Ocracoke

George and I went back to Ocracoke over Memorial Weekend.  This was our 2nd time and I hope it's an annual trip.  Who knew camping could be so fun?  The campground is always hopping and it's fun to wake up and have so many friends right there.  We actually slept pretty darn well.  We had quite a bit of rain but it was nice to cool things off, especially at night.  We went on a deep sea fishing trip one day.  We were really looking forward to it but the weather conditions put a huge damper on the trip.  Holy hurricane waves!  It was insane.  Most people got sick (over and over!) and it was impossible to even stand on the boat.  At first it was just less than ideal but then it got downright frightening.  At one point, the captain radioed another boat to let them know we were in danger and to check back with us in five minutes.  That is hard to hear.  I held George even tighter and the tears I was holding back started to work their way out.  It was a long ride back and I was thrilled to finally get to the dock!  Although I never actually threw up, I felt queasy and shaky for hours after.  We did catch some nice fish before the weather turned bad and I have to say they taste so good that it almost makes the brush with death worth it.  Almost.  We had a great day at the beach the following day.  Lots of games, drinks, and fun with friends.  Then we barbecued at the campground that evening and played a serious game of flip-cup - guys against gals, we spanked 'em.  On the last day, we rode our bikes around the island, popping into shops and taking it easy.  Then we packed up and headed home on a late afternoon ferry.  

The boys didn't miss us one little bit.  They had CC, Day Day and Me-Ma watching them and Cristie and Whitley spent a lot of time at our house too.  Thanks everyone!  

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Posing in front of the fishing boat later that night.
We survived!

The crew!  

Enjoying a beautiful sunset.  

Boarded the ferry and headed home.  

Till next year...

Weekend Warrior

George went to Maryland for a triathlon last weekend so it was just the boys and I.  We were so busy!  Something about going solo on the weekends is a lot more work than during the week.  We had a blast though and were all pooped by bedtime Sunday night.  Birthday parties, soccer, play dates, park, and dinner with friends rounded out our fun-filled weekend.  We missed George but are super proud of how well he did at his triathlon!   

Saturday started out with a birthday party at
Frankie's Fun Park.  David is pumped about his
tickets!  There was pizza, cake, laser tag and
tons of fun games.  Whew!  Just getting started...

Straight to Drew's last soccer game.  Had to get Drew changed
in the car.  Drew scored a goal to finish the season.  Check out
his cute little team! 

Getting his trophy with assistance coach Brian.  

David was so proud of Drew getting a trophy!

Drew was thrilled to show off both of his soccer trophies,
one from the fall and the one from this season.  He asked
me to take the picture and send it to Day Day, CC and Me-Ma.
So, here you go...

Then it was off to another birthday party.  This
one was for one of Drew's schoolmates.  It was
Batman themed (can you tell?).  They were SO
nice to include David in the party!  At first he
was shy but as soon as the birthday boy's
Grandma offered David an extra t-shirt and mask,
he was all in.  Games?  Food?  You bet!  David
talked about it the rest of the weekend.  

We got home at 6:30 after a stop at the grocery store.  I was the
only tired one as the boys started playing with neighbors right
away.  I was hoping for a movie on the couch but no go.  In
this pic Drew and Andrea are acting like they are on a date.  She
made a flower out of duct tape like it was a corsage.  Then she made
a bow tie for Drew.  

"My have bow tie too!"  

Sunday we played at home for a long time before going to the
park.  Had to share this pic of my little slugger.  Since Drew
started t-ball, David asks to play a lot.  He has quite the swing!

David's ready in the outfield. 

We met our friends Kristen, Nathan and Ben at
the park.  David took off running toward the
woods. When I caught up with him he showed me
his shirt "King of the castle."  Yep.  

David Returns & Mother's Day

As I mentioned in the last post, David spent a few days at my parents house.  As expected, he was spoiled rotten with fun, favorite foods and affection.  Mom sent me a picture the first morning of David eating powered donuts - his 1st choice for breakfast.  And that was just the beginning.  They went to the beach, played lots of games, and chatted A LOT.  Mom and Dad got a big kick out of David's talking.  See, around here, he can't get a word in because Drew talks non-stop.  Every once in a while he will interrupt and say "Hey!  I need to talk at you."  Yes, he says "at" instead of "to," that wasn't a typo.  Then he says one sentence, at best, and goes back to sucking his thumb and listening to Drew.  Well, since Drew wasn't there, supposedly David talked non-stop.  They honestly said he never quite chatting.  I believe them because every time I called I could here him going a mile a minute.  And the sweet thing is, Mom said he talked about Drew most of the time.  My brother this, my brother that :)  Mom and Dad raved about David's visit, letting me know that he's not only adorable but also super smart and sweet.  Isn't it wonderful that grandparents always make you feel so good about your kids?  When I called to check in, they shared cute David stories...

~ David was naming his whole family on his fingers, raising each one and saying our names.  Mom asked him who was counted on his pinky and he looked at his pinky and said, "Mine's not pink, mine's white."
~  David still says "my" in place of "me" or "I."  He was singing some songs and Daddy thought it was precious when David sang "Twinkle twinkle little star, how my wonder what you are."
~ David was playing a card game with my parents.  When Mom asked him to draw a card, he said, "My don't have a pencil."

Hee hee!  Love that sweet boy.  We missed him so very much!

My parents stuck around through the weekend.  Me-Ma came to visit too and we had a wonderful Mothers' Day at out house.  The Watson's came as did Mae Mae and Mel Mel (Uncle Ralph and Stephen were at a baseball tournament).  We had a yummy meal and enjoyed a wonderful day celebrating our amazing Mom's!

We met my parents at Firebirds for lunch and to get David back!!
Course he wanted to still be with CC.

Can't get enough of that thumb and lovey

on the way to CC and Day Day's. 

David got into the beads in Myrtle Beach. 

Thor helps his Grandma's open their Mother's Day gifts. 

The kids made and ate "worms in dirt."  Drew's idea.  His class
made them  recently during their garden-themed week and
he wanted to do it again.  

We tried to get some nice photos but David wasn't too
cooperative. 

Drew made very sweet pictures for CC and Me-Ma.  CC shows
off her "I love you to the bottom of the ocean and back" picture. 
Me-Ma was given an equally sweet "I love you to outer
space and back."  The titles are on the back of the pictures.

David's the party pooper in this pic. 

I made a cake for Mother's Day.  It's not easy having cake in

the house because David LOVES cake.  The cake is best when

made the day before so we had to listen to him beg for it long

before it was time to have some.  Then, he begged for it constantly

afterwards  until it was gone.  Thankfully, the cake was eaten pretty

quickly.  Here he is having a slice on the counter the next morning

for breakfast.  I wish you could hear him saying

"My having caaaaaaaake!!!"

So happy! He insisted on eating it off of the pink plates like we

did the first go-round.

Nice photo of Me-Ma and the boys.  

Special Times With Drew

We've had quite a few fun nights with Drew lately.  My personal favorite was the Mother-Son dance at Prestonwood.  Drew was the perfect date!  The minute he put on his tie, he put the charm on too.  He pulled out my chair at our table and offered to order my drink.  When I asked him where he got the thoughtful ideas, he replied "I saw it somewhere."  He also passed me the bread basket first and used his manners all evening.  The event was very nice, filled with fun games, dancing, a tasty meal and corsages and boutonnieres too.  They played two line dances, one for the Mom's (the YMCA) and one for the kids (The Cupid Shuffle).  I'm sure I embarrassed Drew with my excitement over the Cupid Shuffle.  I was on the dance floor front and center for that one!  A funny little story - Drew picked out my dress for the dance.  He was hysterical.  When I left for work that morning he somberly asked if the skirt and blouse I was wearing was also my outfit for the dance.  I told him that I didn't think so but wasn't sure.  He said, "I hope not cause you're supposed to get something new for the dance."  Well, it was too late for that.  As we were getting ready, I pulled out a black dress and asked him what he thought.  He said, "Eh, it's ok."  George and I were shocked.  I came back out with a black and white one.  He looked at it and said, "You can wear the other dress if you want to."  At that point I sent him in my closet and told him to choose something.  He picked a colorful dress, mostly blue - his favorite color.  He even told me that my dress matched his tie :) 

Another evening last week Drew, George and I went on a long bike ride.  He's gotten the hang of riding without his training wheels and is very proud.  We rode bikes for 45 minutes.  I was impressed! 

Another highlight of the week was Drew's first concert.  We went to see the Zac Brown Band.  They are a favorite for George and I so we were thrilled to see them again and share it with Drew.  We took my cousin Melanie with us as well and we all had a great time.  Drew did get really tired toward the end and almost fell asleep leaning on George.  Heck, the band didn't come on till 9pm so it was 11 before it was over and past midnight by the time we got home.  Drew was such a trooper! 

So, where was David during all of this?  He was at CC and Day Day's house!  My parents really wanted to have him for a few days and it seemed like a good time.  David didn't even miss us, more to come on that in another post. 

My darling date for the Mother Son dance. 

Our good friends Kristen and Nathan went too. 

He looks so grown up!



Coming around for the limbo. 

I love this picture of Drew.  He got out during one
of the games and this is how he watched the rest
of the boys finish up. 

Photo with friends. 

Ninja pose.  They waited all night for this. 

Drew asked us to take the picture so his grandparents could
see how long the trail is. 

Arriving at the concert. 

Sweet Mel Mel and Drew chatted non-stop while we waited
for the band to start. 

We had lawn seats so George and I took turns
holding Drew so he could see. 

Two of my handsome boys.

The temperature really dropped during the show.  Drew
put on his jacket and used our picnic blanket to wrap up.

 

T-ball


Drew started t-ball a couple of weeks ago and he's into it!  We don't expect him to be the next Babe Ruth but he's having a ball and that's what counts.  I will admit that I forgot it's all in fun and had to be reminded by my parents at a game this weekend.  When Drew had a decent hit and then got out because he watched the ball instead of running to the base, I got pretty frustrated.  We all laughed when Dad looked at me and said "You have room to talk, you were a terrible softball player!"  Ha ha!  I looked at Mom to defend me and she completely agreed saying, "Oh, poor baby, you were awful.  You never paid any attention.  And you were in 4th grade, Drew is only five."  Guess that put me in my place!  

He's still having a blast with soccer too.  His last game is this weekend and I have to say I'm a tad relieved.  We've had soccer and t-ball on Saturdays the last few weeks and it's been hectic.  It was pretty comical two weekends ago when we had to go straight to t-ball from soccer and George was out of town.  I thought I was so organized and had everything packed.  We rushed to the car after soccer, Drew quickly changed into his t-ball uniform (shin guards off and a cleat-change - not fun!) and we rushed across town to the t-ball fields.  We scurried to the dugout and then Drew asked me to hand him his glove.  Oops.  I had forgotten it. What's a t-ball player without a baseball glove?  I felt so incompetent.  Luckily, there was an extra glove and he joined the game.  As I was working on that minor crisis, David fell and cut his hand.  So, he spent the rest of the game whimpering on my shoulder.  Good times! 

Here's a few pictures of our little slugger. 

He couldn't wait to try on the uniform!

Drew was the first batter at the first game.  I was
so nervous!  Thankfully he hit the ball. 



Nice hit!



On base



Coming home for the first run for the Reds!



Ready in the outfield