Is it just me, or is the end of “summer” really busy?! We’ve had so much going on the past few weeks between visitors, photo shoots, and baby showers! It’s been a lot of fun, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t enjoying some down time now (or as much down time is allowed when having a 4.5 year old and a 7 month old).

Like I mentioned above, we’ve had several visitors over the past few weeks and we’ve had so much fun showing them around NC! Our first set of visitors in July were my twin (aka Bray Bray) and Miss Wendy! Hudson and Holden were definitely spoiled with all the attention and playing (including some old school Nintendo action). They also spoiled the husband and I with a date night to see Top Gun: Maverick (watch it with a pilot-it’s more fun ;)).

The next set of visitors were DeeDee and Papa a week later. The boys enjoyed some more play time, and some digging for shark teeth time. The husband and I also got ANOTHER date night that included dinner and mini golf.

At the beginning of August (is it really almost September??), my other brother (Aunt Brennen if you ask Hudson), sister-in-law (Aunt Katie), and the cousins came to visit! It was their first time visiting us in NC and the cousins had a blast together. Before they even arrived, Hudson was counting down sleeps until their visit.

Their first day here, we made them hop back in the car to drive to the husband’s work. I felt bad they’d been driving all day, but it was the only day they would have been able to see the helicopter the husband flys up close! It really is so much better to get to see in person, pictures just don’t do it justice. After that we made our way to Mission BBQ (a staple around here) and really did enjoy some southern hospitality (note to self: they close early on Sundays).

On Monday we let the kids play and took it easy until the afternoon when we went bowling! Everyone had a great time! The best part of the day was following it up with Rita’s though! Even though we live close to one, I always forget it’s there until we have visitors! After Rita’s, we came home for dinner and a movie with popcorn.

Tuesday was an exciting day for the kids since we got to head to the beach! Since Holden’s getting a little older, I decided to get an umbrella for him so he could sit up and see things (as opposed to the little baby tent I’ve used a couple of times). In theory, it was a great idea, it was just a little too windy. I ended up taking him up to the pavilion for a bit and then switched out with the husband. Holden did get to put his feet in the water and he was definitely not a fan.

After the beach, we headed home for showers (there’s nothing like a shower after some time at the beach) and Pops’ spaghetti followed by another movie.

On Wednesday, after the kids played for a bit, we packed up a picnic lunch and headed to the aquarium. We’ve been quite a few times and I still feel like we see something new each time (this time the eagles were actually outside to look at). After snapping a “Cousin Crew” picture, we went inside to pet the stingrays and check out the sharks. We even went digging for some shark teeth!

After the aquarium, we went to an early dinner at Snapperz and then headed home to watch the husband fly over the house. The stars aligned and the timing was perfect to get to see him! Even though I’ve seen him fly over quite a few times, it never gets old! After that, we had to make a final stop at Rita’s to end the visit.

We absolutely loved having all of our visitors come in July/August and we definitely loved all the cousin time Hudson and Holden got! It’s so much fun seeing the kids together and even though it’s hard not to wish we lived closer, we always cherish the time we get!