Corolla Vacation 2017

SORRY! Life has been a whirlwind over the last two months.  I will try to recap what we have been up to this summer.  One of the most exciting trips we went on was Harrison's first family (minus D.J.) vacation to Corolla in the Outer Banks.  My family has been going there since my mom was pregnant with me, so it's a pretty big family tradition.  Over the years, the group has gotten smaller and smaller due to travel from Pennsylvania, everyone having their own lives and the family expanding tremendously.  This year though, we had THREE houses and over 30 people come which was SO much fun.  Four of my mom's six siblings where there with their spouses.  My first cousins that were there ranged from 40 to 27 and my second cousins that were there ranged from 18 to Harrison! He was the youngest.

We stay in Corolla Light - the best resort on the Outer Banks! So many great activities for the kids, adults and our all time favorite - BINGO. However, I remember bingo being a lot more fun as a child than WITH a child.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip....

Lots of beach days with cousins.

Our group ruled the beach!

Cousin love!

Gigi is the best.

Mom and her sister in law, Janice.

Surfin USA!

Every week the resort has a sand castle contest and Uncle Johnny is our family artist.  This year was a flamingo because thats what his granddaughter Emery asked for!

And as you can see, our daily routine was exhausting! So exhausting that Harrison fell asleep in the high chair!

As much fun as we had, it really stinks not having daddy on vacation with the family.  We can't wait to make an off season family getaway to make special memories with daddy!

Another Athens Graduation

Last weekend, Harrison and I made the trip down south toe watch my sister graduate from the University of Georgia!

As always, Harrison was the best little travel buddy.  Despite having to be woken up at 5:30 a.m., he did great on the plane ride down Thursday.  We knew it would be a long day, so once she walked across the stage, we hit the road for the condo so I could get Harrison home and in bed before the party started! He was looking mighty dapper in his red pants and adorable bowtie.

Thursday night we had a little party at the condo with Julie's friends, our family and of course - Pappy's cookies.  Oh, and big cutout heads of five-year old Julie. See below.

Friday was the entire university graduation and the speaker was Ernie Johnson, the NBA announcer.  If you haven't heard his speech, take time and go look at it here. I promise it's worth the time.

My key takeaways from the two speeches I heard and her graduation are...

1. Be Kind. Show Up. and Be You. 
2. Always have a job that you GET to go to, not one that you GOT to go to.
3. Find lives blackberries.  You will understand when you watch the speech. 

Before the graduation on Friday night, we hung out downtown, grabbed some beers and pizza and just enjoyed the time together! 

The trip was fast, but it was so great to see the last Merryman child graduate and move on to the next chapter in her life - grad school! 

Snow Storm 2017

It's been a while since Norfolk, VA saw the kind of snow we saw this past weekend. Blizzard warnings came true when we saw about 8 inches of snow from Friday night to Saturday night! It was so much fun to see Harrison experience the sight of snow and what it does.  Saturday we braved the roads and drove the long drive (.2 miles) to my parents house for the day.  We enjoyed a JMU FCS National Championship win and even bundled HC up in the blizzard-like conditions to experience snow falling!

Sunday we went to the biggest hill around these parts with my cousins and pretended to be 10 years old again.  Our hearts may be kids, but our bodies aren't! We were both so sore and tired after climbing all those hills!

Yes...that's D.J....

When we got back, HC had just woke up from his nap. We bundled him up to snap some photos, play in the snow and "sled" around the court at my parents house. Bobby came over for the day to watch some football and have some family time!

Despite the cold temps, Harrison really enjoyed the snow! He was in awe at all the white stuff and the kids running around him! I can't wait to experience this again when he's another year older.

And this was the best family picture we could get with Stryker!