pretty cool.



And he wanted me to take a picture of him with the sail boat.



It was such a fun and beautiful day at the beach with cousins!



The only thing that could have made it better was if more cousins had been there!



After we left the beach, we drove down to Fort Fisher. They have a nice little museum there now. It wasn't there last time we were there, which has been a while. So we went in to check it out.



It was pretty cool, and the kids loved it!



After checking out the museum, we walked outside to see the fort.



It was a beautiful walk.



And of course, I couldn't resist taking lots more pictures.







It was pretty bright outside, as you can tell from the kids squinting and hiding their eyes.



Charlie and John David were cracking me up in this picture.



John David found a ladybug, and thought it was so fun to watch it crawl all over his hand.

Here's the beautiful view on our way back.

We so enjoyed out day at Carolina Beach and Fort Fisher....and look forward to next time!