ready, set, summer!

Ya'll, summer is flying by. I can't believe it is almost August.

In our household we are knee deep in projects and feeling the time crunch. I'm not sure where the end is, but it may be months before we reach it! I'm pretty useless when it comes to painting and heavy lifting right now, but I have had a long list of items and rooms to clean and organize. I am pretty sure I have been "nesting" my whole life  ... I was born for this stage of pregnancy!

We started the summer off by spending a week in the mountains. Justin had to attend Annual Conference (a yearly gathering of Methodist clergy for meetings and such) and I spent time with family. We stayed a few extra days after he was finished at Lake Chatuge, where my in-laws have a house. If I had to pick a place to live, Lake Chatuge would be it! It was during this trip we also celebrated Baby C's gender reveal and found out she was a girl!

Our niece and nephew! 

Justin had a birthday at the end of June, which we celebrated with a coffee date, a true dinner and move at the Movie Tavern, and with homemade desert. It was a fun date night.

Like I shared here, we also spent a week along the NC inner coast on a mission trip. And finally it was time for a vacation! We stayed close to home this year and spent a few days in Wilmington and the surrounding beaches.

The week was super hot, with a heat index well above 100 everyday! We visited the North Carolina Battleship, checked out Fort Fisher and the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher.

Several afternoons were spent sitting on the beach. We visited both Carolina Beach and Kure Beach.

Of course, we had to check out a few local icons on Carolina Beach! Ice cream was a must in the crazy heat, and Britt's Donuts were super tasty!

One morning we attempted to hike at Carolina Beach State Park. We started with a shorter trail that promised us Venus Fly traps .. but we never found any! The heat was too intense for the longer trail we had planned on.

Of course, we had to spend some time in downtown Wilmington. We enjoyed some yummy restaurants and strolled along the Riverwalk. On our last night we had booked tickets for a sunset cruise and dinner on the Henrietta III River Boat. Right before we needed to board the boat, it came this huge storm that even flooded the road! Needless to say, we didn't end up seeing a sunset, but it finally cleared off to be a nice cool evening. This was probably my favorite part of the trip!

After being gone for two weeks, we were ready to be back home. And of course, I have a few more weeks of summer to hopefully, slowly, soak up. :)