Mother/Son Trip

The Stefany girl cousins have started an annual girls trip to G and Poppop's house every summer.  They have a blast together playing dolls, requesting new doll gear from G the seamstress, and being without their pesky brothers for a few days.  Cole Bug has earned himself his own vacation to G's as well.  Braylen hasn't been invited for his visit yet; I think G prefer kids that do not need attention throughout the night ;)

Since sister was leaving town, I booked a special trip for just me and Braylen to see his other cousins in North Carolina.  I absolutely loved my mini vacation with Braylen; traveling with one kid is enjoyable!

Bray's 2nd Plane Ride to Raleigh.
Last time he was too little to remember

A row to ourselves on the trip down.

We hit the ground running on Tuesday afternoon.  Aunt Jen picked up Luke early from daycare so the moms and boys could have a special afternoon.  Lunch, ice cream, and play area at Chick-Fil-A following by bowling.

Almost exactly 1 year apart, yet the same size.
Looking stylish in bowling shoes!

 Our previous bowling experience with Braylen was filled with tears and lack of patience.  This time, my little boy was cheering on his cousin and pleasant 100% of the time.

Winning always helps ;)

Braylen and Luke were two peas in a pod.  We played many games of "Go Fish" as well as baseball outside.  The absence of a sibling was a blessing to me; Braylen's behavior was top notch.  (It also helped that I didnt't have a house to run and could give him my full attention)

On day 2 of our trip we went to the neighborhood pool.  No pictures of this fun morning.  Now that the boys can swim better, I got some quality time to chat with my lovely sister-in-law about life.

Day 3, our final day, was a trip my favorite museum, The Museum of Life and Science in Durham.  A trip to NC is not complete without it!  Even though we have been there two other times, we still had new areas to explore.

Uncle Matt engineered 3 car seats across in Aunt Jen's Rav-4

I had to pull Braylen away from this booth
after 10 minutes of watching weather videos.
He is my son. 

This museum has awesome indoor science exhibits PLUS acres and acres of outdoor fun.  The tree house was new on our last visit.  We loved exploring it when it wasn't raining this time

I don't take enough selfies.. I don't know where to look!

Fearless

Quick break after all that climbing

The kids searched for dinosaur bones in the dig area.  A 3 year old boy with a huge shovel and endless dirt... yep, we'll take that.

Heidi was around, I promise ;)

After 3 days of no naps and hours of boy playtime, Braylen was passed out before the plane even hit 10,000 feet.  Visiting Aunt Jen and Uncle Matt is always really chill and comfortable.  We are thankful they shift beds and rooms to accommodate us.  I'm also so, so thankful my kiddos have cousins close in age; they have lifetime buddies.