SOUTH CAROLINA










We just returned home from a week at Kiawah Island, South Carolina. We went with Scott's entire family (there were 20 in all) to celebrate his Grandmother's 80th birthday. We all stayed in a HUGE 10 bedroom ocean front beach house. Each room had a beautiful view of the ocean.

We went into Charleston a couple of times and took a boat ride through Charleston Harbor going past the Battery, Patriot's Point, Fort Sumter and other sites. We also visited the South Carolina Aquarium where the kids got to pet a snake & see all sorts of fish, sharks and other sea creatures. We spent some time at Patriot's Point Naval Museum where we toured a submarine, air craft carrier and a destroyer. It was really hot that day, so we didn't stay too long there!

While at Kiawah Island, we typically walked around the beach, swam in the ocean, laid in the sun, hunted for shells, caught crabs, swung in the hammock, shopped, ate & had fun!!


We saw dolphins playing in the ocean, an alligator swimming in a lagoon, a jelly fish washed up on shore & several deer crossing the roads. A lot of nature for a girl that isn't too fond of it!!!!

There were only a few mild "issues" during the week...2 people are pretty sure that they got stung by a jelly fish, one ended up with sand in their eyes (bad enough that they ended up having it removed by a doctor), Allie got a fever and was in bed an entire day, Jake got the stomach flu and spent a day in bed and managed to pass it on to his cousin!!

All in all, a great week...we are glad to be home though! I've picked some of my favorite pictures from the week...I took well over 400 so this is just a small sample :)! I'm sure over the course of the next few days that I'll be posting more!

TY & WATERPARK

My cousin's son Ty was in Cedar Falls this week visiting his aunt (my cousin) Brooke. We met them at the waterpark today. The boys had fun despite the chilly water & overcast skies!

ALLIE IS 5!!!!!!!!

The big day for Allie has finally come and gone. She is 5 years old!! It was a big day for her. We had a party at the waterpark with all of her friends and some family even made a surprise appearance (Michael, Kim, Mandy, Mike & Ben). We had a blast playing in the pool, riding the slides and relaxing on the Lazy River. After a day of playing, eating and opening gifts, we went out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse with Kim & Michael. The staff at the Roadhouse put her on a saddle and let her eat ice cream while wishing her a Happy Birthday...actually a big YEEE HAW!!!

NEW FRIEND

A new family moved in behind us. Jake and their son Paul have hit it off. They spent most of the day on Saturday playing t-ball, soccer, playing on the swing set, playing Play Station, watching Star Wars & playing action figures. They actually spent a lot of the day climbing over the fence that separates our yards to get something from the other house or to play for awhile at the other house. Jake is really happy that he has a friend so close. (I attached a picture of the boys in our back yard.)

REGISTRATION

We had registration today for Jacob. He found out he is in Mrs. Wyckoff's room this year. He also found out that 2 of his best friends from Miss Pins' class last year are in his class this year. He was really excited when he found out that Adam & Ben are in his class (they are also neighbors, which is great). He also found out that his other friends Mason, Nick, Stony, Jenna, Sophia & McKenna are in his class too. So far, it looks like he's got a really good group in his class. Only 19 more days 'til school starts!

We have new backyard neighbors. Jake & Allie met them and they have a son, Paul that is in 1st grade as well. He and Jake hit it off immediately & love the idea of climbing the fence to play! Paul registered today too and as luck would have it, he is in Jake's class too. I'm not sure who was more excited, Jake or Paul!!

Here is a picture that Kim emailed me from the weekend.

NOT MUCH HAPPENING

Nothing really going on here. We spent yesterday running errands, which pained Jake. He HATES Wal-Mart and that was one of our stops. He was surprisingly good though. After we ran errands, we watched the Disney movie "High School Musical". I had listened to it in the car numerous times and I finally had time to watch it AND listen to it. It is a great movie & now I know why the kids love it so much. It reminds me of a modern day, G-Rated "Grease"...(can't remember who described it as that, but I agree).

Today, we went to the waterpark for a couple of hours. Will probably do the same tomorrow. On Friday, Jake registers for school. I'm working at registration for a couple of hours to help promote the carnival. After registration, I have a dentist appointment (UGH). Will spend the weekend getting ready for company on Monday. Michael & Kim are coming up to spend the night for Allie's birthday.

That's it on this end...wish it was something more exciting!!

This picture always brings a smile to my face...it is from January of '05...my kids are SUCH dorks!

CATCHING UP

On Saturday morning, the kids and I drove to my parent's house. We met Mandy & Ben there and mom babysat for Allie & Ben, while Jake & Michael went golfing. Mandy, Kim & I met up with Kim's mom & sister for some serious wedding dress shopping...I think she may have found the PERFECT dress. She looks absolutely GORGEOUS in it!! We managed to squeeze in lunch and a little shopping before heading back to Mom & Dad's house.

On Saturday night, we celebrated Allie's birthday at Happy Joe's, then came back to Mom & Dad's house for cake & gift opening. Allie was pretty excited to celebrate her "early" b-day bash.

On Sunday, we had a get together with my Mom's side of the family. It was so nice visiting with my aunts, uncles & cousins. We don't get to see them very often so it was fun catching up.

On Sunday night, the kids & I along with Mandy & Ben went to Michael & Kim's for a slumber party. Michael filled up Kim's pool and the kids had a ball making their own waterslide out of her air mattress. After swimming, we had pizza and watched movies. It was back home on Monday afternoon & we were all exhausted!

TODAY

I have spent the entire day cleaning the house (I'm not done yet) and doing laundry. The kids haven't spent an entire day at home all summer. We've gone somewhere each day...waterpark, a movie, visiting friends/family, Chuck E. Cheese's, t-ball, camp, errands...somewhere...needless to they are bored by now. They've played Legos & KNEX, they got out the Polly's, they've colored, played with Play-Doh and actions figures. They've played with the Leapster & Game Boy, read books, played Barbies & Groovy Girls, ...you name it they've done it. In the past hour they've started fighting so I told them that they had to play in their rooms ALONE with the door shut. I came upstairs to put away something in Allie's room and found her asleep on her bed in the most uncomfortable looking position, so of course I took a picture! I guess playing alone isn't much fun! Tomorrow we will definitely go to the waterpark or at least run errands!

PAST FEW DAYS

We've spent the past few days out at the waterpark. Jake is so tan, it is unreal! Allie is very dark for her...she has such fair skin so she'll probably never tan like Jake & I do. She & Scott can stick together with their SPF 50, hats and shade!

Jake tackled the pink & purple slides today. The only one that he hasn't tried is the crater slide...he swears he'll go down it with Uncle Michael at Allie's party! I doubt it though!

This is a picture of Jake, Brock & Hudson on Tuesday. Hudson is moving to Seattle soon and the boys are pretty bummed out!

'06 T-Ball Pictures

Here are this year's pictures of the kids at t-ball.

ALLIE PICTURE

This is one of my all time favorite pictures of Allie. It was taken at dance class in April.

MAKING FLIP FLOPS

While the boys were at Frogs & Toads this morning, Allie & Abbie made flips flops out of ribbons & inexpensive flip flops. They turned out really cute!

FROGS & TOADS

Jake went to "Frogs & Toads" this morning Hartman Reserve. He was pretty excited that he got to hold a toad! They also got to attempt to catch frogs & toads in a pond. He said that he caught 2 snails and thought that was really cool. The attached picture is of Jake & his buddies from school (Jakob, Jacob, Luke, Carter, Hudson & Brock).

NEW GOLF CLUBS

Since Jake decided that he will play golf left handed this year (he switches each year) his left handed clubs were too small. We ended up finally finding left handed clubs at Nevada Bob's, so we bought them. Scott & Jake went golfing this afternoon to try out the clubs & according to Jake they work great! According to Scott, Jake never stops talking...I think it was a LONG afternoon on the golf course! While the boys golfed, Allie & I ran to the mall and checked out the sale prices...we didn't come home with much.

JAKE GETS BRAVE

Jake finally did it...he went down the big red slide at the waterpark today. He's been trying to get the nerve all summer and out of the blue today he decided to do it! I was betting my friend Sophie & the lifeguard Carmen that he'd chicken out. After some coaxing from his buddy Brock and another lifeguard, he went down. Once at the bottom, he yelled "that was awesome, can I go again???" He went again & loved it!! We had to call Kim and tell her that Jake went because they were both too scared to try it when she was at the waterpark with us. She swears she will go down it during Allie's birthday party!! We'll see!!!

I've included a picture of the slide itself...it is red and goes straight down...so you can get an idea of why this was a big deal for him. I also included 2 pictures of him going down the slide.

FLYING TRIP

Scott had a meeting in Moline at noon today. The kids and I rode there with him, leaving at 9:30 this morning. Kim came and picked us up and we had lunch then killed the rest of the time at Southpark Mall in Moline. Michael came and met us for a short time before Scott called and was done with his meeting. We had to take the long way home due to an accident on the bridge getting us back to Iowa. However, we were home by about 5:00. It was a quick trip, but fun to hang out with Kim & Michael!

While at Southpark, Kim & I managed to find that Old Navy had 50% off of all of their clearance items, plus I had a bag to stuff that gave me an additional 20% off. I walked out with 2 swimming suits for Allie, 3 pairs of flip flops, swimming trunks for Jake, several shirts for each child, shorts for each child & a skirt for Allie (17 items in all) and only spent $36!! I was very pleased with my finds. I only wish we would have had more time to browse. According to the clerk, all Old Navy stores are having this sale through the weekend. I may have to swing by my Old Navy before the weekend ends!

KWWL NEWS VISIT



Tonight we had our first "Go See It" event for Tiger Scouts. We took 10 boys, all going into 1st grade, to KWWL to tour the station and see the news live. They were all pretty excited. Jake was chosen to sit at Ron Steele's spot (anchor) and another boy got to sit in Ann Kerian's chair (other anchor). Jake was relieved to get Ron's chair, not Ann's!! After the news, Ian Leonard (the weather man) let the boys stand around him and he did 3 tapings that will air between the 6:00 & 10:00 news telling everyone to tune in.

Jake was a little disappointed that Ann was off today. I think he wanted to show off in front of his friends that he knows her and her family!

LAST DAY OF T-BALL






Today was the last day of t-ball for both kids. Jake really enjoyed himself and was sad that it was over. I'm amazed at how much he (& the rest of the kids) improved since last summer. They actually get competitive in Kindergarten!! Allie was happy t-ball was over. I think she was a bit tired of it. She says she likes it, but was ready to be done! We have some time off before Allie starts back up with gymnastics, dance & soccer. Jake will start flag football, soccer, CCD & Scouts once school starts.