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Friends of ours recently had their second child and we were glad to have their daughter stay with us during all the hustle and bustle. Ris and her are best friends and had a blast with their first sleepover. This is a picture of them playing checkers in front of the ice cream parlor downtown.

The 4th of July was so much fun. Living downtown makes events like this so great. We can come and go as we wish, if it gets too hot or we want a break from the crowds. Mommy is watching Ris get her first tattoo - an unicorn - which Ris was very excited about. We also rode the train, jumped in the bounce houses, painted, played carnival games and of course, had snow cones and hot dogs.

Blueberries are finally ripe! We love going to a special patch that is near us - it's on the honor system. You don't find many places like that these days. We go every year, usually several times. We actually have already used up what we picked from this trip and need to go back. After a few batches of muffins, a couple of pies, and some snacking (especially by Rissy), it's easy to use up a dozen pints.

We were a bit nervous that Ris would decide to take a leap off of the paddle boat, but thankfully, her first ride turned out to be a dry one. She had a great time steering us around the lake and trying to run down the geese.

We live a block over from where our town has it's annual "PeakFest" and we make a point never to miss it. With live music venues, games, rides, animals, arts & crafts and street food, it's a family tradition we love. Who wouldn't? Marisa is riding Buster the pony, while Jon watches for pony poop.

This is another photo from Peakfest. Marisa and her daddy are on the train ride, with Aunt Stephanie and cousins Deacon and Derek - who love trains almost as much as Marisa.

Ocracoke is such a wonderful place. The beaches there are wide, with soft, clean sand and hardly another soul in sight. We literally spent hours running in the surf and collecting seashells.

We went on holiday to Ocracoke and Kill Devil Hills - both not too far from us. The weather was wonderful - in fact we didn't pack enough light clothing. Here Marisa is on her first ferry ride with her daddy.

Marisa and Mommy had a good time making a frog puppet while at Frog Fest. This festival was so much fun. It was really geared for younger kids and Marisa got to experience so many new things. Us too!

Marisa really loved this festival and we had a ball watching her. Here she is at the ring toss, but she really enjoyed the game where she had to dig through the mulch to find a toy frog. The piece de resistance though, was watching the bearded dragon eat the cockroach. You never know what you're going to see at a festival.

This was the year of the hunt. M really got into Easter Eggs and all in all, I think we participated in 5 egg hunts. She was a pro!

We went bowling for the first time as a family this past weekend. It was so much fun! We only got eight frames in before the arcade lured us away, but we will definitely do it again.

While spending the weekend with the grandparents, we got to visit the nature museum. Marisa really enjoyed the play area, especially the water exhibit. She also loved watching the turtles, the snakes and the skunk. The butterfly room was a real hit, until some of the collection mistook her for a flower. Having one land on your nose is not something this 2 year old likes.

It's kiddin' time and we continued our tradition of visiting the newborn goats at a dairy near us. Jon and Marisa are feeding a momma goat some hay, but she probably would rather have a carrot.

The dairy had more than just baby goats, though that was definitely the main attraction and the cutest. We also enjoyed the fresh goat cheese, the llamas and of course the chickens. Marisa is pushing Mommy on the rope swing here and patiently waiting for her turn.