The 4th Annual Easter Egg Hunt

Saturday turned out to be a gorgeous day which boded very well for the Easter egg hunt we host each year with some of our dearest friends. As tradition dictates, my boys showed up late for their assigned host duties. Again, following in last year's footsteps, it took a while for Reeves to warm up to the whole idea of being social and friendly. He worked through those issues this year by "vogueing" with his Easter basket. Luckily, like all children, mine soon warmed up when they realized they would be let loose in a field full of little candy treasures. Reeves was a super egg hunter this year. Bennett quickly realized that the things inside the eggs were sugary and yummy, so he would open his each time he found one.

We put out about 2500 eggs, and after about 57 seconds the hunt was over.... and the begotiations began. I found this group already trading goodies. "I have two jelly beans. I give them to you for your one malt ball." Look out, Wall Street, these ones are growing up really fast!

Unfortunately, we had to leave early for a birthday party, but once again, I can't thank all my friends enough for all the work you do. This party was a wonderful success and I love that my family is a part of it with all of your's.

Sullivan's Island

This year we were lucky enough to get two weeks at The Ark. It was bittersweet knowing that one of the reasons for this was because, with Poppa gone, it just wouldn't be the same for Grandmother to stay over there by herself, thereby freeing up the whole summer to be divided among the children. Big Laura was so kind to offer her weeks to us. It did make me feel better when Grandmother said how happy she knew it would make Poppa to see a whole new generation enjoying and falling in love with The Ark. There wasn't a day that went by during our stay that I didn't think of him. The walls drip with his essence, and I found comfort in knowing we were in a place that meant so much to him.

There truly is something special about that place, and Bennett seemed to pick up on it immediately. He slept better than he ever has, both at naptime and at night. After a few initial nights of up and down, Reeves napped and slept well too. This was perfect because it gave Bryant and me time to enjoy the breezy quiet of the front porch. I know it was tough on B because he had to work the whole time we were there, and I appreciate his making the even longer drive to and from work each day so we could enjoy the beach.

We had lots of friends and family stay with us or just visit for the day while were there.

Morn and Casey spent both weekends with us. It was so much fun to watch the cousins play together.

We had playgroup over there a couple of times. I wish I had gotten more pictures, but needless to say, the children wore themselves out between the beach, the slide, the den, and the porch. There was a lot of pitter patter of a lot of little feet on those days. It was wonderful.We even had some out of town guests. Bryce and Caulder stopped by one afternoon. Reeves is smitten with Bryce and asks about her all the time. When I remind him that he likes Caulder too, he stops me and tells me, "No. I love Bryce!" According to Reeves, you can only like (or love) one thing at a time, and no one else can like it either while you are liking it.

The Willises stayed for a few days after the birthday party. There's not really a too much more perfect time than late afternoons on the beach. The weather is usually nice and breezy, the crowds are small, and the sunlight is beautiful.

Towards the end of our stay, Mom and I went exploring on the golf cart and found a beach access just past Fort Moultrie. You could drive the cart up and step right onto the beach. I wish I had found this the day we got there. From then on, every night, B and I would load the boys up and drive down there. The sun set just beautifully over the city. Reeves could run and play. He loved climbing on the rocks and running from the waves.Bennett spent most of his time on his Daddy's shoulders, and I was able to get some great pictures. It was the perfect pre-bedtime jaunt.

On our last night at the beach, Bryant took off work a little early, and we were able to put the boat in. Reeves drove, which is astonishing as you would think he is too short to see over the console, but apparently, you don't really have to be able to see where you're going when driving a boat. You only have to be big enough to reach the steering wheel. And heaven forbid he get any help. "No! I do it by my own!"We went all the way around the island and behind Goat Island. Even though it was my suggestion to circumnavigate Sullivan's, I must admit, I did get a little nervous out there in the "big water". (Am I becoming my mother?)This was Bennett's first trip in our boat and his first time with a lifejacket on. He wasn't crazy about it at first but animal crackers (and, I suppose, the scenery) quickly helped him overcome his discomfort. While I was tooling around waiting for B to park the truck, I found it quite difficult to manuever and hold Bennett. Solution - I put him right where I put Sadie the first time I took her on the boat, on top of the console. Of course, Bennett is considerably bigger than she was at 6 weeks, but it seemed to work fine. It was a beautiful evening that made you really appreciate living in the Lowcountry. We watched the kiteboarders from the ocean and watched the boats going out the channel. The tide was so high we couldn't even see the jetties. We had to go back and forth under the Breech Inlet bridge a few times, yelling each time. We saw dolphins in the creeks and watched the flyfishers poling towards their prey. The boys loved it. We loved it. It was a perfect cap to a great two weeks.

As with all good things, our time at the beach ended too quickly. I am already looking forward to next year and crossing my fingers that we will be lucky enough to have just a little bit of time there. Summer just wouldn't be the same without The Ark. Thank you, Poppa and Grandmother!

CSO on DI

Saturday night was a wonderful evening filled with great friends, beatuiful music, gorgeous weather, fabulous food, and a terrific fireworks display to cap everything off. The Charleston Symphony Orchestra played at Smythe Park, and we all set up a tailgate to enjoy the show. Apparently, there was a tailgating competition, but we, of course, weren't even thinking of that when we began our preparations. Yeah, right! We pulled out and dusted off all of our Charleston Cup decor and started our own Daniel Island Yacht Club right there. Despite the throngs of passersby who would have placed bets that we would win, we didn't even get an Honorable Mention. Perhaps it was because they didn't notice us. It's so easy to overlook a 15 foot flagpole complete with four fullsize flags waving in the breeze! Luckily, the oversight on the judges' part did not dissuade us from having a perfectly marvelous time. While we and the Smiths did most of the set up, our wonderful friends provides all the nourishment for the crowd. (Plus some divine pork tenderloin cooked up by Stephen. He truly is a grilling master!) We had everything from pickled shrimp to cucumber sandwiches to peanut butter brownies. It was quite a spread. And, as much as he drives me crazy when it comes to doing stuff like this, Bryant's flowers were just gorgeous, and his ideas always turn out great. They were the last things to be finished, but they really completed the whole layout. We had some of our dearest friends in the spot right next to us. As you can see, their theme was Crazy Mexican, and Jason just couldn't help himself! Yo quiero kaluha ice cream!

The temperature got surprisingly cool as the sun went down. Thanks to Stephen and Matt, however, some of us were able to snuggle up on the Smith's Party Porch furniture under Aileen's blanket. (Honestly, we had WICKER FURNITURE out there, and we still didn't win?) This proved to be the perfect spot to watch the fireworks. The breakdown was pleasantly uneventful and quick. I can't thank everyone enough for all they did to make this night turn out to be such a success, and special props go to Caroline for getting us all involved in the first place. It was a perfect evening spent with friends in a beautiful setting. We look forward to resurrecting the DIYC next year!

Second Annual Easter Egg Hunt

Well, despite the weather threatening us all day, the hunt came off without a hitch. It was fun to see how much better the children were this year at hunting the eggs than last year. The party lasted about an hour and a half, but the actual hunt probably took all of two minutes. We probably put out at least a thousand eggs. They were all gone two minutes after the bell rang. ALL GONE! Not a single undiscovered egg was left. I know this because since my child was 20 minutes late and asleep in the car when he arrived, it took quite a while for him to liven up. Unfortunately for him, this foul mood ate into the two precious minutes of egg hunting. So he ended up with about five eggs. His fault, so I didn't feel too bad, but I was silently bemoaning the fact that I wouldn't have and cute "hunting" pictures of him. Thank heavens for the kindness of friends. Caroline "borrowed" three eggs from Fordham's basket, which I promptly dropped, and Reeves found. That was thankfully sufficient to satisfy his need to hunt. Then Henry and Reeves shared all their eggs together. Somehow they ended up with about the same amount. What a sweetie. Even Bennett got in on a little of the egg swapping action. What a world of wonder the ability to sit up has brought him! I think we're going to have to come up with some better hiding places next year, or perhaps have varsity and JV fields. These kids are just too smart for us!

Because of the forboding weather, it was a cool day with a great breeze (wind). This was wonderful because it kept the gnats away, and honestly, I would rather have to load up on the layers rather than fight the bugs. It really was a perfect day with family and great friends. And I think the hosts and hostesses were wonderful!I don't know what I'd do without you girls!! Thanks again for a great hunt!

The Christmas Season 2007

Looks like the only way I am going to get this post (these posts) done is to take the lead from Dorothy and do them all at once.

Nancy and her boys hosted us once again for the Cookie Decorating Party. I just love this tradition, and I hope it continues for a long time.
We definitely have two distinct groups in our little (growing) posse. The older kids relished in the cookie cutting and decorating. There were sprinkles and icing and flour everywhere. Nancy is certainly a great sport for subjecting her house to the messes these kiddies make. And while all that was going on, the babies enjoyed sleeping and nursing. It's not a bad deal for them either. Now that Reeves has grown out of his egg allergy, we have the freedom to use ready-made cookie dough. For those of you with children with a milk allergy, Pillsbury products generally are milk free. We use so many of them now that every time Reeves sees the Pillsbury Doughboy, he points to him and says, "ReeRee's crackers!" Oh yes, brand recognition is alive and well at our house.
We headed down to PR the weekend brfore Christmas to visit with the Willis clan and exchange our gifts. J&V hit a gigantic homerun with the Mack they gave Reeves. Even now, there has not been a day that goes by without his playing with it. It has also worked as a great behavioral tool when it gets taken away. Who knew? A gift for the child and the parents!
We have a tradition in our family of spending Christmas Eve with the Humps and Smiths. This year the Smiths were all out of town, so we moved our get together up to the 23rd, after church. It was actually quite nice, particularly now as the number of children in the group has doubled since last year. Reeves, Henry, and Leeze all play so well together. Lolly even added a four legged friend (and another Henry) to the group. I think Reeves, in his heart of hearts, loves him, despite the fact that Lolly's puppy's sole goal in life is to "eat ReeRee." I never knew five pounds could be so frightening. He felt pretty safe when Pops rescued him and held him above the fray.
On Christmas Eve we headed out to the country to celebrate with the Bairs and Moyles. We had a great time. We were showered with so many gifts that there are still some hidden away for a rainy day. Reeves and Preston were drunk on wrapping paper, boxes, and toys. It is so much fun to watch them play together, and equally as much fun to send them upstairs or outside to give us a little peace and quiet. So far there have been no broken bones or stitches needed, so our plan seems to be working! This was the first Christmas for Bennett and Caulder. They both took it is stride, chilling out in someone's arms or the swing. I now bring the Bumbo seat with me almost everywhere as Bennett has an insatiable desire to be right in the middle of everything, and since we tend to spend the most time in the kitchen, we can just plop him right up on the counter and let him watch. (I wonder where he got this personality from?) Growing up, Julie and Bryant had wanted to have children close together, and it is such a blessing to have these two little ones be only (exactly) four months apart.
Christmas morning was actually quite calm at our house. Santa didn't go overboard, mainly just filling the Disney Corporation's coffers since Cars and Toy Story are such big hits around here. I swear, one year, I'm just going to give the boys big empty boxes and a couple of rolls of wrapping paper. Those always seem to be the most played with items on Christmas mornings. We headed down to Gams and Pops' for the big family Christmas. As has been the case for the past 32 years, it did not disappoint at all. Mom always tells us that "it's not going to be a big Christmas this year" and "I hope you're not disappointed." I really think she just does this out of habit now. She and Dad always know just the perfect gifts for us, some are just for fun and some are for self improvement and some are so meaningful they bring tears to your eyes. We had a little of all of it this year. Grandmother and Poppa gave the most special gift this year to Miller. As he is a freshman at the Citadel this year and Poppa's namesake, it was truly fitting that Poppa should pass on to him the picture of the entire corps from his senior year, 1943. It was a very sincere moment, and one that we will all treasure forever. Despite the dark and lack of an actual soccer ball, Reeves and Miller were able to get in a bit of practice before it was time to head home. I'm beginning to think that Miller has an agenda with my son - soccer or bust. It's OK by us.Willy Wonka got just about all the lovin' he could handle. We had the Bearsch family with us too, so he was getting it from both sides! Bennett got to have his diaper changed on a table that was passed down from his great-great-grandmother which was on top of a rug handed down by his other great-great-grandmother. It seemed only fitting then, that his great-grandmother should oversee the whole process. Only in our family! Dad gave Mom the gift of fire for Christmas. He's so old fashioned. I just hope she uses this power for good and not evil. I'm sure she will. Of course, we can't forget the final gift Mom got Dad. What do you get for the man who refuses to own a cell phone and who uses a computer only to play solitaire? Why, a portable navigational GPS computer, of course! I was going to throw in a pair of stiletto heels for him as well since I figured they'd get about as much use as this thing would, but apparently he has turned it on and even figured out how to make it work. Wonders never cease, and we can all sleep easily at night knowing that he'll now be able to find his way to the office and Yeamans without getting lost anymore.
Lol, Me-anne, and RayRay even indulged me when I asked to take this silly picture. The spirit was strong with these three.
Christmas this year was a wonderful, special, family and friend filled season for us. We are so blessed to be able to enjoy it each year with those who mean the most to us. Our children have made it so much more special because each year brings something brand new to them. Reeves is beginning to understand the reason Christmas is so special as he would often tell us that Christmas Day is Jesus' birthday. It's easy to forget that amidst the hustle and bustle of presents and parties. Thank heavens we have the little ones to remind us every once in a while.