Three blondies

Right now, I have 700 pictures on my camera to go through, and about 600 were taken Friday at the zoo.  The garden side of Riverbanks is so pretty right now, and is a welcome change from the insanity of the animal side.  We parked over there and walked around to take some pictures of the boys and their cousin Alex.  Broken record alert, but-as hard as it is to get a picture of two wild boys both looking at me with nice looks on their faces-well-add in one seven year old girl and forget about it.  So far I have gone through about 300 and have probably kept 20, and only one is great so far, and I think it is really great.  So, for now....

Cousins!

Yes, the exclamation point is necessary!  In our house we say COUSINS! when we talk about getting a visit from Becca, Ian and Brandon. 

We had such a nice time, although it is always too short, and this time we packed in the fun. Becca and I have discovered that the key to the mommy happiness is to keep them really busy in the mornings, then come home to a movie, and then start again.  Too much free time is not good for anyone.  And being outside is a huge plus.  Boys, like puppies, need room to run.

We all went and picked strawberries one day, and I thought I had a camera, but can't seem to find any pictures.  To make a visual-imagine the 4 boys in the cake pops post with strawberry juice surrounding their mouths.  Add Allie and Kristen to that picture, and I think that about covers it.  We had a nice sunny day and really had fun.  Then we went to lunch at the Farmer's Shed, which I'm pretty sure was much more fabulous for the grownups.  Not having special kid junk doesn't always go over well with the little people.  I think they are all used to being able to order chicken nuggets when they are out and at the Farmer's Shed, they eat what we eat.  Oh well-somehow they survived.

The next day took us all out to Pine Island-again with Allie and Kristen.  Robin and Michael and a big ol' bunch of their parents also joined us for a big party.  We had great weather and freezing water, but that did not stop the small ones!

They all got progressively more naked but I'll spare everyone those pictures-especially the ones of Nate wearing only sunglasses and a diaper-and not a swim diaper-not a good look for him.

Michael and his father and father-in-law were all fishing and were so gracious to let the boys reel in a few lines.  No fish were caught by the boys, but the adults caught a few that we got to see.

We also did a little Easter Egg Hunt for them. 

I am pretty sure that we got a very quiet rest time out of them that day!

The final day of Cousin-palooza took us all to the zoo.  Becca and I had high hopes of grabbing some lunch afterwards and doing a picnic at the park, but we were so pooped when we left.  We made it to chick-fil-a and then....

Ian was the lone awake small person.  He got to read his book in peace, which I'm sure he loved!

Here are a few pictures from the zoo.  They were all so excited because they had money to spend from Grandma-they bought icee's and fed the birds.  Unfortunately, the birds were so overfed that week that they were not too excited.  Nate choose to feed the giraffes instead.  For the first time, he didn't throw the lettuce on the ground when a giraffe came near.

And evenings were generally spent like this...

My boys have a lot to learn from their cousins in the area of bike riding.  Ian rode a bike without training wheels really early and he is really good!  And that little Brandon is fast! I thought his training wheels were going to fly right off on their own!  They gave us something to shoot for.

Overall, we had so much fun-and Ben just cried and cried the day they left.  We are looking forward to a visit to Virginia soon!

Cake Pops

We were so, SO excited for Becca, Ian and Brandon to come for a Spring Break visit. Our visits are never long enough and we stay oh so busy. We sure are sad that we don’t live closer, but they are way Virginians and we are pretty much South Carolinians through and through. I am going to break down Cousin-palooza into a few separate posts because I have so many pictures from our adventures.


Grandma and Charlene sent the boys the best treat for Easter. They made Cake Pops! I was so excited-I have been following Bakerella for quite some time but haven’t attempted any pops-Cake Balls once, but nothing special like these….

And the happy recipients....

I'm pretty sure Nate a few for breakfast every morning for a week-and any other time he could convince someone to open one for him.

Thanks Mom and Char!  We love you guys!

(and no-it is not physically possible for me to get a picture of four wild boys with them all looking at the camera-with their eyes open!)

Love Notes

Dear Bunny,

Yes, you are the most adorable tiny bunny that I have ever seen.  I am very sorry that our devil of a cat chased you out from the flower bed, again, very sorry.  About that flower bed-you are welcome to live there and be adorable, but STOP eating our strawberries.  Our pitiful little plants give us about 8 berries a year and you have nibbled on about 6 so far.  I apologize if you are not the culprit, but I really suspect that you are.

Keep on truckin',

Farmer Mom

Dear Ben,

Thank you so much for being the world's best big brother (except when you are throwing a sippy cup at your brother's head).  You are so patient and kind with your potty-hating brother.  At 4 I'm pretty sure I would not have enjoyed having a small person keeping me company each and every time I went to the bathroom (At 38 I am still not a fan).  I know you don't really want to narrate your business, or get handed toilet paper the whole time, but you really take it in stride.  Letting Nate flush for you is just icing on the cake.

I owe you,

Mommy

Dear Nate,

I believe in you.  I believe in your ability to scream non-stop for close to an hour for no apparent reason.  Really-I know you can do it, you really don't have to prove it to me on a daily (sometimes hourly) basis.  I also know, deep down in my heart, that you are able to throw toys very long distances.  Again, proof is not required.

Love you more than ice cream, but STOP it,

Mama

(thank goodness he is cute)

Whirlwind

We had such a wonderful weekend, most of which was camera-free, so I'll give you the highlights.

*Friday we picked Daddy up from work and headed to the Holy City-no better place to be for Easter!  We dropped the kiddos and ran over to James Island to see some of our favorite Charleston friends.  Gil used to work with Robert and we just love him and his artistic and adorable wife Cindy.   We thought we were just dropping in to say hello, but they had run out to buy soft shell crabs so we fried up some hush puppies outside, fried up the crabs and YUM!  Add some wine and super yum.  Those two are really so much fun-it's worth the price of admission just to hear Robert's stories.

*Saturday morning-the whole crew (minus me) went to a neighborhood Egg Hunt where Ben only captured 2 eggs.  Not sure why, but Nate got a few more.  That kid loves candy so much, I'm sure he was trying to get as much of the sweet stuff as possible.

*After lunch, Gil, Leslie and I headed to King Street for some window shopping and yogurt eating.  We also played a little of our favorite game, "Local or Not". People in Charleston just look cooler than everyone else.  The real Charleston people-not the big ol' dorks with the black socks and sandals.  Just one day I want to put something together that is cute enough that I might look local.  I'm not holding my breath, though.

*Saturday night we hit Bowen's Island.   Their old building burned down several years ago and the new one has been open now for almost a year and we hadn't made it there yet, so off we went.  The new building is great, big huge deck all around the back, and we were lucky enough to get a table outside.  It was great out there.  We stayed a while and got comfy by the railing to watch the boats and listen to the water.  And the food was fried and bad for you (see the theme of the weekend?).  Again, yum.

(picture "borrowed" from their website)

*Sunday morning we went to church to celebrate the amazing things that Jesus did for us.  We kept the boys with us and they did so well!  Nate slept through the first half, but even when he woke up, neither made a peep.  I did not expect that at all.  Then we got home and family started rolling in.  We got to see a lot of people we love (and missed a few that we not in town).  Gil got to play his traditional basketball game-and we don't need to discuss the results of one 40 year old versus 2 very athletic teenage boys.  Gil did beat them at Thanksgiving and that's all that is important.

*Sunday afternoon sent Gil and Leslie home and all the rest of us down for a rest.  We had to rest up for this...

Cheryl, Tina, the boys and I headed out to Folly Beach-to look for shells.  Well, no shells returned, but we did bring back a whole bunch of sand.  We didn't have suits for the boys and I really thought the water would be too cold, but it was really warm.  So, for the second time this week, the monsters went swimming with their clothes on.  I need to be better prepared!

They dug in the sand and chased their Great, Great (???) Aunt Tina all over the place.  Then they had to chase Mimi, too. Can you believe that without naps they were up until 9:30??? 

I love this one of Ben watching the surfer. 

And this of Nate looking so little...

Ben didn't want to leave because he wanted to keep doing this...

For the second visit in a row, I missed seeing my great good friend Jennifer, but we'll figure it out for next time.  We all get so busy!

My next post will be a doozy-I have lots of great pictures to share of our great week with Becca, Ian, and Brandon. (but my camera is at home and I am still in Charleston)

Their visit was way too short but we packed in the fun.  Poor Ben cried several times the day they left and we can't wait to get up to see them in a few weeks!

Boys and Horses

Here is the other little series of pictures I thought was funny from the farm last week.

Ben, if you don't know, is a rather reserved, quiet BRAVE kid.  You would first think he would not be very adventurous, but in some ways, he surprises us.  He loves roller coasters and water slides and things that go fast.  He is waiting for the day at Carowinds that he can ride the big stuff.  And I am excited, too-I need a roller coaster buddy.  I thought these pictures of the boys and one of the horses was funny.  Notice how the little brother will follow anything the big brother does.  And the belly shots-why, oh why did the horse need to see their tummies?  I have no idea, but if Ben does it, Nate is going to try it too.  And yes, Ben's face is way too close to those big old horse teeth, but it ended well-so we are ok!

And for the grand finale.................

I have no idea what sent them running, but the horse probably got sick of them and let them know!

And just a few more.  Apparently Lincoln and Ben and Nate decided a tractor pull was in order.

And just a few more...

One year

Gil sent me an email yesterday comparing the boys this Spring and last, sitting in the same spot at Fox's Farm.

Spring 2010

Spring 2011

So,what do you think?  I think they sort of look like they haven't changed much.  I'm also glad that we had better weather this year-shorts are so much cuter than jeans.

I also really love that old sink!