Blog, obx vacation, summer, vacation

Biltmore, a Birthday, and the Beach


We got home from vacation late Monday night and I’m finally finding the time to start sharing a bit about our trip. We had such a fun time, and I’m a bit sad that it’s over, but I’m so glad to be home now. I tend to get a bit homesick and it seems that the kids may have taken after me in that department.

We left for our trip just under two weeks ago (has it really been that long ago?!) to spend a week out in the Outer Banks, North Carolina. I am blessed to have family that owns a vacation house out there so we’ve had a few opportunities to visit. This time I was also able to bring along my two best friends and their families!

Also, did I mention that the drive time is 15.5 hours–one way?!! And we did that drive with 6 kids! I’m not even sure how we survived. Well, actually, I totally give all the credit to DVD players, a van load of junky snacks, and these fun Boogie Boards* that I ordered for the kids back on Prime Day! We surprised the kids the morning we left and they are still obsessed with using them. (This is an affiliate link–which just means that if you purchase through this link, I’d make a small commission. But feel free to shop around elsewhere.) The 4 oldest never complained on the drive. The two youngest…well, they had a few moments. But they actually did surprisingly well.

In case you’re wondering, these photos are not from the house we stayed in 😉 Just thought I’d clear that up. On the way out there, we broke up the trip into two days. My friend, Maggi, and her family met up with us in Asheville, NC and we took our girls to go see the Biltmore Estate. Or as Evangeline called it, “the castle.” It’s the largest privately owned house in the U.S., built in the late 1800s. Not only is the house huge, the whole estate is huge. And the gardens were gorgeous! I loved this little outdoor area. We, of course, stopped to take a few pictures. (That’s Maggi and her sweet little Mabel down there!)

Look! A little baby belly! I’ve been hiding behind flowy shirts and dresses but I won’t be able to hide much longer.

The greenhouses and gardens were definitely a highlight. But my one complaint is that it isn’t very stroller friendly. My pregnant self, along with Maggi and her pregnant self, had to carry our strollers up and down every set of stairs with our babies. And there were quite a few stairs. Also, in the house we had to abandon our strollers a couple of times to go look at different floors. Just thought I’d pass along that info for anyone who is planning to visit! I know I personally enjoyed seeing it all but it was definitely very hard on my body. But look how pretty!

And my personal favorite, these polka dotted plants! I had never seen anything like it! I posted a picture on my Instagram stories, asking what they are. I was quickly told they are polka dot angel wing begonia. And now I need some!

Our first full day in the Outer Banks was also Liam’s 9th birthday! I can’t even believe I’ve been a mom for 9 years now! In the early years, I kind of dreaded these years. I just didn’t see myself enjoying having kids around this age. But I really think it just gets better every year! I love to see how he has grown and what he has learned. He’s very brilliant and very kind, always thinking of others. The birthday tradition in our family is to go out for donuts for breakfast. I think he was really excited that he got to have donuts from his very favorite donut shop, Duck Donuts. And we followed that up with a trip to the beach. I didn’t bring my DSLR to the beach that day so I’m just posting a few phone shots (don’t worry–I made up for it the rest of the week ;))

In the picture below, that’s my other bff, Stephanie, and her little boy. Their one year old unfortunately broke his arm the week before we left for our trip so he wasn’t allowed to be near the sand. It was very disappointing but I was glad Stef was able to join us for one day by the ocean while her son stayed back at the house with his dad! And that other picture is Mabel with Evangeline. Clementine didn’t dare touch the sand until pretty much the last day. 

Also, Desmond! He hated the beach the first day. I really thought it was going to end up being kind of a miserable week but thankfully his hatred of sand didn’t last too long. We have a similar picture of Kingston during his first trip to the beach when he was around Desmond’s age (back when my blog was 100% iphone photos and 95% too many boring details haha.) By the next day, Desmond was literally pouring sand over his own head. So he got over his fear pretty quickly.

I took loads of pictures over the week and I’m going to attempt not to overwhelm everyone with repetitive beach shots! But I’m not promising anything 😉 And Don is working on some vacation videos for our family vlog so hopefully those will be ready before too long! I’ll let you know when they’re up!

**Also, I wanted to add–I feel guilty posting about our carefree, fun beach trip while Texas is experiencing such heartache right now. I’m praying for all the families who have been devastated by this tragedy. Samaritan’s Purse is a great place to donate if you’re looking for a way to help. I know there are also many other ways to help but I encourage you to research before you donate to make sure the organization is truly helping families as needed. If you know of any other ways to help, please leave them in the comments for myself and others to see!

August 31, 2017
Blog, kids, Vlog

How We Chose Our Kids’ Names & Our Pregnancy Announcement Vlog


Okay–so funny story. I started typing this blog post 2 days before Clementine was born. That’s right. It’s been sitting in my drafts since October 2016. But I’ve had so, so many people asking me our children’s names and their age gaps that I thought this would be a fun little post to share. And at the bottom of this post, there’s a new vlog where the kids share their thoughts on the new baby!

***This shirt is from Curly Q’s Counter and it’s the perfect shirt for moms of a few or moms of many! However, the stress of getting a decent group shot while wearing the shirt may make you feel a little less proud! (haha kidding…kind of.)

Anyway, on to the names!

First up, Liam Joseph (turning 9 in a few days!)

We didn’t have any names picked out before our ultrasound with Liam. Soon after we found out he was a boy, we were watching our favorite TV show, LOST, and heard the name “Liam.” If you watched the show, you may remember that he was Charlie’s brother (not a main character.) He was also a drug addict so let’s just say that the character himself had nothing to do with our choice. But we loved the name and the only other place we had heard it was the actor Liam Neeson. It’s kind of funny to me now because it’s SUCH a popular name. But 8 years ago, the reaction we got when we told people his name was “I have never heard that name before!” His middle name, Joseph, is Don’s middle name (and also my brother’s middle name!)

 

Kai Emerson (7)

Kai’s name was actually inspired from an episode of Yo Gabba Gabba. There was a little boy named “Kainoa.” I thought that “Kai” would be such a fun nickname but we couldn’t agree on any lengthened version of his name. So we just went with Kai. Although that got lengthened to Kai-guy…a sweet nickname that I know he will grow out of soon but I’m just enjoying it while it lasts. Emerson is the last name of an actor from LOST, Michael Emerson (aka Ben Linus…aka Henry Gale.)

 

Kingston Jude (5)

Kingston is the one outcast out of our kids who does not have a name inspired by LOST. Poor guy. If we would have realized this tradition would stick, we would have tried to stick with the theme. Kingston was the name of my brother’s friend (who was maybe 16 at the time.) I had never heard anyone else using the name and I thought it was fun and unique. His middle name, Jude, was inspired by The Beatle’s song, “Hey Jude.”

 

Evangeline Skye (4)

For many years, I had multiple girl names that I loved. But when we found out we were finally having a girl, I didn’t want to use any of those names! One night my brother suggested the name “Claire” (a LOST character haha) because he knew we had used LOST names in the past. I immediately started trying to think of all the character and actress names on the show. Evangeline Lilly is one of the main characters. I had heard her name (Evangeline) numerous times before without a second thought. But at that moment, I fell in love with it and I still think it’s one of the most beautiful names in the world. One of the names I always loved for a first name was “Skylar” but it just didn’t sound right with her first name. So we shortened it to Skye.

 

Desmond Reese (2)

Can you guess where we got the name Desmond? That’s right…a character in LOST, Desmond Hume (one of my favorite characters.) I had actually wanted to use it for Kai 5 years earlier, but LOST was still a pretty popular show at that time and it just seemed too obvious. I was excited to use it this time around. Reese was kind of a random choice. I had first heard it many years ago as the lead singer of Five Iron Frenzy but it was also the last name of a character in ANOTHER show we liked (John Reese from Person of Interest.)

 

And last but not least, our darling Clementine Eloise (10 months old)

We actually had the name Eloise chosen as the first name before we even found out what we were having. Eloise is a character in LOST and after Don mentioned it, we both immediately loved it. But one night I told him that I kind of liked the name Clementine, even though I thought it had nothing to do with LOST. Then he reminded me that Clementine is the name of Sawyer’s daughter on the show! Don didn’t love the name though. I started jokingly referring to our unborn daughter as “Clementine.” After saying it so many times, he actually started really liking it. I’m so glad we went with the name because it suits her so perfectly.

 

Baby #7 has yet to have any boy or girl names picked out. Although, the kids all have some great suggestions. We had gotten some questions on my Instagram about how the kids felt about adding a new sibling. So we went out for a picnic lunch the other day (disclaimer, we actually only had fries at the picnic haha) and asked the kids a few questions. I love hearing all their answers! If you watch to the end of the video, there’s also a little sneak peek into getting our announcement photo. Don set up the GoPro and captured the photo session in action. It’s pretty hilarious to me. But so many people were asking us how we got the shot so now you can see how 😉 If you have any more questions for the kids (or for us) make sure to leave them in the comments! And go subscribe to our family vlog!

One more thing before I go–is anyone interested in bumpdate videos? I did one last time and it turned out super awkward because I am totally awkward when I’m talking on camera. But Don thinks I should do them again. Any thoughts?

Have a great week!

August 16, 2017