Dear Family

This summer has been completely nuts (and for the most part, not a fun kind of nuts). However, we did get to go to the beach for almost an entire week over the 4th and it was WONDERFUL. It was so relaxing, which was a stark contrast from last year. As I am sure I have mentioned before, G's grandparents have a house on Fripp Island and every year the entire family heads down for the week of the 4th. The Lord apparently really wanted us to go this year because despite having a manager quit a few days before our departure (a.k.a Garrett's birthday), and having some issues with another manager, we were still able to make it work.

Before I get into the picture recap, here is a little pic of Emmy from a visit we made to my parents house a few weeks ago. I'm pretty sure she knows how cute she is.

On the same trip we stopped by Spartanburg for Fathers Day and to see Garrett's brother and his wife for the first time in almost TWO YEARS!!! It was beyond good to see them. They brought Em some PJ's from China. So we made her model them...with shorts on her head???

Anyway, a week or so later it was time to pack up for the beach. The day before we left I said, "Emerson, do you want to help mommy pack your stuff??" She said, "I sure do (ok maybe she didn't say this with words, but her eyes said it all)." So we sat in her room and packed her stuff up together and then I walked of the room for 5 seconds and came back to this. I think I'll pass on any packing assistance from her in the future.

My dad got shipped off to Memphis for work the day after he and my mom got back from their European vacay back in early June. So since he got to come home for a little visit over the 4th we made a detour on our way to Fripp to stop in Greenville for the evening to surprise him with a little visit. It was so good to see him. I miss my family....bad.

Here are a few pics for our truly amazing trip to Fripp.

Garrett, Amber, Em, Cullen, Courtney, Me, and Wolf all getting ready to watch some fireworks. Please ignore how awful I look in this picture....I'm pregnant and I am not a cute kind of pregnant (apparently I don't have that gene).

EVERY time we go to Fripp, we drive into Port Royal to eat at our fave seafood restaurant, 11th Street Dockside. Yummmmy. This is G and Em celebrating the delicious meal we just consumed.

It's impossible to get a picture of Em looking at the camera without her fingers in her mouth, but we tried anyway.

I'm not sure what was happening in this picture but it looks like it was either really fun or really painful. I can't remember which.

It is also a tradition to skip oyster shells outside of Dockside's either while we are waiting to eat or right after we eat...sometimes both. In this case it was after the meal.

And since this is the first time we have all been together in almost 2 years, there was lots of picture taking.

Emmy got to spend some quality time with her Aunt Susan. I got so many cute pics of them. I may post more later. Susan is a breast cancer survivor and a freakishly cool person. We love her so much and Em LOVED playing with her.

Courtney made the trip from Colorado to be there for the 4th and she and Em got to spend lots of time together too. It makes my heart melt to watch Em with all her Aunt's who love her so much. I'm not sure how I escaped the trip without getting some good pics of her with her Aunt Amber. Amber, next time we are all together....photo shoot.

Em loved spending time with Great Grandmommy Reed. Which made us all happy b/c there was a point in time when her Great Grandmom was convinced that E just didn't like old people (her words, not mine).

It was SO hard to leave the beach. None of us wanted to come home. But, it helped that a few days later we got to drive to Concord to meet G's parents halfway to do a little car exchange. We were able to eat lunch and spend the afternoon together. It was wonderful. These pics of E with her Grandparents make my heart happy.

Dear Family (both Reed's and Green's), we miss you guys more than you will ever know. We value every second we all spend together. Can't wait to see you again soon!