It's been a long time since we've posted, and we've been busy! Caroline turned two months old yesterday, and she's becoming such a big girl. Sam, meanwhile, continues to be a hilariously fun little man. I know it's a cliche, but times REALLY flies when you have little kiddos. I have to remind myself to slow down and appreciate it :)
About two weeks ago, we went out to the beach for a couple days to see the Hathaways. We had fun at Ragtime with Katie & David Thursday night, then Sam had a blast playing with Cohen on the beach Friday. Henry came over after his naptime and all 3 boys played at Chip and Phy's house. Sam was SO EXCITED to see the boys, and he wore himself out having a good time with them! (Sadly, we forgot our camera, so we don't have any pictures!)No rest for the weary, though, because the next morning we packed up and headed to NC for a week with all the Stricklands! It was SO NICE to spend a week with family that we don't see nearly often enough. Having a full week gave us plenty of time to catch up (in between running around after all the kids!)
Sam loved, loved, loved playing with Nana and Papa and all his second cousins. We owe credit to Uncle David for most of these photos. Although we remembered our camera this time, we were having too much fun to pull it out of the bag and take pictures!
By Wednesday, Sam was completely exhausted from playing on the beach, so Clay took him to Beaufort for a change of pace to look at the boats. Once there, they decided to take a ride on the ferry, and Sam was in heaven. 
Aunt Tricia and Aunt Sandra planned so many cute activities for all the grandbabies. They decorated hats, played with bubbles and toys, and made "cousin shirts" -- bright yellow t-shirts they decorated with each others' handprints. So adorable!
While Sam was busy playing on the beach, boating, and crafting, Caroline soaked up some time with her grandparents...especially Nana, who showered her with love and attention!
And Clay managed to find some time to sit and relax...a real luxury these days! :) 
And I enjoyed the gloriously cool weather. It was in the low 60's most nights we were there, and it was SPLENDID. 
David, a long-time Hockey fan, has adopted the Bruins since he arrived in Boston, so he & Dad had fun watching the Stanley Cup finals all week.
All that cheering is exhausting...
And the family celebrated with an early birthday cake for my cousin Drew (my "birthday twin" - we were born on the same day 11 years apart and have celebrated together at the beach every year for as long as I can remember!) and I. Huge kudos to Emily for the amazing birthday cake complete with a fondant boat and sand castle! 
We traveling back Saturday night, and we celebrated Father's Day at home with Clay. We were all pretty tired, but it was a great day! Clay got to relax and watch the U.S. Open, and the kiddos (okay, mostly Sam) showered him with homemade cards and presents. I can't say enough about how amazing a father Clay is. He is the rock of our family, and I couldn't imagine going through life (especially this parenting adventure) with anyone else. I used to think holidays like Mother's and Father's day were cheesy holidays created by Hallmark. That may still be true, but now that we're parents I'm so very grateful to have a day set aside to celebrate and be thankful for the wonderful fathers in our lives.
And, finally, a few cute pics of the kiddos at home from the past couple weeks. We tried for weeks to get a cute picture of Sam beside our dogwood tree, and now we can't get him to STOP posing in front of it. Every time he walks by, he stops and says, "CHEEEEESE!"
Sweet Caroline!
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