That night we came back to Salem, put the kids to bed with a sitter, and met everyone in downtown Roanoke for Stephen's birthday dinner. What an awesome night. We were so glad to have Ashley (Stephen's friend) and Lucas (cousin) join us!

Lots of laughs and a ton of good food. 

 One of the many perks of being a kid.

 I love this picture of Vivian...she looks so grown up and just like me :)

 The girls played with Hank in his bed early in the mornings so I could take longer to wake up a little more. They all woke up soooo early while we were on this trip (around 6 each day!).

 My little guy LOVED the beach. He played in the sand and crawled around and splashed in the waves. His favorite was playing in the water but he was happy all around. He was covered in sand and didn't make one complaint about it. I enjoyed watching him.

 The girls made friends each day we were at the beach. The first day we met a brother and sister who were the exact same ages, and they moved their stuff close to us so they could play easier. Here they are having a snack together.

 Ahhhh!! He has stolen my heart.

His sippy cup stayed covered in sand but he kept drinking from it :)

 We stopped by to visit Aunt Sylvia and Uncle Frank!

 Kate was enamored with Heidi and loved holding her. It was about the only time Kate sat still during that week.

 Their hair was a mess the whole time we were there...sandy, sticky, knotted. I couldn't get this knot out  of Kate's hair and ended up cutting it out. 

 Vivian made another friend the next day and they jumped in the waves together for a long time.

Aunt Brooke was there the whole time and was so helpful! We missed Aaron but it was nice to have her there as an extra set of hands.

 When we weren't at the ocean playing in the sand, we were playing in this kiddie pool on the deck.
 Waiting for the fireworks to start!
 These are not great pictures of their first fireworks experience, but at least I have it documented. :)
Can you tell I was excited to do this with them?!
 They stayed up late to wait for them, and we sat on the deck and watched the show that they put on from the pier. It was a perfect view for us and I think they were impressed.

Some of the fun expressions:

"Wow that was beautiful!"

"That one was my favorite!"

"Oooooo"

"Oh, that one lit up the night sky!" -Vivian

 Of course, she cooked a five star meal that night for us!

 Hank certainly enjoyed it :)

 Aunt Stella stopped by for a little while that evening to get some hugs.

 They watched the chickens for a while that afternoon.

 I tried to get them out of the house for a good chunk of time that afternoon, so we did scavenger hunts in the yard and then I sat down on the porch swing and let them play with the water jugs in her fountain. They just filled them up and poured the water right back into the base of the fountain...don't you know that's awesome entertainment?!

 We stopped by Grandma's house in Raleigh on our way to the beach at the end of June. Vivian and Kate took care of the squirrel (statue) on her back porch with their doctor supplies.

He got a shot on his tail, hence the bandaid!

They are getting to be good at this.

Vivian always insists on being the nurse, and Kate is the doctor. 

At this time, when you ask V what she wants to be when she grows up, she will say a nurse!