June 2012

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Easter Egg Hunt and North Carolina!!!

** Disclaimer: Lots of pictures and 2 viedos ahead!**

So, this past week has been pretty packed with fun adventures! First off, on Wednesday (the one before Easter) Reed participated in his first Easter Egg Hunt!!!! It was pretty sweet. We got together for our play group at the church. The kids played with toys and the moms chatted - nothing new :) but still enjoyable! Then, we all went outside to the front where Jenny, one of the moms, had set up an Easter Egg Hunt for the kids. I was pretty excited about this, especially since we DID NOT get tickets to the White House Easter Egg Roll (I am still pretty bummed about that, but maybe next year). Reed was not quite sure what to do at first, but he picked up amazingly fast! I showed him and egg and then put it in his basket for him. So, we went crawling through the grass looking for more eggs. When he would find one, he would pick it up, shake it for a bit, and then go and place it in his basket!!!! I was thoroughly impressed - my son is brilliant :) I even have a little video to prove that's what he did. It was a success! Reed loved it and just had fun! Thanks to Jenny for getting it all together! It was fabulous!

Over the weekend, we went to the Outer Banks in North Carolina, more specifically Corolla, NC. My parents had rented a beach house for the weekend and invited us along! It was like a mini-family reunion since it included Tyson; Reed; my parents; my brother, Ryan, my sister-in-law, Barbara; my brother, Brandon; my sister-in-law, Kim; and their 7 children - Tyler, Lanae, Sasha, Coleman, Josh, Alia, and Sawyer. So, it was almost a full Rowberry family reunion - minus 11 more grand kids, 4 siblings, and 3 spouses! Yes, I have a big family :) But, it was way fun!

The whole adventure started on our way to Richmond, VA, Thursday night. Tyson and I rode with Ryan and Barb, while Reed got to ride with Grandma and Grandpa. During our EXCITING drive to Richmond (I really hate that drive. There is always traffic, and it always takes like 3 hours despite the fact that it is only about 100 miles from my house) Ryan's car overheated! We pulled to the side of the road and turned the car off. We sat there for a while and ended up getting the antifreeze out. We needed to mix it with water since it was not the 50/50 kind (note to self: always buy 50/50 kind). There was bumper to bumper traffic (of course), but ah well. Then, a Cadillac pulls off to the side of the road and a man in an official-looking vest steps out. Turns out he works for Metro (that explained the vest) and had a ton of 50/50 antifreeze in his trunk! So, he gave us some (would not accept $, even though we tried to give him some). Thankfully, it worked and we were able to get back on the road. The rest o that trip was smooth sailing and yes, it took 3 hours to get there(if not, a little more due to our 20 minute stop).

We arrived at Brandon and Kim's house and promptly got ready for bed. The guys (minus Grandpa) all got up at 5:45 am for a basketball game at the YMCA. When they came back we ate breakfast, packed up the remaining stuff into the cars, and headed to North Carolina! I have never been, so I was pretty stoked and just hoping the weather would be nice. We got there about noon, ate lunch, and then headed for the beach! The only other time Reed has been to the ocean was the Walker family trip, June 2008 to San Diego. But, he did not even touch the sand while we were there. So, I was pretty excited for him to be able to play in the sane. It was windy, but the sun was shining and the beach looked beautiful. It still kind of weirds me out that there is a beach next to pine trees. I am still used to the West coast palm trees, I guess. Well, the water was absolutely FREEZING!!! Reed just walked with me right into the water, but once a wave hit his feet, he began to lift up one foot at a time (he kind of loked like a flamingo). Then, he was not excited to be by the water. But, it was pretty funny :) On the up side, the sand felt WONDERFUL!!!! Reed did not know what to do with it at first, but soon began to dig in it with pleasure. His cousin, Coleman, even buried him and he just giggle about that, thinking it was awesome!

Reed got pretty tired and went to take a nap. I followed suit, since I hadn't slept well the night previous. When Reed woke up, we went back to the beach and met up with everyone else who was still there. We played for a little longer, then headed back home for dinner.

After dinner, we went to the "lake" - mostly fresh water, but still has a little bit of salt water in it - and watched the sunset. I love the water! It is just so beautiful! We ended the night playing games :) Family reunion here we come!

The next day, we hung out for a while, just lounging and talking. Then, I decided that I really needed to go running. So, everyone else except Barb and I went to the lighthouse while we jogged and lifted weights. The picture is pretty beautiful of the lighthouse and it was pretty fun, says the kids. Unfortunately, we did not get to see the wild horses because you had to hike this sand mountain or rent a jeep (super expensive). Too bad we did not bring the truck - we could have charged people to go and see the horses.

We hung out some more and then the adults (minus Grandpa) went to the recreation center to play wallyball. I have not played in YEARS, but it was pretty fun! It was a little hard since I did play volleyball, to wait for the ball to hit the wall, but I finally got the hang of it. We played for over an hour and were all pretty tired and of course, sweaty by the end! When we got back, we cooked some dinner, and then went swimming at the recreation center. Outside, the weather had turned a little nasty. It was cold, windy, and raining a little. Reed was a little upset at first, since the water was colder than his bath water. But, soon enough, he began to love the water! He splashed with his cousins and just had fun.

When we got back, I decided that Reed needed a bath in our jacuzzi tub! So, I filled the tub with water and poured in his body wash. Then, I turned the jets on! It was awesome - the bubbles filled the bathtub and Reed loved it! He did not like the noise of the jets so much, so they got turned off. I also decided that I couldn't let Reed have all the fun, so I hopped in and played with him. Afterwards, the kids all went to bed and the adults played games...fun, fun!!!!

Sunday morning came all too quickly. We woke up, cleaned the beach house, and then drove to Richmond to go to Brandon and Kim's ward before heading back to DC. I can't believe that it all happened so fast! I want to go back to the beach! We will definitely get back there! For anyone who is wondering, NC is beautiful....you should go!

He is growing up so fast! Reed loves playing with stickers!

Reed playing with his eggs.

Hmmm....where are those eggs?

I found an egg!

Almost at the basket with the egg......

Success! Putting the egg in the basket.

Reed, before he knew the water was freezing (along with Coleman, Sasha, Grandma, and me)

Reed and me at Corolla Beach (My dress was made from material Tyson brought me back from Tonga - I love it!) Oh, thanks to Ryan and Barb for providing Reed with the hat and matching shorts. Actually, they gave him the shirt as well, but it did not come as a set with the hat and shorts. Reed looks adorable in them!

This is how Reed avoided the cold water

Waiting for daddy to pick him up and avoid feeling the cold water

Daddy and Reed watching the waves

Our fun little family at the beach!

"Ummm, I am not exactly sure about this, but I wil try."

Reed figuring out that sand is fun - it's like a light bulb went on in his head!

Most of the crew!

Sawyer just taking it all in

Reed digging in the sane (probably looking for gold)


Coleman and Grandma burying Reed

"Being buried in the sand is pretty relaxing!"

Tyler coming back from a voyage at sea

Sasha, Alia, Josh, and Sawyer making a baby pool

Lanae rowing in the ocean

Josh playing with the sand toys

Kim trying to blow up an entire raft! She eventually, went back to the beach house and used a pump.


Alia loving the water!

Reed and Grandma burying Coleman

Brandon and Grandpa walkingon the sand bar

Brandon and Grandpa walking for the sand bar to the shore
Reed and Sawyer (Reed is 6 weeks older) checking out the "baby" pool Sasha made for them!

Reed and Sawyer playing in the water!

I love this little pale boy :)


Reed and Daddy - so cute

Our sunset at the "lake"

The light house

Bath time is so much better in a jacuzzi tub!

Reed playing with his sponge - of course



Reed at the Easter Egg Hunt - he is so smart!


Reed being buried by his cousin, Coleman. I missed him giggling with joy, but it is still a good video. I love how he let Coleman bury him! How cute :)

6 comments:

Jen said...

What a fun family outing!!

PriceFamily said...

What is the first thing we do when going to the beach?? OH!! I know! Lets bury my kid! Perfect plan. I love how that's always the case when going to the beach. I'm sure if Kenzi was with me when we went to San Diego we'd have to do that with her. lol

Stacey said...

How fun. I've always wanted to go to N.C. I have heard it is beautiful. I really wanted to name this baby Alia so when I saw that name I was really jealous. Brett doesn't like the name as much as me so we have gone on to something else. Reed's hair is getting so long and thick, it's adorable. How fun that he did so well with the Easter egg hunt. Jules just wanted to open them and eat them right away.

shauntelle said...

janae, that looks great , how fun that the weather was nice, but you haven't seen pale yet. reed is getting so big it's fun when they love to play with other kids, love you

Megan said...

I'm getting so excited for our reunion reading about your weekend! Sounds like it was a lot of fun!

Chris and Mel said...

fun, fun easter- and good to see your hubby could make it :)