We had a blast this year at the fair. 

The girls had armbands so they could do unlimited rides, and they took advantage of that.

We left the baby at home so that we could stay as long as we wanted, which ended up being a little after 9!

 Aaron took the third armband and rode several things with our daredevil :)

 Kate stepped up on her courage a little this year and took more chances to ride.

 They watched and participated in a kid's game show. So cute. The rest of us pigged out on pizza and a gyro while they did this.

 This is Kate's favorite ride and she asked to ride it more than once.

 Shannon and Ashely went crazy!

"We're going to ride the ferris wheel, we're going to ride the ferris wheel!"

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