The Graham Family Four: August 2012

Girls weekend in Charlotte!!

2 weekends ago Anna and I went to Charlotte to have a fun weekend with Brooke and Charlotte while the boys went to Tifton to "Cowboy Camp!" While I don't have any pics of the boys I am happy to report that they had a great time as was expected! I do, however, have quite a few pics of Anna and Charlotte in their adorable matching outfits! Brooke and I had a great time shopping, going out to dinner, renting a chick flick, and even drinking a few cocktails! The girls also had lots of fun playing with toys and posing for photo ops in the backyard!

Look at all of Charlotte's beautiful hair! I think Anna was a little jealous...

Sure mommy, I'll play nice for a picture....

OK, that's about enough....

I said stop it Mommy!!

The three pictures above really crack me up...Anna went from participating nicely to glaring in another direction. She was so exhausted by this point poor thing....

So sweet!!!

BFF!

Sweet girl loves playing outside!

Splish splash!! What a fun end to a great day!

Thanks for having us Brooke and Char Char! Can't wait to do it again!

Dalton starts Pre-K!!

On August 15, 2012, Dalton had his very first day of Pre-K at Mill Creek Academy! Going into it, I didn't necessarily know how "different" it would feel for me and for him. He has gone (part time first, now full time) to Mill Creek since he was a teeny tiny 3 months old. But Pre-K just feels different. It's almost like dipping your toe into the big public school water. This is the first time that attendance and tardiness "counts." We have two parent-teacher conferences this year and it just feels more like "big kid" school. His teachers this year are Mrs. Erica and Mrs. Laura.

So I won't keep you in suspense anymore....he LOVED it! In fact, when I picked him up he said (and I quote), "Mommy I loved it so much! Can I go back to pre-K tomorrow???" So sweet!!! He's such an enthusiastic little player and learner and I hope that he has a wonderful year....

Heading out the door....the class theme is |Dr. Seuss and around his neck is his first day of school Dr. Seuss name tag. Funny note-he was all about this name tag until he got there and noticed that a lot of kids weren't wearing theirs--at which point he got so embarrassed and started whispering "Mommy take this off, I don't want to wear it!"

All smiles for Pre-K!

Here he is with his brand new backpack-he picked it out himself from the Pottery Barn catalog this summer to prep for the big day!

Here's a little list of some of his favorite things right now:
Book-Any animal fact book (Sharks are a particular favorite)
TV show-Arthur
Food-Chips and a taco
Friends from school-Brady, Max, Elliot, Zachary
Toys-Legos, dress up (pirates, cowboys), Bey Blades
Loves to play outside and ride his Jeep, go swimming, play baseball with Mommy or Daddy

In fact, here are the two partners in crime yesterday riding outside after dinner.

Favorite meal-Taco night with chips! He loves making his own plate! :)

Here's little sister-can't leave her out!! Waiting patiently for her taco, too... :)

OIB 2012 Part 2

Okay, just a few more pictures that I had to share....Here are a couple of little man and Granddaddy. Colton brought his old bike with training wheels and Dalton loved riding it! One night we even took a bike ride (ok-a partial bike ride) to Ocean Isle Creamery for some delish ice cream!

Some sweet little faces in their matching outfits....

You just might see one of these on our Christmas card this year. By the way, does everyone like that big chunk out of Dalton's hair in the front? That's what happens when you give a 4 year old scissors and turn your head for 5 seconds...

A couple of attempts at family photos....

And one more with Grandma and Granddaddy....

OIB 2012

The first week in August, we loaded the car down and headed to Ocean Isle Beach for our annual beach trip with Zack's family. His parents rent the same house every year on the island--in fact, this was our tenth year! It's such a fun tradition and it's always the best week!

Every year I think Dalton has more and more fun--like his mommy, he is a little beach bum! He could spend all his time on the beach and in the water and never want to do anything else!

Little priss had a great time too. She is pretty happy doing most anything but she, like her big brother, is going to be a little water bug too! Here she is playing in the little "pool" part of the beach after the tide went out one afternoon...

One of the fun things we do now that Dalton is getting a little bigger is take him and Colton down to Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle to ride all the rides. He loved it and wanted to ride everything! He especially loves doing anything and EVERYTHING that his big cousin does!

This is a funny picture to me because it was my first ride experience with a girl. You see, ever since Dalton was a tiny thing he has loved to ride rides-any and all! I even laugh because when he was only 1 1/2 years old, Dad and I took him to Tweetsie RR in Blowing Rock and he and I rode the scrambler together--which is a very rough ride if you are familiar. Was he scared? No--LOVED it--even as a baby! I say all this to say that it was quite the different ball game with Anna. We decided to put her on the carousel and thought she would like it. I thought her expression looked a little concerned, but since I was standing right there with her, we proceeded. Sure enough-as soon as we started moving and the music started playing she started in screaming! Poor baby was terrified-I ended up holding her the rest of the ride. Oh well-maybe next year!

This was Dalton's favorite ride this year--he especially loved when the car rounded the corners!

Zack, Grandma, Granddaddy, and little bit

The boys on another fast ride! :)

And to round out our annual tradition, we finished the night up with dinner at Benjamin's Calabash Buffet--YUM! So much yummy seafood and fun! Here are all the kids in the play area after dinner....