Annual Homecoming

Our annual trip to Virginia the first week of August was great! The kids were decent travelers there and back except that on the way home both kiddos were up the entire ride home until 10:30pm!

We had fun with Grandma and Grandpa. Some of the things we did this round were:

"Hampster wheel"

Bouncing balls

Water table

Digging in the garden

Watercolor painting

Golfing

Visiting Friends

The magic drawer (Only Grandpa has the magic words to open the drawer that contains treats inside)

I got to sleep in a few days and get a few naps. As Ian starts school this year, that was our last trip to Virginia for a while and I'm glad we did it even with the wide awake kiddos on the drive home to South Carolina.

Mixed Emotions

This summer Livy has started repeating us and therefore talking in general much more. Her favorite phrase is "oh no, what happened" and I know that when she says that I need to look for a) a container of something small and delicate tipped over b) a page of a book ripped out c) crayon, pen, glue on her or some part of the house. It is great. She also likes to say "Need to go potty? all right". It is very cute that she answers herself.

She is also very clever and resourceful using things to get what she wants, like treats. Another one of her favorite phrases is "I need treat" and then proceeds to try to open the pantry door which now has a childproof handle on it. She likes to climb and below she is using a #10 can to peek into the sink.

Ian started the pool season this summer mostly in the kiddie pool playing with Livia and I. Then we discovered one of hte community pools was almost entirely three feet in depth. He is by no means what I would call a swimmer but his growth has been tremendous. He now can "swim" (aka kick feet and doggie paddle) from one side to the other and he can put his whole face in the water with his goggles on. This is huge! I really want him to jump in by the end of the summer.

We are in our last few weeks of summer before school starts on August 17th. We are going through all the role playing things as our final preparation. This week I am packing his lunch in his lunch sack. We talk about what he should eat first, what to do with food that isn't eaten, and practice eating in 15-20 minutes. Ian has been thrilled with the lunch sack exercise and asks me first thing every morning if I packed his lunch. He'll be helping me pack it once school starts but for now I am keeping it a suprise for him as to what is inside :) This picture is also the last "month day" picture for Ian as nonce he starts school, I'll do his book with his yearly school picture.

I'm proud of all the things the kids have been able to do this summer even with all my mixed emotions.

Summer

Our summer is about a month left in duration and it is going to be busy. We've got a trip to CHOA, a trip to Virginia, and school preprations in that time frame not to mention our desire to finally get to the beach this year, more time at the pool, and the sprinklers for the kids.

Oh what do you do in the summertime when all the world is green?

My third fourth

This is my 3rd Fourth of July as a US Citizen. It is great to live in a country of freedom and I hope I never take that for granted.

We did the usual 4th of July things including grilling out except this time we grilled out for three days straight. Our dinner menus were:

Day one was Ribeye (gasp! Yes, I splurged and bought some and it was so heavenly!) with grilled garden veggies with RBFs for dessert (root beer floats)
Day Two was burgers and dogs (the kids favorite) and foil potatoes and fruit salad with smores as dessert (a first for both kiddos and after Livy realized there was chocolate involved she was fine)
Day Three was BBQ chicken with grilled corn on the cob with RBF's for dessert

We went to see fireworks. We tried to put the kids down before going thinking that we would wake them up and go--alas who were we kidding. We got to the place a little late and ended up parking about a 1/2 mile away and then trekking in carrying our kids, blankets, and snacks. (Good thing for Wii Active helping to keep me in shape!) This was Livia's first time seeing any type of fireworks and she loved them. Ian thought they were noisy and wanted to go home before anything got started.

The kids loved the sparklers we attempted today. I thought I had more but there were only three left in the last package from our wedding reception favors. They fizzled pretty quickly but what can you expect after 10 years of sitting around?

Ian had the cutest comment on the 4th as we had talked about it being the USA's birthday and he asked "who will blow out the candles?" Not sure buddy but I'm glad to celebrate America's special day with some extra time as a family!

Happy Birthday Ian

Ian turned 5 today! He got a set of real golf clubs (7 clubs total) that go with his golf bag that he got for Christmas. He is on cloud 9--using a 9 iron probably :) We had a sprinkles cake and he wanted us to sing to him multiple times so we did. Can't believe my Ian is 5 and will head to kindergarten this fall. HAPPY BIRTHDAY IAN!

Food Storage

So we did this project awhile ago (memorial day) but I thought I would post it now because I keep adding to our food storage now that we actually have one thanks to couponing! (http://www.southernsavers.com/ is awesome!)

I've rearranged things about a dozen times trying to get things to fit and we still have #10 cans under beds and various other stashes around the house. (Brett has told me to stop buying toothpaste as we have about 12 tubes or so in our toiletries pantry that is close to overflowing). The kids got into it sorting all the cake mixes, rice mixes, etc. Ian was thrilled to see the cookie mixes and promptly asked when we were going to make some. We have a bamboo cover over it now so it isn't as tempting to see the stuff.

And the finished shelving unit is.....

My next purchase is going to be wheat as I recently acquired a wheat grinder. Why didn't anyone tell me how heavy these beasties are????? Any suggestions on storing wheat or what type to buy as a novice would be welcome.

Anniversary Vacation

Brett and I celebrated 10 years of marriage this past Thursday. In celebration we went to Williamsburg, VA by ourselves for a few days and then with the kiddos for a few days (my parents watched them--thank you Mom and Dad!)

We rode all the roller coasters several times when it was just the two of us and went to Colonial Williamsburg as well as we knew the kiddos would not do well with either of those things. We had a great time but missed the kids.

The kids loved the rides and going to Water Country and seeing various family while we were there (some from my side and some from Brett's met up with us!) The kids made it until the park closed at 10pm largely because we took a midday break for naps. The trip home was much better than we expected given the long stretch of I-95 in North Carolina. I will never travel without the DVD player again!

I'll be posting some more pictures on Facebook (hopefully) but here are some of my favorites.

The last ride the kiddos went on together was the Balloon ride in Italy and it was after 9pm so they were both tired.

Me on the ferris wheel type ride with the kiddos pre-Livy meltdown on the ride that had the ride operator shut it down for her to get off!

Ian and Livia in Sesame Forest with the characters that Livia was fascinated by and Ian was a bit scared of.

Me on the Elephant Ride (one of the few Brett does not do) and we are pretending it is a roller coaster with our hands in the air.

Palace Green in Colonial Williamsburg pre-kid visit.

Ian on his first ride ever, the Log Flume.

My favorite roller coaster at the park--Griffon was great but too short!

My favorite ride of all time--the scrambler!!!!!!!