Our 1rst Grader!!!

Lily is officially starting her first grade year! She carefully selected her outfit, hairstyle, lunch, and snack. She thoughtfully packed, and repacked her backpack. She gave me specific instructions on where to meet her at the bus stop. Our girl was ready! She left this morning with a little bit of nerves, but no tears (those tend to come for her a little later). We chatted happily during breakfast about how many kids she knows in her big, big, big first grade (she's in a team teaching situation with 2 teachers and 30+ kids). She admitted that she's going to miss me. Little does she know how much I'm going to miss her. I'm so excited for her and yet I'm a little sad that the time has ended where she spends most of her time with me. Everyone was right. It does go by too fast!

Back to the Zoo

With summer winding down, we decided to take advantage of the "cooler" weather and headed off to the zoo. It was well attended, but the crowd wasn't too bad. The kids really loved exploring the new polar/artic exhibit. I think our favorite animal was the artic fox who posed rather nicely for this picture.

Lily and Andrew had a fun playing in the inside ice exhibit. I found it very funny to see all these little kids pop up out of the play ice like little prarie dogs.

We stopped at a shady spot and enjoyed a picnic that was Canada goose free. For those who haven't visited the zoo lately, the geese are very fond of all the folks eating and aren't shy about getting really close. This tends to make both kids nervous and they were happy to be geese free today.

Next to the sharks, Andrew loved the manatees the best. I didn't know they currently were hosting 4 baby manatees. We were excited to see them but the "babies" were not particularily tiny weighing in at 500-600 pounds. Then both kids had fun climbing on the alligator statue.


It was a great day and I must admit with a little sadness that I realize Lily won't be able to do our typical fall zoo visits as she'll be in school full time. Where does the time go???

Hanging out with a few friends....

It's so nice that our kids have so many kids in the neighborhood to hang out with!

Our week in review

We've had a nice week with little goings on. Some highlights included going out and celebrating my parents 47th Anniversary with them.



We rescued a baby bird that got blown out of it's nest in those crazy storms.

I'm happy to report we got the baby bird safely back into the nest without touching it with our hands and the momma bird was sitting on the nest 20 minutes later.

Finally, we went down to the state house and had a early birthday picnic with Bill. The kids loved it, the weather was perfect and we enjoyed a concert on the lawn.

Home Safe and Sound

We finished up our vacation and that is always bitter sweet. We had such a great time and the only thing we would have changed was the extreme heat. I guess we couldn't have avoided it though as folks back home said there were record temperatures/heat indexes as well. Anyway, it was a great vacation with many wonderful memories. For me, the ocean will always be my favorite and with my new camera lens I was able to take this picture to remember it by.

Our trip home was uneventfull and yesterday the kids and I spent the whole day relaxing at home. It was fun to see them get such a kick out of playing with their toys, reuniting with their pals and playing in the back yard. Here are some pictures I snapped of them running in the backyard and swinging together.

Beating the Heat

Like many states, SC is having a major heat wave. We're currently seeing highs of 92 degrees with heat indexes bringing it up to 105-110! Fortunately, we've done really well. Since we're staying right on the beach we've got a gorgeous view of the ocean. We are able to get up and enjoy the beach right after breakfast before it's too hot. Our hotel also has a great selection of pools that stay in the shade untill about noon. Honestly, the kids seem to be loving the pool more than the beach esp. since their Grandpa bought them some new floats!

Howdy Y'all

Last night we took the whole family to see the Dixie Stampeded. It's cheesey, funny and really a good time. You eat while they sing, dance and do horse tricks. You are also seated by what state you are in as they do a North vs. South contest. The crowd is encouraged to yell, cheer, stamp their feet, stand up and wave flags. Needless to say the kids loved it. Andrew especially got into the yelling and flag waving part. We had a good time. I must admit my favorite part was seeing my 5 gallon kids in these 10 gallon hats!

Sharks!

If you spend any time around Andrew, you'll quickly learn that sharks are one of his favorite things. Imagine his delight when we were walking along a pier and a fisherman caught a tiny shark. It was the exact size of one of his toy sharks. Andrew got the thrill of his life when he got to touch the shark. Then Lily was relieved and Andrew was disappointed when the shark was thrown back into the water. Andrew would later ask me several times if we could go to the ocean and pull out another shark. He just doesn't seem to get that we don't have that kind of skill.

Pictures from vacation

Hello from hot, sunny SC. Our flight down here was effortless. The kids enjoyed the one hour and seven minutes flight. Bill and I enjoyed the ease of it all. The hotel is nice, the beach is gorgeous and the weather is HOT! Fortunately, we've been able to enjoy the outside due to the nice breeze and the water. Both kids are enjoying the sand, surf and the pool as are all the adults. Last night, we went to a place known for it's prime rib and it was yummy. Its located on a pier. Here are some pictures from the pier:

Guess who got some new camera accessories?

I decided to pick up some new camera accessories for our beach vacation. I played around today with the new items and have to say that I love the results. I do think you have taken too many pictures when your daughter looks like this!

Water Parks and New Friends

Today we had our monthly playgroup with families who have adopted children from China (and one other from Taiwan!). It was incredibly hot and I was happy we had selected the splash park. Even with the water it was a scorcher! We also had the opportunity to meet Miss Lia today. Our good friends, Paul & Karen and their son, also named Andrew went to China and adopted Lia just 2 weeks ago. Lia is about 10 weeks younger than our Andrew and about as adorable as they come! She played well at the water park, checked in frequently with her mom and dad and clearly likes to do what her new big brother does. I'm so impressed with how well Lia is doing.
After the splash park, we grabbed some lunch at Max & Erma's. I couldn't resist snapping some cute pictures. I'm sure this is just the beginning of the fabulous foursome!