Memorial Day with DD and Pops

My children love to wash cars, and so they couldn't wait to wash the truck that DD and Pops arrived in. Yes, they drove here in a friends truck so they could bring us a beautiful oak desk that they were getting rid of - score for us! Big thanks to Mom and Dad for the desk, and for delivering it to us too - what service!

Of course this turned into a water fight...

Drew was so excited with the new bug catcher he got from his teachers and he was in search of some bugs to fill it!

The girls enjoyed showing DD and Pops how they can take the canoe out by themselves - they are getting so big!

And of course, DD and Pops had to take a ride on the canoe!! Dad decided to try to wear Abby's life vest...

Daisy enjoyed being outside with everyone...

Sarah and Drew love to explore!

We also made it to the Strawberry festival (and brought home some fresh strawberries which DD put into a pie for us - yum!) and then to the beach for a few hours. The festival was lots of fun - but VERY hot. We saw some pigs racing, and a really cute dog show, and of course there was food everywhere! The beach was beautiful - a bit breezy and the water was too cold for me, but the kids had a great time. Should have taken pictures of Sarah and Drew "catching" the waves - lots of fun! What a great weekend!

Drew graduates preschool

Neither of our girls had a graduation from preschool or kindergarten, so I was not sure what to expect. Drew's graduation was complete with cap and gown, and a picnic celebration afterwards (with a large water slide). He was quite pleased with himself, and Daddy even got to take the day off to attend (which made Drew even more pleased!). It was a beautiful morning and a great start to the Memorial Day weekend!

Drew learns the backstroke

Drew loves to swim, and has been enjoying swimming lessons. Although his favorite part of swim lessons is that his friend Tyler is in the class with him - he really likes to do the back stroke for some reason. Of course, the day I brought my camera, they put life vests on the kids and were doing something with a float - but I did happen to get a great clip of him doing the backstroke with the vest on.




They even started teaching them the side stroke...




I was thinking that maybe he should keep learning the freestyle first, but what do I know?! He is definitely enjoying the lessons!

Dinner with the Kenney's

We are so honored to have been included in a special gathering with the Kenney family. We love being so close to Steve's relatives Furman and Evelyn, and their son Bob and family. We have been able to see them several times already since moving here. This time I got to meet their daughter Martha, and Furman's neice Sally and husband Dan - and Steve hadn't seem them in many years. What a wonderful time we had! There were so many people at the dinner table, that we needed to split into 2 tables - there was a separate table for 4 and Furman insisted that he sit at the table with our three children. Furman said that as the mother I get to see them all the time, and he wanted time with them. I was praying that they would behave themselves and have good table manners. Thankfully we had already had a discussion about such things in the car on the drive there! I think they did okay, and Furman seemed to enjoy their company. The consensus was that Drew reminds everyone of his Daddy. Drew is at that age where he loves to talk and tell whatever comes to his mind. Quite entertaining I am sure! I enjoyed getting to know Martha, Sally, and Dan, and also to catch up on the goings on with Bob's family as well as Furman and Evelyn. We enjoyed getting an update from the newest W&M grad Patrick - congratulations! And Alex was quite the charmer with our three children - his new iPhone was a big hit! It was a special night for all of us - very thoughtful of them to include us in their gathering!!

Our little man

Drew is just growing up so fast. This is a picture of him in the bath one night "shaving" - what a ham! He has a great sense of humor and loves to entertain. I know, I am his mother so I am a bit biased, but the picture was too cute not to share!

Talent Show

Our school has a talent show to raise money for Relay For Life. Abby wanted to participate by playing the piano. She decided to play Music Box Dancer which she did beautifully! Thanks to Stephanie, Devin, and Grayson for cheering her on with us! The show was lots of fun, and amazed me with not only the talents of these children, but also the variety of the talents. There were many musical instruments played, different styles of dance, beautiful voices, and even some comedy and impersonators. Great show and for a great cause!

(I must apologize for the shakiness of the video - as you can guess I was the one holding the camera, and yes my hands still shake. Next time I will remember to pass the camera to Steve!)

Daisy's first trip to the Beach!

As part of our Mother's Day celebration we headed to the beach for about an hour and a half. Daisy's first trip to the beach. She wasn't too sure about the water, but she did seem to enjoy hanging out and taking a walk on the beach. And the bonus was she didn't throw up in the car while traveling - hurray!

The kids enjoyed the time playing on the beach, while Steve and I enjoyed the serenity of the beach (the glass of wine helped!). The water was a bit chilly for swimming, but the kids did get wet playing in the surf. There were a few people that actually were in the water catching waves. I love that it is so close. It was a great day!!