Beach Vacation...Lots of Pictures!

This past week we took a much-needed vacation to Kiawah Island with Nate's family. Of course, I took way too many pictures in my attempt to capture every second of it but I'm glad I did now that I'm looking back on them...enjoy!

We had the best weather all week long...sunny and mid-80's!

Drew hanging out in his tent on the beach...Thanks to Casey for letting us borrow Lily's sunglasses...he didn't seem to mind that they were pink:)

Drew got to spend some quality time with his Aunt Kelsey

His favorite place on the beach was in his Omi's lap...

...Second only to sleeping on her shoulder

It's not every grandma who will sit right down in the water with her grandson. Drew is lucky!

Walking on the beach!

Drew also enjoyed hanging out with his Opaw.

Evening chat with Nate on the beach

We headed over to Folly Beach for some seafood and walked out on the pier. This is the second "date" Nate and I had in college...yes, we drove all the way to the beach and back in one day! I think I knew what an adventurous guys I was with at that point!

Eating fresh shrimp...the best!

We all went into Charleston and ate at the Hominy Grill...delicous Southern food!

All of us at dinner on the patio

After dinner, we walked around Charleston for a bit. Charleston is one of my all time favorite cities to visit! I have such good memories here from college when many of us would road-trip-it down south and stay at Folly Beach. Also, it is just beautiful! The architecture of the old southern homes...

...the cobblestone alleyways and hidden little gardens...

 ...stopping for coffee and dessert at Kaminsky's, this cute little dessert place. I downed the best Oreo milkshake ever!

Even though this picture is blurry, I think it is cute of DeeDee and Darryl!

Meanwhile...Nate and I got to go on a few bike rides thanks to the abundance of enthusiastic babysitters we had available. Kiawah has lots of bike trails that wind all over the island.

I kept waiting to see an alligator since at practically every marsh crossing there were signs to "Watch for alligators" but I never saw one. Probably best since I tend to have an overactive imagination about being eaten by wildlife.

The beach, however, is the absolute best place to bike ride!

And this guy is getting so big I can hardly believe it! Here is his worn-out beach baby look. As I said before, we were lucky to have so many hands to help us take care of him. Nate and I got to spend a lot of time together just riding our bikes, hanging out on the beach, and going out for our anniversary. And I can honestly say that Nate's family is like a second family for me. They are just so much fun! We all had a great time hanging out and they got to see Drew for a solid week, which he seemed pretty happy about as well. I am so glad we planned this vacation and we will definitely have to do it again in the future.

A quick family visit

Sunday morning Erin called and said she and Mark were going to be driving through Louisville on their way back from Michigan (where they went to see his family) and that they'd love to stop by and visit. Then Laura and Josh made an impromptu trip from Lexington, plus my parents came over, and before I knew it we were all having lunch at our house! Even though I wish everyone could have stayed longer, it was so good to see both  my sisters and have everyone under one roof, even if just for a few hours.

Laura and Josh...check out Drew's little overalls that Laura got him!

Sitting in Aunt Erin's lap at lunch

And meeting Uncle Mark for the first time

Not the best picture but everyone eating lunch...Labor Day weekend was definitely busy but fun!

Apple Pickin' Time!

In September, my family used to always head up to Huber's Orchard and Winery to pick apples and although it's been a few years, we decided to re-start the tradition with Andrew. The weather was perfect with early fall temperatures and blue skies!

We started with a hayride out to the orchard and Drew seemed pretty comfy in Granna's lap.

Family photo under the apple trees

He just needed a little help to reach that apple!

Gorgeous day! He was pretty happy riding in the Bjorn carrier...all my friends said it was a must-have baby item and my friend Brooke had an extra which she kindly gave to me. Definitely two thumbs up on it...so comfy and easy to use, plus Drew can face me if he needs to sleep or face forward to check out the scenery. We use it quite a bit!

First picture in the orchard with Granna and Grandpop...I'm sure there will be many more to come!

After we picked apples, we ate the best fried chicken dinner outside...Drew was happy to just hang out!

Friend Time!

Despite this blog turning into mostly one about Mr. Andrew, there are other aspects to our lives. This weekend, I got to have a great night with some good friends. Gina (far right) was in town and we all went out and celebrated her birthday. My parents were happy to watch Drew and we are thankful that they are willing to let us have a night out!

Katie and Lindsey (who came up from Lexington). We ate at Avalon out on the patio and the weather was perfect! I love eating outside on Bardstown Road...you never know what sights you might see. Example: you can't tell but Muhammad Ali is sitting behind Lindsey!

Group shot afterwards when we met up with the boys at FABD (if you're from Louisville, you know what I'm talking about!) I love being outside on summer evenings and am in denial that fall is just around the corner. I do love fall but am not quite ready for summer to end:)

Also, I got a picture of Drew hanging out with Gina, who met him for the first time this week.

And Katie had us over for an amazing dinner and was kind enough to let Drew come too:)

Mary came in town last weekend too and so of course I got the camera out again...I'm pretty annoying:)

Pouty face!

Meeting a few more people

My grandpa was in town this week and got to meet his great-grandson for the first time. My grandparents have lived in Louisville practically their whole lives and have always been so involved in our lives. Unfortunately, the past few years, my grandma has been dealing with Alzheimer's and she and my grandpa moved to Orlando to live with some family members who have been caring for them. Therefore, it was so good that my grandpa got to come up to meet Drew and of course for me to get to see him again as well!

Drew was asleep for most of the visit!

And Aunt Laura drove up from Lexington to hang out too!