Every once in a while you stumble on a moment and happen to have your camera ready at the perfect time.  Dave's family came down to celebrate the 'big twins' birthday this past weekend.  Here's one of my favorite pictures from the weekend:

My folks were finally able to break free from all their 'other' obligations (i.e. my wimpy sister) and spend a much over due weekend with the grandpups.  It's been almost three months since they last saw the twins (which is the equivalent of dog years at this stage in an infant's life).  Finn & Belle were in AARP heaven!

On Sunday, we took the folks to our favorite downtown brunch spot:  The Dixie Grill (it's so good, they don't even need a website).  The wait was a bit ridiculous, but the food was worth it.

Here's some photos of our adventure:

Among the many reasons we flew to RI last week, the main involved witnessing the high school graduation of Finn & Belle's oldest cousin (as well as providing a loud enough cheering section to make one nervous teenage boy feel utterly embarrassed to have family in the audience).

The twins didn't fare so well at this graduation, mainly because it lasted over two hours (apparently the only ones not asked to give speeches at the ceremony were Finn & Belle).  All kidding aside, the ceremony was heartfelt and touching.

We're super proud of Mr. URI and wish him all the luck this coming year in college!!!

That's right folks, in exactly one week my little babies will officially become toddlers.  Some amazing things have happened in the last two weeks.  Mirabelle started throwing full-on tantrums, complete with falling to the ground and flaying like a fish out of water (really Lady Belle, I'm on to you and hate to disappoint but I've got 30+ years experience in this department).

We had a lovely visit by 'Aunt G' early last week.  The cousins all went down to Carolina Beach and played in the water for the afternoon.  It was the first time the babies were taken out past the breaking waves and into the Atlantic.  It's safe to say they LOVED IT.  For some reason Mirabelle thought she already knew how to swim and tried numerous times to jump from 'Aunt G's arms into the water (who knows, maybe she already knows how to swim . . .).

Later in the week we packed up the family and flew to Rhode Island to attend cousin Alex's graduation.  These were the first flights for our squirmy bundles.  Everyone and every thing made it safe and sound.  We did lose a locking mechanism on one of our car seats during the trip (surely it's not that important to the overall safety of the car seat).




While in Rhode Island we celebrated Dave's first Father's Day with a 3 lb. lobster and a trip to an Irish pub in Newport.  Then we made a very important trek to Block Island.  Not only is it the smallest town in the smallest state but it's also the place where Dave proposed to me almost 10 years ago (sigh).




Maybe it's divine intervention or just shear luck, but June has sailed through here faster than   Octomom's fifteen minutes of fame.  I'm truly grateful, really.  I've no time to sit and ponder the magnitude of my sweet babies finally turning the big O-N-E (which most likely would have resulted in some form of an emotional catastrophe).  Instead, I've only seven short days to begin hyperventilating and irrationally unplugging every clock within reach.

I'll try and redirect this anxiety into something productive like planning the most memorable birthday bash the twins are sure to forget.

My folks came to town for the weekend (always a treat).  Mirabelle decided my Dad is her new favorite toy.  She follows him around the house and stood by the door or window waiting patiently for his return (Lavender has some competition).

On Saturday we all drove to Emerald Isle to see my sister and her family.  The twins loved playing with their older cousin.  Finn was awe-struck by Andre and the twins had fun playing with Thomas the Train (looks like I might as well start early and commit to a few years of Thomas-mania).

This week we head to Rhode Island to see Dave's nephew graduate from high school.  We're driving . . . all of a sudden flying seems like a much better option.

It's been a busy week for us.  Aunt Quinn graduated from high school over the weekend, Memorial Day marked the end of our first year in our new house and yesterday was our 8th wedding anniversary.

Quinn graduated with an IB diploma (International Baccalaureate) basically this means she can apply to any university in the world . . . she chose a college two hours south of our hometown (to her credit, it's located at the beach).  All kidding aside, we're really proud of her and I'm certain my parents already have blueprints in the works for her old room.




On Monday we had a few friends over to help celebrate Memorial Day.  My parents came to town to join in the festivities.  We had a wonderful time letting the babies play in a new inflatable pool for the yard because we live in America folks, why walk a half mile to the real kiddie pool when you can buy your own at Walmart for $10.




Yesterday Dave and I celebrated eight wonderful years of marriage by kissing the babies goodnight and heading to dinner and a movie.  One thing is certain, someone should tell the local movie theater we don't live in New York City.  When did one adult ticket cost $10?

That being said, I may be somewhat bias but I do think I have the world's BEST Grandmothers.  Here's a picture of me with both of them at my wedding.  On the left is my Oma (from Germany) and on the right is my Grandma (from South Carolina).