Carrie and Aiden visit from Texas

My very dear friend from Texas, Carrie and her son Aiden, came to SC to visit a few weeks ago. We were so thrilled! Our children (Carrie has another son and daughter as well) are also so close and Carrie and I were just like Peas and Carrots from the moment we met. We couldn't wait to show them around our area and share our South Carolina pride! We spent the first day around the house and the kids had a blast playing on the waterslide. The next day, we were off to the beach! We found an amazing last minute deal at Litchfield Beach and decided it was only right for them to see the coast. Our first afternoon was spent settling in and spending a little time by the pool. The next day we took a day excursion into Charleston and met up with Daddy. We got the full tour of the Citadel...sorry Carrie....I know David gave you the history of every rock on campus...he's so proud. :) Daddy even gave the kids the celebrity treatment by letting them run the football field. We followed that up with a quick visit with Kelsey and the girls and Nana and Aunt Margaret- then off to the market. Carrie was fascinated with market and loved the Gullah culture. She was introduced to lots of Southern things and became very familiar with Southern heat and humidity. It was so hot at the market but the kids did great and we had to reward them with ice cream. Our last and final day at the beach, we awoke to rain. :( The kids were devastated and so were the adults. We couldn't be at the beach and not get to go to the beach! We waited out the rain and decided to stay another night so we could get some actual time at the beach. Daddy decided to make our wait interesting by making the kids have a race in their flippers in the rain. It was hilarious! The rain finally passed and we squeezed in a few hours at the pool and the beach. Even little Oliver loved his first trip to the beach....he was just chillin out under the tent. We had a wonderful few days with Carrie and Aiden and we look forward to annual visits with our families like this. What a blessing to have such wonderful friends!

July 4th fun in Hilton Head

Little David spent a week in Hilton Head at camp. He had so much fun with Nana and Papa Stanley! Following his week at camp, we met him there and spent the weekend in Hilton Head. The weather was so amazing and I just couldn't stop exclaiming how wonderful it was! We had such great meals outside and the kids had a great time in the pool and hot tub. We had a brief visit to the beach and topped off our weekend with a family photo session with our favorite HH photographer, Willie. I snapped a few pics with my camera just before Willie arrived and captured a few precious moments. We had a great time visiting and relaxing together as a family.

Father's Day

I'm playing a little catch up on my blog while I have a very rare, quiet moment. David invited his siblings and his Dad out to the farm to play golf for Father's Day. They had a blast playing golf on Papa's "Grantsmanship" course. Joanne got a great golf lesson from Grandpa Don and her very well dressed brother. Yes, I do see the pants...he has several pair...I know....no comment needed. The kids had a great time playing on the water slide and catching up. Oliver was happy to meet his Higgins cousins. He watched most of the excitement from his bouncy seat and enjoyed hanging out with Trish. I'm sure if Oliver could talk, he'd be asking Daddy "what's up with the pants?" :)

Summer fun with cousins

We had the Delaney family here for almost a week while Uncle Joey had call at a pediatric practice in Hartsville. We loved having them here! The kids had a blast playing on the water slide and the slip 'n' slide. What a great way to really kick off summer! Les and I have always dreamed we could have our families close...now that we're back in SC, that dream is a reality!

Clean up on aisle 5

What do you do when your toddler has a poopy in their swimsuit and you're too busy playing outside to stop the activities? You hose them down of course! Oh Daddy!

We love telling the story when Daddy hosed down Lil D when he was a toddler and now it seems history is repeating itself!

Tie dye and Mud Pies

How do you jazz up a summer day in the country? Well, with Mud pies and tie dye of course! We even topped our fun off with an outdoor potty!

Moving and a Grooving

It's been another one of those days...you know, the kind where you're ready for bed at 3:30 in the afternoon. Grant is potty training and she went through 5 pairs of panties (3 containing juicy poop) before 11am. I've also cleaned numerous puddles around the house. Meanwhile, David is in to everything and at the same time is claiming to be bored. Oliver is just precious but still has to be fed every 3 hours and then held upright while he fusses for the next hour because of his tummy trouble. We just finished dinner and I rewarded the children with chocolate...they are wearing most of it. I decided to take a break from cleaning the kitchen to see what oldest brother and sister are up to and tip toe in to the den to peek. They are both dancing their hearts out and singing to the "Fresh Beat Band" on tv. Now, you parents know just what I'm talking about...."we had a great day....a super day.....spend some time together..." come on-you know that song! I literally had to put my hand over my mouth to contain my giggles! In that moment I realized that this is the good stuff....this is life. There is nothing but simple unadulterated joy in dancing to a catchy song. So, bring on the pee pee and the biting and the screaming and the poop smeared panties! At the end of the day, it's all precious and we did "have a great day....a super day..."