BEACH 2013

This year, we enjoyed a family beach trip with our cousins, Ryan and Stephanie, to Colonial Beach in Northern Virginia.  It was very relaxing!  Stephanie's dad even came one day and took us out in his boat on the Potomac.  It was probably the most fun day for us and our kids! Braylen talked my ear off the entire boat ride about finding buried treasure.  I love that kid!! 

a trip to the berry farm...Wolford kids love some berries!!

attempting a family photo

Easter 2013 and Spring Break

Spring Break was filled with lots of fun!!  We created our Spring Break Bucket List and got to work!  It was so nice to spend some quality time with the kids and just to relax a little more.

At the start of Spring Break, Tony and I went on a weekend getaway, just the two of us, to Charleston, WV and did a little shopping at Cabelas.  It was fabulous being alone for a few days!

Our bucket list included:  playing frisbee with Victor, camping, making smores, going to a park, having a picnic, going to breakfast (we ended up making a big breakfast at home), and lots more!  We didn't complete everything but we're going to keep our list out so we can do it all.

Easter egg hunt at church

Shaking noise makers to "wake up the bears"

Ghost stories by the fire after roasting marshmallows and making s'mores

the bears are awake

jumping pillow at campground

fishing



putt putt

hugging the bears

fishing

OBX 2012

The week of June 16th was spent with our Friend Family in the Outerbanks.  We had a great week!  All the kids were awesome and hanging with our closest friends for a whole week (who we hardly ever see when we are home) always equals a fun time.  There were six kids all 5 and under.  I got to read almost three whole books, got a pretty good SPF15 tan, played some games, ate good desserts, did a little shopping, went for three good runs (why does running seem so much better at the beach?), and got to relax a little.  Braylen was scared of the pool and the ocean for the most part which was just fine with me! 

Although, I must admit....I was very hormonal (I'm NOT pregnant...just woman stuff) and had a few "meltdowns" right along with the kiddos.  Let's just say I had to ask Riley and Braylen (and God!) to forgive mommy for not being more patient with them.  Oops....guess it happens to the best of us!

Here are some pictures that my PROFESSIONAL photographer friend, Kelly, took.  I just LOVE having friends that are photographers!!  

Can't wait to go back in two years (Oh my, our kids will be 4 and 6) ....this time we need to plan it around my...ahem....mother nature.  :-)

Riley's Spring Break Bucket List

Oh, Spring Break, how I adore you.  Is it bad that I spend my ENTIRE school year anxiously awaiting the next break?  I love my job, but I sure do love my babies more!  I  guess I should be thankful for a job where I only work 180 days a year and get off work at 2:30 each day.  I may have actually calculated the years I have to retirement at one point while I was on Spring Break....sigh. 

This Spring Break was truly one of the best ever!!  Tony had to work all week (boo!) and my parents are super busy building their log cabin, so I was determined that I was going to be intentional about spending quality time with the kids this week and really enjoy the time that I had them to myself.  So, when I asked Riley what she wanted to do all week while we were home, she said, "Let's make a list!"  

Thus, the Spring Break Bucket List was born...

1.  Go to Breakfast - I don't have a picture, but we hit up McDonalds one morning.  We made it through breakfast, but I did carry a screaming Braylen to the car at the end.  ha!

 2.  Go to a movie.  This was, of course, just for the girls!  No boys allowed.  Braylen stayed with Gramlet, and Riley and I drove to Lynchburg, had lunch, and went to see Beauty and the Beast in 3D.  When Belle first came out in the yellow dress, you should have seen Riley's face light up!  Priceless.

3.  Go to the library.  This was a hit!  Riley came home with 8 (yes, EIGHT!)Dora the Explorer books  and Braylen brought home a Dr. Seuss book.  I feel bad for the person who has to put all the books back in order though. 

4.  Have a picnic and
5.  Go to the park - And according to Riley, a picnic is not a picnic if you sit at a table...the blanket has to be on the ground....or else.

6.  Have a campfire (I added "with s'mores") - Gramps and Gramlet joined us for this one.  We had such a good time, until one log went a little crazy and we had to put the fire out after about an hour and a half....sshh, don't tell the fire marshall.  Riley and Braylen were covered in marshmallow and chocolate and smelled like a campfire.  :-)

7.  Get a "little" swimming pool.  We saved this for the warmer weather at the end of Spring Break.  Definitely a way to end the week for this little girl!

We also spent an entire day at my parent's land where they are building their cabin.  The kids played in the dirt and the creek, rode bikes, I took a walk, and fun was definitely had by all!

8 more weeks til Summer!! 

Spring Break 2011

Spring Break was absolutely fabulous!  The only thing I would've changed about it would be to make it sloooow down.  I was having major camera issues last week with my battery and memory card, so I don't have many pictures from the week.

Tony took some time off work and we spent one night and one full day at Douthat State Park camping.  So much fun!  I have to say that Riley is quite the little camper.  She loved every single second of it.

The rest of the week was spent relaxing, going to meet Tony for lunch, and lots of playing at home.  It was the perfect pick me up that I needed to get through the last 6 weeks of school.

I can taste summer break already...bring it!

Tony is the only male in his department (he is such a charmer...or at least they think so...haha) and all the ladies were planning arranged marriages for their own kids and our kids.

Weekend Trip

First of all, I want to say that I have zero pictures from my weekend trip with the kids and my parents. Why no pictures do you ask?

That would be because my outdoorsey, athletic, preppy, pretty-boy, redneck of a husband (no, those things don't really go together, but yes, my husband is all of those....crazy guy) used the memory card for my camera to put into a trail camera on our property for getting pictures of deer!
Such a silly man. Gotta love him.

Anyway, Tony had to work this weekend, so I packed up the kids Friday after work (which was absolute craziness....trying to pack up both kids, get them both fed, get myself ready, feed the dog and load them and everything into the car by myself was so stressful after working all day) and headed to Douthat State Park where my parents were camping. We had a blast!

Lots of naps, hiking, playing at the playground, listening to music, roasting marshmallows, eating, reading, and just enjoying the weekend!

We came home this afternoon and Riley and I finished off our Sunday evening "camping out" downstairs and watching a movie together after Braylen went to bed. It is so nice to get that special time with her. She can definitely be a two year old at times, but then there are those times when she absolutely melts my heart. I love my girl!

Here is one picture that the trail cam captured since I don't have pictures from camping...

OBX 2010

We spent last week at the Outer Banks with our Friend Fam. I was so worried about it not feeling like a vacation, but it was TERRIFIC! We had a blast! Especially the few days we had Amy Jo there! We are so blessed to have this group of friends that are truly just like family. The 11 of us are so comfortable and have so much fun together. The kids played and played and played some more. They really enjoyed having each other around. And 95% of the time, they were perfect angels...only a few meltdowns and time out sessions all week. We were so lazy and relaxed.

My hubby was absolutely perfect. He kept the kids every single morning while I went to the pool by myself for a few hours. Then we all went out together. Braylen's little canopy tent worked out great. Riley is quite the little beach bum, but I think she enjoyed jumping in the pool the most.

All five kids went down for their naps at 1:00 and most of the time, they slept until 3:30 or 4:00. The boys usually played x-box while the girls napped or read books. This "kid free" time was pretty heavenly!

We spent our evenings inside cooking dinner, taking pictures on the beach, going to the sand dunes, and playing putt putt. All the kids went to bed around 8:00. Having them all on the same schedule made things so much easier!

I know this all sounds really boring, but it was relaxing and perfect! Trust me...there were some crazy funny times and silly stories. I'll leave those versions to the Dowdy and Jones blogs!