I have an awesome family!!! Corbin and I had such an enjoyable visit with my aunt and uncle. I realize just how much I miss them every time I visit. WHY do we wait so long in between visits?
Let me start by saying that they were TOO good to me- gave me a spa day for my birthday visit (in addition to many delicious meals cooked by Chef Chippy). I didn't quite know what to do with myself at first. A quiet room full of magazines? A warm, bubbling spa? A steam room? A lounge with fruit and peppermint tea? An outdoor pool with a waterfall and water slide? Holy Crap! I think I just might be able to relax for a few hours. I capped off my lizarding between pool, spa,and steam room with a 25 minute upper body massage. My shoulder and back are thanking Jo Jo and Chips. So, after that, I fly into RDU where my sweet hubby and mother-in-law picked us up from the airport. When I got home, Matt ordered a romantic comedy (hard for him to do, trust me!) from our cable company and then he gave me a VERY cute dress from Anthropologie along with sweet-smelling perfume. I feel so special and very girly! He surprised me, and I'm so thankful. Finally, my gracious mama sent me birthday loot in the mail and called me early this morning to chat from her office. I feel special since it's next to impossible for her to chat on the phone at work! Lynz sent me a thoughtful text, and Chippy called me today. Corbin shouted, "I wanna go to your birfday mama!!!" I told him he's already there, but he didn't quite understand. I think he expects a party. ha ha ha
I LOVE my family! Thanks for being so great! Happy 3rd decade to me!

Alabama

We're here in Birmingham visiting Joi and Chip. Corbin is having a great time! Just wanted to let you all know that he LOVES his little red dirt devil vaccuum that they bought him. No big surprise there. It's pretty cool though because it actually has suction. Corbin goes around the house after each meal saying, "I cleaning up. I sucking up dirt." We played in the pool at the neighbors' house and then we took a long nap. We had an awesome pizza dinner, and C tried to steal my pepperonis. He ate his and then stared dejectedly at his blank pizza. He glanced at my plate, and said, "mama, I want your peppawoni." I share everything with Corbin and always put him first, but tonight, I put a foot down. ha ha ha. It was my pepperoni! We are so grateful for our loving family. Joi and Chip played chase with Corbin, hide-n-seek (though Corbin announced where he is hiding), and took him to see the fire hydrant down the street. Tomorrow we will go to the Jumping Bouncy House and buy cupcakes at the awesome bakery here.

Oh, one more cute story- Corbin kept telling us tonight that his shampoo smelled like "raspberries!!!!"

Berry picking is hard work! Corbin and I hit a local running trail today armed with a basket and a sippy cup full of ice water. Despite the 92 degree HUMID heat, he did really well. He stopped first to pick a few flowers. There were wild "black-eyed Susans" out there on the trail. When he picked a flower he would say, "ooooh, so pwetty swower. I pick you." Too precious!!! We saw a deer at the top of the hill eating some of the berries, and Corbin said, "let's pway with the deer." Unfortunately, we spooked the deer and he ran off into the woods. After that, the deer was the topic of Corbin's repetitive chatter. I must have heard a hundred times, "Mama, that deer run away cause he scared. But maybe he will come back later. He's resting. He eats berries. I do too." Speaking of, Corbin ate one berry for every two that I picked. The basket was not filling up very quickly. ha ha!! I love spending lazy summer afternoons with him. He is the best companion (unless he's tired,hungry, or poopy pants).

We had the best time for four days at Carolina Beach! Corbin enjoyed his own ice cream cone for the first time. We decided he's old enough to get his own after he relentlessly begged, "some more ice cream, pweeze, more pweeze" after every bite that Matt took. It was absolutely precious. The chocolate goatee has never looked (or tasted) so good! Corbin was such a good sport on this trip- he didn't complain all that much when his swimming diapers was loaded with sand, he slept all night each night in a full-size bed (with safety rails, of course), and he didn't seem to mind my insistence that he look at all the seashells I picked up. Just like his daddy, he was not at all interested in them. In fact, he took a few out of my hand to toss back into the ocean. We went to the NC Aquarium on Thursday and Corbin touched a horseshoe crab. He also managed to dive onto the carpet in front of a group of adults attempting a nice family photo! He quickly darted from me and Matt, took a plunging dive onto the aquarium carpet, and proceeded to lie there while the person behind the camera paused and looked around, as if to say-"Where are his parents?!" ha ha ha Other than that, he was a great little travel companion.