What Makes Kiawah So Great

Kiawah Island is our happy place. What makes it so special? Part of it is tradition- we've been going for so many years that the annual trip is something we look forward to all year long. The other reasons it tops our list as favorite vacation spot?

1. Its natural beauty- everywhere you look you see something beautiful whether it's the beach, a marsh, a lagoon, a golf course or some enormous house. There's not one spot on the island that isn't picturesque. And the wildlife is pretty cool. We encountered many alligators, egrets, snakes and horseshoe crabs (including a daring rescue Alli made of a beached crab).

 

 

 

2. Its low-key activities- we are not going to Kiawah for a wild time. If you're not lounging on the beach, chances are good that you are riding a bike, reading a book or sleeping. It's the ultimate place to completely relax!

 

 

3. The good company- it's so fun hanging out with everybody for a week and eating good food, playing silly games and just talking. Collins loved every minute with Mimi and Baba- especially their rowdy game of Hide and Go Seek!

 

Many thanks for yet another special week in our happy place!

Kiawah Preview

Now this is the life...

We just got back from an amazing week at beautiful Kiawah. The majority of our time was spent like you see above. The tidal pools created endless amusement for Collins- so much that she jumped in fully clothed the first day.

More pictures to come soon...tomorrow morning we leave for our Cabo San Lucas adventure!

A New Joy

Looks like I'm going to need to tweak the title of this blog. Because pretty soon there won't just be three Forks. We are so excited to announce there is a fourth Fork on its way! I'm pregnant!

Here is the first image of our second baby- due January 21, 2014. It's exciting because Collins and the baby will be almost exactly three years apart. I'm 13 weeks along at this point in the pregnancy, and everything is going well so far except for a little exhaustion here and there. No morning sickness to report- it's quite the opposite- all food looks good to me right now.

Because I'll be "advanced maternal age" when the baby is born, I took a DNA test to make sure there were no chromosomal issues with the baby. Thank goodness the results came back negative. A bonus of taking this test? We already know the sex of the baby..... :)

And we are excited to say that Collins is going to have.....

A LITTLE SISTER! It's a girl!

Thanks for sharing in this new joy with us!

A Week at Wrightsville

We had a great vacation down at Wrightsville Beach this past week. It started off with a bang on July 4th with a pretty impressive amateur display of fireworks viewed from the comfort of our own deck.

The weather was beautiful all week, and we spent mornings and afternoons on the beach. Literally, the hardest part of my day was getting this baby to stay still long enough to slather her in sunscreen and get her dressed in her bathing suit twice a day.

 

 

Then the Colorado contingent began arriving! Collins was really excited to meet her two cousins, Wyatt and Chase, whom she quickly renamed "the tall boys". Although initially afraid of the beard, she warmed up quickly to "Uncle Fuzzy Wuzzy" (Uncle Charlie). Chaser was fond of greeting Collins with a loud "boo!" and Wyatt was excited to teach her how to play thumb war.

Then Collins got to meet sweet little Lexi (whom she immediately dubbed "the lady"- where does she come up with these things??). The girl cousins bonded quickly over coordinating yellow dresses.

There were lots of activities to keep us busy including "surfing"...

Collins requesting to go "really deep" into the ocean for some "face waves"...

 

crab walking...

boating...

and a really fun impromptu birthday party.

 

Many thanks to Donna and Marty for making it such a special week for us! Thanks also to the Williams clan for making the long trip to visit; Collins will be coming out to see you in Colorado as soon as she can "fly there in her pink airplane".

 

 

A Wet but Fun Start

Our summer vacation is officially underway! Somehow we got lucky enough to string back-to-back-to-back vacations throughout the month of July, and the fun started this past weekend at Wrightsville. It was a soggy start, but we made the best of it and hung out on the beach even when it rained. Collins loved jumping the waves with her Dad, running up to the dunes, making full use of the outdoor shower, and getting treated to ice cream with sprinkles from our favorite ice cream shop. We had a lot of fun.

We're back in Raleigh for a few days, but will head back down to Wrightsville for an extended stay over the Fourth of July. Brian's whole family from Colorado is flying in for the week so Collins will get to meet her three little cousins for the first time. Can't wait to watch all the fun unfold!