Number 3

We are expecting baby number three, a girl, into our family in mid April. The kids are excited to be big brother and big sister. (Yes Ian's shirt is a sign as his "real one" is somehow MIA). And now that we know gender we are figuring out rooming strategies :) Any ideas/tips on having a baby in room with a bigger sibling?

Happy Halloween

Halloween is just one night away and already the kids are on a sugar high from all the school candy, trunk or treat at the church last night, and a few snitches from our own treats to give out tomorrow. I can't wait to help them sort all the candy they get into the different types as that was always one of my favorite things to do.

Here are some of our picture highlights for my brave knight and fair princess this Halloween season 2011. Happy and Safe Halloween!!

Happy Third Birthday

We celebrated Livia's third birthday today! Hard to believe our big girl is three. She had a balloon door, got to choose all the food today, opened presents, had lots of family call for birthday songs and wishes, and was thrilled with her lady bug cake. Celebrations!

Camp Second Chance

This past weekend our family went to Rutledge, GA to go to Camp Second Chance. It is a special weekend camp for transplant kids and their families. It was a great experience and the place is amazing!!! Ian will have the opportunity to go for a week in the summer to "Camp Independence" when his is older and we definitely plan on sending him.

Beach Party was the theme this year and they had a big beach party set up for the kids with tons of jump castles. That event lasted two hours until 9:45 at night and the kids slept really well after all that jumping! Our family had fun going on a paddle boat, fishing, mini golfing, and going to the group drumming circle. The closing event was a butterfly release where each of the transplant kids got to make a wish and release a butterfly (fitting as the entire transplant wing at CHOA is all butterfly themed!) Ian's butterfly didn't want to leave and spent some time on his shoe, or Brett's thumb.

A great weekend and we are ready to come home and rest now! Here are some picture highlights.

Beads and Teeth not Teeth Beads :)

Livy and I have been enjoying some one on one time since Ian has returned to school. We made the ever class straw bead necklaces yesterday. I think we have a future in jewlery :)

Ian lost yet another tooth tonight which brings his total up to 5. His other upper front tooth is also very wobbly and it won't be long to join the ranks with the collection of the tooth fairy. I love his jack-o-lantern grin!

Good-bye Summer Vacation, Hello School

We said good-bye to summer vacation and days filled with sleeping in, lazy mornings in PJs and afternoons at the pool yesterday. School started today. In customary celebration we did a "favorite" things that Ian wanted to do so we went to the sprinklers, ate a picnic lunch and went to the playground in the morning. That afternoon we did light saber battles, Mario Kart Wii and some crafts.

Ian got his hair cut on Friday in prepartion for school starting and the stylist convinced him that spiking it with gel would look so handsome and I couldn't agree more. I love this hairstyle because Ian can do it himself and it doesn't have to be "perfect". He got lots of great comments from the teachers today so he may be slowly convinced to keep it up--I sure hope so. Hard to believe that he started First Grade today. Based on last year's experience with the drop off chaos, we parked at a local store and walked across the street over to his school and it was a brainy idea to do this. I think we're going to have a great year ahead!!!

Berry Shortcakes

I've always seen the pound cake dessert made to look like a flag for the Fourth and have wanted to do that forever. I am proud to say that this year I made a variation of that flag cake for our family by creating individual berry shortcakes with REAL whipping cream in festive bowls. Happy Fourth of July!!!

Happy Birthday Six Year Old Ian

Ian turned six on Monday. The day was filled with all sorts of things he wanted to do like walking through a balloon door, going to a park, playing star wars light sabers, painting, playdoh, a pizza dinner, and cake and ice cream. The cake turned out to be a volcano cake based on what it looked like coming out of the oven. A pirate themed party with friends is in the works for Saturday.

disney

We had a great trip to Orlando to Disney World and while there celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary.

We went to Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom (for two days) and Hollywood studios and built in two rest days and were very glad to have done so. We used one to take me to an urgent care place to get antibiotics and the other for the boys to golf and the girls to shop. The heat wasn't so bad; I think living in Charleston, SC for three years helped with that and the crowds/lines weren't as bad as I had feared. We didn't wait more than 20 minutes for anything and used the fastpass system as much as we could. The kids didn't go to bed before 10pm any of the nights we were there and ALL of us napped during our rest period when we would leave the parks each day. I had lots of great tips before we left and one of the best was to use a crockpot to have nice hot meals ready for when we returned each day. I would highly recommend this to anyone going. I researched A TON of what do to, what to see, the best times for each ride, etc. and I think (and hope) that it paid off calling our vacation a success.

This was Brett's first time ever going to Disney and he enjoyed it just like the kids. Rockin' Rollercoaster at Hollywood studios was probably his favorite because it was a) a big roller coaster and b) set to one if his favorite bands, Areosmith. Ian would say his favorite things of the trip were the Toy Story Mania game, Star Tours, Big Thunder Mountain, Expedition Everest and Jedi Training. Livia's top requests were the Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Nemo, seeing Tinkerbell, and the Honeypot ride. I think some of my favorites were eating a dole pineapple whip (nostalgia from my trips to Disney as a kid) and watching the kids faces during the parades and shows.

We have over 450 photos of the trip so I'm posting only a few here and a few more on facebook.

Having Fun at the Beach

We went to our ward activity at IOP Beach and had a great time. It was our first trip this year where it was warm enough to get into the water. Great day and can't recommend swim shirts enough!

History repeating itself

Here is history repeating itself.

This is me and my siblings in an old "wash tub" outside circa 1981.

This is Ian and Livy outside in South Carolina in 2011.

I hadn't planned for them to actually get into the tub or even be in their swimsuits. I filled it only a little bit full for them to play with NOT in but livy had other ideas and after she stepped into it with her clothes on and sat down I caved and let them get in their swim gear.

Oompa Loompa

Ian did great in his part as an Oompa Loompa and it made me want to cry when he first came out. We even ordered the cast T-Shirt that has his name on the back of it. I embarassed myself and crawled on my hands and knees on the school floor as close as I could to get a picture of him. Here are some of the better pictures.

Lots of pictures for Easter time happenings

We've had lots of fun this Easter season with celebrations and visits to and from family. Here are some of our highlights.

Livy and Ian in their Easter outfits. Livy's hair actually was curled for Easter sunday.

Counting out the eggs to make sure everything was equal and that we had found all the eggs!

Easter loot with big grins!

Brett's brother, Sean, and his girlfriend, Erin joined us for some of the Easter week. This fountain is by the Aquarium.

Kids trying to move the cannon balls at the Battery park.

Kids at a cannon window at Fort Sumter.

Visiting Fort Sumter, SC for the 150th anniversary. One hour at the site was not enough for us but plenty for the kiddos.

Rachel and Rebecca Caylor's baptism day, April 30th.

The girls waiting before their baptism to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I was able to give a talk at their baptism.

Up next is Ian's school play, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory so look for a post about our favorite Oompa Loompa coming soon.