Roper Family Beach Trip 2018

 We just got back from Emerald Isle today.  A week ago, my parents and the Moores joined us for Allie's baptism (more on that later) and then we all headed down to Matt's parents' beach house for the week, with the Leightons joining us a few days later.  I was slightly apprehensive about this trip at the start...I mean, 18 people (10 of which are kids) in one house with a weather forecast of storms all week-- what could go wrong?

 Well we did have a few bumps--we did have a couple kids with colds, some of the group had trouble sleeping at times (Matt L slept in his car one night!), there were occasional sibling arguing, and once we got caught on the beach in a full out storm and had to run the couple blocks home in the rain, thunder, and lightning with all the kids and gear.  But overall, it was just the best trip and I'm so glad everyone made the effort to be there!

It was our first vacation with my whole family since Gray was 2.  We all see each other several times a year for special occasions, but we are usually only all in the same place at the same time for a few hours.

 Our beach days were interesting.  As previously mentioned, the forecast was rain/storms every day so we had to take what we could get when we could get it.  Often we'd only be out a short time here and there, but the kids took full advantage of the sand and the waves.  Along with the weather, we had some seriously terrible riptides and couldn't go far out at all.  Life guards told us they had pulled 50 people out of the water on the Emerald Isle stretch of beach that week and we constantly heard sirens as rescue vehicles headed out to help.  Part of our group even witnessed a big rescue in which the workers said that while they were out there, they thought they might not even get back to shore themselves.  Our last day at the beach we got the longest time without rain and since Allie was occupied with her cousins, I even got to sit and read my book!

We got to know the island a little bit, walking down to Wings or to eat.  Our last night we went to eat and then got ice cream, which the kids had been wanting to do all week.

Allie loved getting to be with the big girls, who doted on her as they listened to music, danced, and talked.  The boys really got into playing Rook, which does have a bit of a learning curve so we're not sure exactly what version they were following sometimes, but they felt very grown up and wanted to play every night.

 One night we went on the beach to shoot little plastic light up helicopters.  They didn't work super well because of the crazy wind, but the boys still had a great time with them.  The girls just wanted to walk and talk.

We took one day to visit Aunt Kathy at the Sound.  The kids went crabbing and kayaking, which they loved.  A few of our braver kids enjoyed swimming in the water as well, which I remember doing a lot as a kid when we would come visit my grandmother.

 Another night we did "Cupcake Wars", which was a lot of fun.  We paired the 18 of us up and had each team draw out a category that would be the subject of their cupcake decorating.  We had a lot of creativity out there, but ultimately Carly and my Matt were voted the winners.  It was great to get each of us bonding with family members we might not normally get as much time with.

 The grownups had so much fun each night staying up and playing games together--Compatibility, Wise and Otherwise, Awkward Family Photos, cards.  The kids berated us a few times for keeping them up with our loud laughing, but that didn't deter us too much.  Two players in particular, who shall not be named, had the most fun I've ever seen (or heard might be the better word) playing Rook when we did a tournament one night.  Don't think it had anything to do with what they were drinking either.

Everything just went really well--even feeding all these people.  We cooked at home some and went out to eat several times, finding good food with no wait and close to the beach house.  We also enjoyed a putt putt night with the kids.

 The cousins loved their extended time together and got along beautifully.  By the end of the trip, it was so fun to see the older boys and girls hanging out together and talking non-stop, really getting to know each other, whereas they usually just share a "hi" and "bye" and go off to play separately.

The days sure did fly by and it's hard to believe we're already back home, gearing up for our last month of summer.  I'm so thankful we got to take this trip and I know these are memories we will keep with us for a long time.

Birthdays!!

(7/15)  Happy Birthday to Jeannie today!  And yesterday we got to celebrate her namesake, our Allison Meifen, turning 3!!

We started the day with Matt coming home from work and Allie opening her gifts.  We gave her all sensory-type stuff- play doh, kinetic sand, more magnetic blocks, and I filled a bunch of lip gloss bottles with lotion.  She loved it all....and so did her siblings.

She has two vitamins in her hand and is so excited to be old enough for the full serving size!

 Then Nanny and Pa joined us for a trip to the pool.

Somewhere during naptime, Gray came home from camp and talked nonstop about his adventures.  He loves camp.  Today it was still on his mind, as he wanted to talk about favorite "God songs".  He sat down and wrote all the words to his fav from camp and then learned how to play "Awesome God" on the piano...in typical Gray fashion:  all in and all his own way with whichever fingers he felt like and changing some of the notes that didn't make sense to him.

After nap, we watched Allie home movies.  She loved seeing herself, singing Happy Birthday along with the video, and talking to herself on the video.   For dinner, we had pizza, cake, and ice cream.  It was a good day and good to keep her birthday simple.  Even without a big party, she was a bit testy and uncharacteristically selfish with her new things.  Sometimes birthdays are a lot of pressure and don't bring out the best in us, as I've experienced with the other kids on several occasions!

Our few days home after our Asheville trip flew by, with several appointments we needed to go to, as well as day camp for Joshua in the morning and Julia at night.  We also had several trips to the grocery store, which the kids enjoy much more than I do!.

I used to get so involved with making cakes for the kids' birthdays.  Superhero fondant layer cakes, cakes in the shape of trains, Winnie the Pooh polka dot cake with characters.  Well, with child #4 we are down to this:  Joshua made her cake and she and Joshua decorated it.  And if you noticed above in the pics, I realized at the 11th hour that our candle collection consisted on one pink candle, one dirty yellow candle, one "2" candle, one "4" candle, and a Lightning McQueen candle.  I went with the "2" and the pink.  Sorry, Allie.  She loved it anyway.

 Joshua, in true Joshua fashion, was very particular about his creation and allowed Allie to do only a few specific, directed things.  He was very proud of the result.

This week we are camp-free and will be gearing up for family coming in town for Allie's baptism and the beach!  Meanwhile, Allie is still saying, "You get me that on my birthday??"  It's going to be a long wait, sweet girl!

Bittersweet

It has been a bittersweet last week or so.  We found out shortly after I wrote my last post that my cousin Costner passed away while recovering from surgery in the hospital.  He was just 20 and no one expected this to happen just yet.  We gathered the next day at my grandmother's house to see his mother, my aunt Cheryl.  Boy did it feel way too soon to be together with our SC extended family, in my grandmother's house, mourning another passing.  Weren't we just tearfully hugging all of these relatives over the loss of my grandmother?  What a year for our family.  

We returned home that day and carried on with our "normal" lives, while Cheryl lived a far from normal week in which her other children, my dear cousins, came in from South Korea and London to grieve with their mother and plan Costner's memorial service.  I took the kids to the museum and we had a nice July 4th with friends.  

So many pictures we have taken over the years on this dinosaur.  One day I will put them all together.

Digging up shark teeth.  She was a little dangerous wielding this shovel.

Matt told the kids to learn something new and Julia dutifully recorded lots of insect facts in her notebook.

Matt had to go to work after dinner, sadly, but while did fireworks with more of our neighbor friends, he got to step outside the hospital and watch the big show at UNC.  Allie loved and was afraid of the fireworks.  She buried her head on my chest and shouted "Close it!!" (meaning to cover her exposed ear) when anyone made a move to light another. 

Someone was a little nervous with the sparklers at first.  :)

Love this pic of Gray and his friend Will, who moved to the neighborhood recently, huddled together to watch the show.

The rest of our week was more friend time, pool time, and packing, as Gray was due at camp in Asheville on Sunday.  

Saturday, we said our goodbyes to the kids and Raven and Matt, Gray, and I headed out to rejoin my family, who were gathering in Asheville for Costner's service.  Oh it was so sad to remember Costner through the years and know his time here is done.  I was a teenager when he was born, so there are a lot of memories of him as an adorable baby, his funny antics as he grew up, his struggles and victories with his health, his close-knit family who gave so much of themselves to care for him, his incredible laugh (especially when my grandmother was around) and the way he'd look into the eyes of those that he loved.  It was precious to hear stories about him.  It was meaningful to hear the pastor at his service affirm that his life helped us learn to love and be better at relationships, as those who are different from us or weak tend to do.  It was heartbreaking and wonderful at the same time to hear his big sister stand before the church and tell about the Costner she knew and how fiery and amazing he was.  I haven't had a lot of loss in my life, but this year I'm learning how bitter and how sweet it is to spend time together reflecting on all the stories of your loved one and your relationship with that person, while mixing in the sadness that this chapter is closing.  I'm sure the closer you are to the person, the more bitter it is...or maybe both the good and the bad feelings are just more intense.  

Getting to be with my "international" cousins Clarke and Constance was so good.  We rarely see each other for more than a few hours of a visit maybe once a year.  There were lots of old stories told, lots and lots of laughing...just the way it always is when my family gets together.  

Jeannie had the idea to give Cheryl a rose bush and for us all to make memorial stones to go with it.  My family really got into it and I loved how each one reflected their personality and what they wanted to convey to Cheryl about Costner.  Julia's little heart with wings was such a beautiful idea.  Joshua's patchwork rock was carefully and creatively done.  Gray's glow in the dark rock was off the wall and cool like him.  Allie's was simple and sweet and "helped" by Julia.  They did not have as much time with Costner (especially time that they can remember) as I did, but all the same, knowing him affected them and I think will always help them to be more compassionate and accepting of those with special needs.

   We spent Saturday night with my sister and soaked up a few extra hours of talking and playing before we dropped Gray off at camp.  Gray's counselor seems great-- a former camper there for many years-- and Gray was nervous when we left, but hanging in there just fine.  I know he relaxed much more when his buddy Eli arrived. 

The girls and Joshua had a great time with Nanny and Pa.

Cabin life.

 Matt and I spend the rest of the day visiting with my mom, Cheryl, and Constance and -you guessed it- telling more family stories and laughing.  Oh I love my family.  What a blessing to get more time with Constance than I've had in many years.  Monday they all headed to take Constance to the airport and we said more tearful goodbyes.  There is not much I dislike more than goodbyes.  

Matt and I had planned months ago to stay in Asheville a few days, thanks to Cheryl's invitation for us to have an "anniversary" getaway, so we spent our day exploring Asheville.  We did some hiking, walked downtown a little, had some good food, and headed over to New Belgium Brewing for a free guided tour.  I heard it would be fun and it did not disappoint. Now I've never really liked the taste of beer and can't comfortably drink it anymore anyway b/c of the gluten aspect, but it was still a great tour.  Our guide was extremely good at his job-- he made us laugh often and was great at conveying the scientific process and the heart of their company.  They have some amazing ethics with their commitment to the environment, their employees, and the community.  I was very impressed.  Matt loved the tour and that had nothing to do with all the free beer they gave out.  Every 20 minutes or so, we'd stop at a bar somewhere in the building and all would get a glass or two of beer.  As previously mentioned, I do not care for beer, but never fear-- Matt loves it enough for the both of us and was able to consume my share of the free drinks as well as his.  :)  Fun times.  

We headed home to Cheryl's and walked to a great restaurant for dinner.  It's been so nice to be out of the usual routine.  I even took 2 mornings off work, which has felt great.  I enjoy the job and it's my choice to work as much as I do, but still--staying on top of teaching 7 days a week is a lot.  So nice to go to bed not having to make sure I'm all ready for the morning and to wake up and not immediately launch into work.  Thankful for this trip and time with Matt, thankful for my family and for the chance to remember Costner with them, and looking forward to being back with the kids again.