Friday, June 25, 2010

The Berg Family Reunion 2010

On June 5th, we packed our bags and headed to Sunset Beach, NC for the Bergs' annual family reunion!  This year, my side of the family joined in on the fun.  We had a wonderfully relaxing week on the beach, and the boys got to play with so many cousins and see where their daddy lived for many years and where their parents got married just two years ago!  Here are a bunch of pictures, gathered from three different cameras, to show what the boys did on their Sunset Beach vacation...

We arrived late on a Saturday night, so the next morning, we got up early to get ready to go to the beach.  Here are Oma and Opa enjoying the morning breeze on the balcony with the grandkids.


We walked to the beach and layed the boys down on a towel to prepare them for the sun and water with lots of sunblock and a swimming diaper! 


The waves in the ocean were a little too high so the kids enjoyed playing in the tidal pools.  Here are the boys surrounded by their cousins...


As you can see, it took a village to get all the kids to look at the camera!


The crazy bunch...


It took a second for the boys to figure out this new adventure of playing in sand and water, but I think they really enjoyed it... I guess it's like one huge bathtub for them but much better!  Notice Uncle Peter, Aunt Lizzy, Claire and Will are in the background.


As the morning turned to afternoon, it got much hotter so here are the boys taking a water break...


After the beach, we all washed up and gathered at the Berg house to eat and play...


We took the boys down to the marsh to watch some Bergs catching crabs for dinner...


Quick family pic...


Bryce with his Uncle Tuan... believe it or not, he's Evan's brother, not mine :)


The next day, we started the day by playing on the beach again... here I am with my boys!


Cool and sassy cousin Audrey...


That evening, we all gathered at the Berg house and took family pictures.  Here are Oma and Opa with all the grandkids...


The Bergs...


The Wyantas...


The next day, my parents joined me, Evan and the boys on a day trip to Charleston to meet with Tracy for a family shoot.  Tracy is the amazing photographer who shot our wedding, so we thought it would be special to have her shoot our family pictures, now that the boys are close to turning one.  My parents walked around the city, while the four of us met with Tracy.  After the shoot, we picked up my parents and went to Sticky Fingers for lunch, where the boys had their very first restaurant order (and doggy bag)... delicious mac 'n cheese!


Of course, the next day, we all played on the beach again... here are the three youngest cousins playing together.  They won't be the youngest for much longer because Audrey is expecting a baby sister and Tiffany & Tammy are expecting a baby brother in just a few months.  Next year's Berg family reunion will be even crazier!


The five "Texas" cousins who all live a within a few miles from each other... notice we were all too busy to catch Benjamin drinking salt water!


A family pic in the ocean...


This cabana saved us from the heat the whole week!


That day under the cabana, Ben and Bryce discovered the greatness of Goldfish Crackers!


Benjamin and I enjoying the view of the ocean from the cabana... I think Ben was too busy enjoying the Goldfish Crackers though.


Benjamin worn out from a day at the beach...


And Bryce too...


That night after the boys went to sleep, we played the traditional Berg family reunion game... "Left, Right, Center."  Cousin Claire hit the jackpot... $9 in quarters!


The next day, a group of us went to the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher...


My three men and I laying infront of the amazing dome like tank...


This is the third aquarium that the boys have visited... as you can see, they love it!


Outside of the aquarium we came across this sweet couple... notice how the turtle on the left is holding his hind legs.  He looked so funny!


After the aquarium we headed to a seafood restaurant, and on the way, Bryce enjoyed his new toy from cousin Gabrielle...


While goofy Benjamin played with his feet...


While waiting for our food, Oma fed Ben some water with her straw... oh my, look at that belly!


While cousin Claire fed Bryce...


That afternoon, cousin William discovered the greatness of sweet tea!  He became my sweet tea partner for life.


I can't tell if this is Ben or Bryce, but whoever it is, is really enjoying the restaurant or maybe just enjoying a really good stretch...


Quick picture infront of the restaurant before going across the street for ice cream...


And another quick picture of my three men with Uncle Peter infront of a cool looking shark...


The next morning, the boys took a much needed nap before going to the beach...


Benjamin being silly while dad dressed him in his swimsuit...


Last day on the beach :(


The next day, we flew home with two very exhausted little boys...


Three trips in three months... now, where should we go next?

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Less Than One Month Away From Turning One!

I can't believe our boys are just a few weeks away from turning one!  I'm writing this post four days late because we had some "difficulties" with this month's monkey photo shoot... as I will explain later.  But, before we get into that, here is the list of our latest accomplishments:

-The boys can now stand up with very little effort... especially Bryce who has started standing in his crib and gnawing on the crib rails!

-Bryce grew 3 more teeth (which makes a total of 7), and Benjamin grew 1 more (which makes a total of 8).

-They're eating less pureed foods and more table foods like mac 'n cheese.

-They've discovered the greatness of goldfish crackers and Cheerios!

-They're constantly pointing to people and things around them.  They've learned to point to things they want, like more goldfish crackers!

-They've also started waving to people a little bit.

-And, I know this sounds bad, but they've learned how to fetch a ball.  It's one of their favorite games now!  :)

So now back to the monthly monkey photo issue.  I discovered while attempting to shoot our 11-month photo that I couldn't do it without a "lifeguard" (their dad) very close by to catch our very active and fast babies from falling off the couch!  Even my very fast camera was not fast enough to capture a proper 11-month picture... can you even find the 11 monkeys in these pictures?




Lifeguard to the rescue...


Oh my... is Bryce trying to tell us something with that finger?


Crazy but oh so cute!


Looks like Ben is trying to find another way off that couch...


How useful... an 11-month picture of their backs!  (Notice our lifeguard getting nervous.)


I think it was time to give up...


This is how our 11 monkeys looked before we sat the boys down.  Perhaps I should just super impose the boys into this picture!


I better start thinking of a new idea for our 12-month/1-year photo that does NOT include 12 monkeys.