Happy Birthday, Miller!!

Can't believe you're already 20!! That makes me, what, 28? Just think, one more year, and you can have your first beer!!

Here are a few pics from a 3 year old who thinks you are the coolest person on earth.

Picking Strawberries

Last Friday I picked Henry up from school when I got Reeves. As usual, these two spent the first five minutes hugging and filling each other out on what's been going on since the last time they were together. It really is unfair to them that we don't just let them live together.
From school, we headed out to the strawberry patch. The boys were so excited. We had a picnic under the tent beforehand to get some energy for the big pick. This is what I get for asking them to make funny faces. Check out the pouty lips. I think they're practicing out to be models.And, never to be left out of any big boy fun, this is what I get when Bennett realizes what's going on.
We headed out with our buckets. I must say, this year it was so much more pleasant because Bennett could walk. It was also much dirtier, but I quickly learned there was no way to keep them clean, so I let them go to town. R and H were great strawberry pickers. There were very few that they shouldn't have picked, and once they learned that they could cross rows without destroying the plants, a whole new world opened up to them. They got to the point where they could spot the good ones from a couple of rows away. I do need to apologize to all the pickers who have come in the days after us, because, as good as the big boys were at crossing rows, Bennett was equally terrible at it. There were a few destroyed plants left in his wake, but I'm just trying to convince myself that they were already past their prime and he was merely putting them out of their misery.

Reeves doesn't quite grasp the concept of "showing off" his prize strawberry, but at least he was amenable to having his picture taken, which on some days is a rare treat for me. After rest time, we met Bryant over at David and Jenny's for dinner. The boys enjoyed their hotdogs and then headed out back to play. (And yes, that is Benny sitting in a big chair all by himself and staying in it throughout the meal. I love second children. Reeves NEVER would have done that!) I have to admit here that as good a baseball player as I bragged about Reeves being on Easter, Henry blows him out of the water. He hit two over the fence - way over the fence. He is REALLY good. Unfortunately, I was pitching, so I didn't get any pictures of it. David cooked our burgers on his Big Green Egg. I have never thought that the cooking device really made that much difference, but these were the best burgers we have ever had - EVER! Even better than any we've had in a restaurant. It might be time to seriously look into investing in one of these things. And if you happen to have one, feel free to invite us over for dinner any time.

Easter 2009

Sunday was a perfectly glorious day to celebrate Easter. It's almost like God makes sure we have beautiful weather to celebrate the resurrection of His Son. And He certainly delivered this Easter.

The boys woke up to find their Easter baskets and the goodies therein. We didn't hide the dyed eggs this year because I was afraid that Bennett would pick them up and squish them in his hands. But next year, the tradition continues - first find your basket, then find your eggs, then you can go through the loot.

This was the only halfway decent picture I could get of the boys together all day. Good thing I took it early as both outfits ended up with various bodily stains on them. Thank heavens for OxiClean!

We went to the 9:00 service. I tried to have both boys with us in church, but Bennett just isn't quite ready to sit still and quiet for an hour or so. And since without Reeves, the nursery would be miserable for Ben, I trotted both boys off after the readings. I love the Easter service. It is so meaningful, and I always find myself fighting back tears during the hymns. This Easter was no exception.

After church we headed to Gammy and Pops' for a little down time before the big family feast at Big Laura's. Reeves pulled out the carrot bat and ball that the Easter Bunny had given him. We were all pretty impressed. He hit it way better than I could, but like his momma, he tended to pull it right down the third base line.It wasn't long before he was going all Babe Ruth on us and calling his shots. We may have to skip T-ball altogether and go straight to coach's pitch!

After a quick nap for Benny, the caravan moved over to Mt.P to hang with the whole Anderson clan. Gammy and Pops scored the biggest hit of the day when they gave the boys their big dump trucks. I can't believe these two can even stand up now as they were hunched over these things all day, pushing them not only around the yard but even through the whole neighborhood. Thanks so much, G and P, for the awesome gifts!! Benny discovered his could also double as a self propelled stroller given any slight decline in terrain.

Each year we have an Easter egg hunt. Despite this picture, Reeves was actually excited about it. I think he is just determined to appear as bored as possible in some pictures. I guess he's just practicing for those teenage years.

Leeze and Reeves both found silver eggs this year, and they were super excited to open them up and find a dollar bill inside.(You might be a redneck if the Super Special Silver Egg at your family Easter egg hunt is actually just a big plastic egg covered in aluminum foil.)

After the children hunted their eggs, we all gathered around Laura's wonderfully decorated tables and enjoyed a delightful meal of ham, mac and cheese, squash casserole, asparagus, red rice, and corn pie.

It was truly such a blessing to be around so many special family members. Reagan and Marianne were both able to be there. I can't believe I didn't get any pictures with them! We missed Sarah but hope to see her soon. Miller was, as usual, a dream. He played with Reeves pretty much the whole day. I hope his girlfriend didn’t mind, but he certainly made our day easier.

Happy Easter everyone. Hope yours was as meaningful as ours was

Thanksgiving 2008

We spent Thanksgiving in the country this year with Bryant's family.

The big boys were fascinated with the turkey. They loved running up to it on the counter, leaning in really close, and sniffing. You would have thought this might translate into a large amount of the bird being consumed by Reeves, but you would be wrong. His quest (at his grandparents' house) to subsist only on things containing sugar continued. He ate the marshmallows off the sweet potatoes and the broccoli and grapes from the broccoli salad with that sweet dressing. Oh yes, and he did partake in the pumpkin pie for dessert. You know, because he had earned it. (Sometimes it's just easier to throw in the towel and go with the flow.)

Bennett, of course, ate like a champ and then enjoyed his time with Grandy. It seems to me that children sometimes tend to latch onto one grandparent at a time, and for Benny, right no at least out there, it's Grandy. As soon as we walk in their house, he is pouring himself out of my arms to get into Grandy's. I love it, and, naturally, so does Big Reeves.

After dinner, the big boys and I went on a nature walk. We found many treasures, most notably, a turkey feather. Preston decided it would best be used as an Indian headress.We spotted an owl almost as soon as we got back there. It amazed me as it didn't really fly away from us. It would move a couple of limbs away, but for the most part was content to sit and watch us watch him. The boys loved it. I have rarely seen an owl out like this in the daytime. It was quite a treat.

Reeves and Preston indulged me in taking some pictures. I wish I had had the big camera, but I continue to be impressed by this little point and shoot.Preston was much more agreeable than Reeves, but somehow, the older cousin was able to persuade the younger one to cooperate, and I actually ended up with a couple of shots I wouldn't even mind printing.Naturally, I had to take advantage of the video feature. Bryant had come back to gather up some firewood, and the boys had been helping him. They were thoroughly impressed with themselves. They really got into the picture taking when we returned to the back and built a fire. Of course, now it was time for silly faces. I think the tossing of leaves and the ambient smoke from the fire brings out the goofy in them. And where they get their endless energy, I'll never know. I wish I had one tenth of it. Since Family day was the next day, we were spending the night out there, so we were able to spend a little extra time by the fire. It was a good Turkey Day, and my boys loved waking up together at their grandparents' house.

Free Night at The Children's Museum

NEVER AGAIN!!!!

So, I don't know, about a year and a half ago, or right after whenever the last time it was that I blogged in a half hearted attempt to document and remember any single part of my children's childhoods, Morn called to see if I wanted to take the boys to the free night at the Children's Museum of the Lowcountry (CML hereafter). We have a membership, but Gams and Pops were going, Casey was out of town, and Bryant would still be at work, so I figured, "Why not?" Honestly, Dear Friends of Mine, if I ever again even hint at the idea of going to a "free to the general public" thing in an enclosed space with the children again (especially without their father), don't hesitate, don't blink, just smack me across the face and remind me of how much I enjoy watching my children get trampled by thundering herds of tweens and abnormally giant elementary schoolers. Remind me that Bennett is prone to get tangled up in the middle of any situation that can cause him bodily injury, and why do I want to make it worse than it is on any regular day. Suffice it to say, I'm not a fan of these scenarios, and call me elitist, but I'll be going to the CML from now on only on the Members Only Mondays.
That having been said, the night overall was such fun. When we got to the CML, the line was all the way to John St. They did have things outside for the children to do, and Leeze and Reeves took advantage of that time to get their faces painted. (That's, of course, a dinosaur on R, in case you couldn't tell. A brontosaurus, I think.) When you finally did make it up to the door, it was only to put your name on a list. (That should have been the first clue.) But we did, and given the fact that it would probably be at least an hour before we were allowed, by the fire marshall to go in (another clue - maximum capacity - never a good idea to enter, even if it is legal), we headed to Juanita Greenberg's for some supper. The children were really quite well behaved. Bennett sat a the head of the table and flirted with the college girls behind him. William served as his wingman. Leeze and Reeves spent most of the time coloring, taking a break only to ingest the five bites of supper they would totally consume for the night. And we enjoyed our adult beverages. Gammy even remembered how much she likes coloring!
We finally left, and on our way back to the cars, decided to stop and see if we could just walk right in to the CML. With about a five minute wait, we could. The children loved it. I was about to explode. Bennett got so soaking wet in the water room that we had to take off his shirt because, since it was about 23 degrees outside, he would be warmer with just his jacket. Outdoor survivalists are we. Seriously, couldn't they look into changing the water room into something else for the winter? Reeves looked like Oliver Twist on the shrimp boat. He was politely holding onto his one blue fish, waiting for the basket as the aforementioned giant elementary schoolers ran amuck around him. "Mommy, is it my turn now?" Sometimes I curse these good manners we are trying to imbed in him. I wanted to scream, "Just knock them down and take it!!"
However, in spite of my ranting post above, it was ultimately a fun evening. Somehow, despite the frustrations encountered anytime you throw a bunch of children and adults into a madhouse, as long as you have your core group with you, you forget all the outside chaos, and your memories eventually amalgamate into what a wonderful night you got to have watching your children play with their cousins and grandparents. And, I imagine, years from now, that's all I'll remember. Except for the fact that I AM still counting on you for that slap in the face if I ever want to do this again!

Jumbo Shrimp

Dad and Bryant went shrimping Sunday night. I knew they must not be having too much success when, by 10:30, I still hadn't heard anything. Usually, if they're on them, they can fill up a cooler pretty quickly. Well, I was right. Even after all that time, they still only got about half a cooler. But what they lacked in quantity, they more than made up for in quality. There were some of the biggest shrimp I had ever seen in there.I think, despite not filling up the cooler, it's every so often catching these monsters that really keeps them going back. Well, maybe that and a night on the water, some beer, no nagging wives, and good company. But I'm pretty sure it's just the jumbo shrimp.

Columbus Day at Riverbanks

Since school was closed for Columbus Day, Jenny decided to go ahead and take the whole day off from work to keep both her boys. It being such a special day, she called me to see if we wanted to make the most of it by heading up the road to the zoo. Of course I did! I'm always up for something that will occupy the boys and me for any or all of the day, particularly when it involves getting Reeves together with his best buddy cousin, Henry. The zoo has reciprocity with the acquarium, so we got half off. Sweet!

The day started out with a bang as soon as the Humps got to our house to load up in the mini. It was then that R and H realized that, through some serendipidous hapenstance, they were both wearing red shirts. What are the odds! And hey!, Puppy's red too! There was much rejoicing. The ride up was pleasantly uneventful. The older boys were in the way back where they thoroughly enjoyed the additional bit of freedom those extra three feet gave them. I think they even enjoyed the fact that in order for us to get anything, ie, snacks, back to them, we had to throw it at them. This often brought about howls of laughter. I suspect the little ones equally enjoyed the fruit snacks whizzing past their heads as well.
We went in the back entrance this time. I'd never done that before, but it was neat because it took you into the garden part of the zoo - no animals there, but some really cool plants. From there, it was adownhill walk (hike) across the Broad River to the main part of the zoo. I was happy to see the tram pass us along the way as neither Jenny nor I were much looking forward to the return trip - at the end of the day, with a loaded double jogger, and two sure-to-be-exhausted three year olds hoofing it uphill back to the car.

Knowing how to read and understand a map is essential to any zoo visit. They were pretty good about showing us where things were. When we would then ask them which way we should go, they would say, "You tell me."

Reeves and Henry loved every minute of the zoo. The howler monkeys were the loudest I have ever heard them. You couldn't even carry on a conversation anywhere in their vicinity. This entranced the boys. We finally pulled them away in order to seek out lunch. We found it at the Kenya Cafe. Jenny and I tag teamed it. She got the food while I wrangled the children. (I make it sound hard. They were actually very well behaved.) We got lucky and the tortoise came right over to us.

Three year olds in the mist.

Here they are pretending to be elephants.

"You seriously dragged us all the way up to Cola to sit in this stroller all day? Yeah. Thanks for that!"
Lion Kings
It is much too tedious and mundane for me to mention everything we saw, but suffice it to say, and Jodie, I'm sorry to say this, the snake house was, without a doubt, the biggest hit of the day. They loved it. They went to each and every little window and stared and talked about what was inside (mostly rattlesnakes, as far as I could tell from my eavesdropping). The lizards were molting, so that only added to their coolness. Bennett and Cullen were thankful for the chance to get out of the stroller and stretch their legs. Reeves had been talking about seeing the snakes as soon as I had mentioned the zoo. I'm not sure from where this fascination came, but whatever it is, it has stuck around for a while, so it must be legit. Not much to say about these pictures other than to mention that we spent a good half hour in there.

We closed out our day with a spin on the carousel. Bennett and Cullen were DONE by this point. We waited for the tram. Of course, we were the next in line after the first trip filled up. Nice, that added about 20 minutes, but the boys spent that time exploring the "jungle" beside the tram stop. Cullen zonked immediately on the way home. He was followed quickly by Bennett. (This boy has to be super tired to sleep in the car.) Henry and Reeves stayed awake just long enough to make enough noise to sufficiently wake Cullen up, then they were out. Of course, then Cully was up, and so were his lungs. He was NOT HAPPY about his interrupted nap. He kept it up till about Summerville, where Bennett woke up and took over. Murphy's law. But it was all worth it. Thanks, Jenny, for calling to do this great trip!

I almost forgot. A close second behind the snakes for favorite activity was this.