While we were out...

While we were at the beach, we had a few little house projects going on at home.  I was so sad to leave the beach, but excited to see what our house would look like with these changes.  We got our hardwoods re-finished, plus added some hardwoods downstairs and upstairs, changed front stair case runner, fixed some tiles and waxed the kitchen floor and added a backsplash in the kitchen!  I am so happy with how it all turned out!  Here's a glimpse of my iphone pictures of some of our changes...

Front hallway before...

    

And after...

Front staircase before....

  And after....

Upstairs hall before...

  

And after (with a side of Rhodes!)

Kitchen backsplash before and after..

After 3 months of living in our new house, we are loving it and getting more and more settled by the day!  We still have boxes to unload, furniture to buy, rooms to paint and pictures to put up - but, with 3 young kids, there is only so much time and 3 little people I would rather be enjoying than unpacking!  :)

Beachtime!

Patrick family beach vacation 2012 was the best one yet!  It is so fun to watch our girls play at the beach and swim like little fish and to see Beck take his first look at the ocean!  Our camera was never around so the only pictures I got (once again) are blurry iphone pictures, but it was nice to just be able to enjoy the vacation and not worry about taking pictures and just relax! One of these days I am going to get that hired photographer to follow me around so I can come home with good beach vacay pictures like everyone else! :)

Our first stop was in Hilton Head for 3 nights.  It was a whirlwind of fun new places to eat, time on the beach and the pool, putt putt, horseback riding, face painting, fun balloons and fun concerts for the kids!  We went non-stop and were completely exhausted, but had so much fun exploring this new town together!  

Beck's first day on the beach!

Lunch and ice cream at the Salty Dog..

(Rhodes loved her Superman ice cream...it was e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e!!)

Sunset at the Lighthouse

Gregg Russell in Harbourtown - we did not stay for long b/c the girls did not love it (I think they were intimidated by having to sit on stage and they weren't sure if they were supposed to be up there - nervous nancies!) but Ryan and I really enjoyed it!

Putt-Putt!

Rhodes' ball went overboard, but her daddy found it and saved the day!

Another kids concert...Shannon Tanner!  For some reason, the girls really LOVED this one!

Horseback riding!  (My little horse lover especially loved this!)

What Beck did most of the trip...just hanging out! :)

Next stop....St. Simons!

We headed straight to the beach and met up with the Lowery's!

Fun on the beach with our buddies! 

Our 3 loves! :)

We enjoyed our time on the beach, at the pool, eating yummy food, stopping off for treats, and putt-putting! (Ali is really into putt-putt!) 

She got a hole in one!! (really!) Woo-hoo!

I was so sad to pack it all up and head out of town back home.  I hate leaving the beach and now that Ali is about to start Kindergarten, I know it will be harder to take trips!  It was an awesome trip though and now that we are home, I am so glad to be back here and getting back in our routine. (slowly, but surely!)  I am sure we were quite a sight to be seen pulling out of SSI - my Volvo was packed to the brim, 3 kids lined up across the middle, and two dogs as we brought Bailey home for my parents too!  We are outgrowing this car fast! :)

Now, we are back home and getting back to normal!

 Starting to sit up!

 New summer haircuts! 

(as you can see from the beach pictures, Rhodes started turning into a Cousin It look-alike by the end of the trip....I just kind of went on vacation from the fight to brush her hair! :)) I could not wait to get home and get her hair cut!  They both look so cute with their new 'dos!

The dudes

If you're around our house, you will often here the term "dude".  We love our "little dude", as his sisters often refer to him...he is a laid back, go with the flow kind of man that fits the term perfectly.  I thank God every day for the fact that #3 was born with loads of friends from the get-go, girlfriends and boyfriends alike that I hope that he will love and grow with forever. We were so excited when our friends, the Lowerys, told us that they would be at the beach at the same time as us!  Beck and William are 3 weeks apart and, if they're anything like their big siblings, will be two of a kind!  Thankful for these friendships and for these pictures that these dudes will one day be looking back on and see how far they have come together!

Happy 4th!

Happy 4th of July from our goofy family to yours!