Race Weekend!

 Last Saturday morning, Shane jumped on his bike, waved goodbye to all of us, and began his ride to the beach. For the third year in a row, Shane participated in the MS bike race! The race begins here in Monroe, N.C and ends in Sunset Beach! He rode 100 miles on Saturday and then completed another 100 miles on Sunday.
WHEW!!!

 He crossed the finish line on Sunday afternoon after riding a total of 200 miles!!! 

The kids and I drove down on Sunday morning so we could watch him cross the finish line. He finished strong and with a smile on his face. 

He had a GREAT race and it was a joy to see him accomplish his goal!

 

The kids were so excited and couldn't wait to give their daddy a BIG ole' congratulations hug;) 

And since we were already all at the beach...we decided to make a little mini vacation out of it and stayed a couple of extra days.
Why not right?!?! 

That way, Shane could take a few days to relax and recoup, and the kids and I could take a few days to play and have fun! 

It was a win win for ALL of us!
The big boys were thrilled with the idea of playing hooky from school too.
Several times during the trip I would over hear them say..."I wonder what our class is doing right now?!?!?" HA! 

The beach in September is just GLORIOUS!

 

 The weather was absolutely PERFECT! Not too hot OR too cold!

We basically had the entire beach to ourselves--with the exception of a few retired couples we would bump into.

I'm not really sure how they felt about five rowdy kids invading their quiet oasis, but they were all so sweet and their message to us was always the same..."enjoy this time because it will be over before you know it!"
A good reminder for sure.

During the day, the kids had a BLAST building sand castles, splashing in the pool, and hunting for sharks teeth.

Our evenings were spent shopping,

 riding rides, 

 and eating ice cream!

One evening, the big boys had fun taking on the ropes course at Broadway @ the Be@ch!

I was so proud of my three men as they bravely climbed this intimidating course. The little ones and I watched from below, holding our breath as the boys worked their way to the very top! At first, we weren't too sure Riley was going to make it, but after a little encouragement from his Daddy, he conquered his fear and completed the entire course.

Way to go RiRi!!!

 Oh, and THIS is probably my most favorite picture I took while on our trip.

Yup, all my sweet little monkey's in the bed enjoying a lazy morning together at the beach.

Sigh...Who could ask for anything more;)