3-2-1 Christmas Time!

It has become tradition with our family to officially kick off  the Christmas season at our church's annual "Hanging of the Green" service.  The kids sing Christmas songs that their choir groups have been working on during the fall, the big red bows and garland are hung in the sanctuary, and the beautiful lights are lit on the tall trees at the front of the church.  It really focuses our attention on the birth of Jesus right at the beginning of the season.  Below are a few pictures of the kids singing that night and the children's musical that Ryan was in the next weekend.

 

This is Avery's sweet little choir group.  Where is Avery you ask?  Hmmmm...Avery, where are you?

OH!  There he is!  Right down in front!  You would have thought that he had a magnificent solo.  No, our Ave-man doesn't like to sing in front of people.  In fact, he refuses to sing at preschool and at choir.  However, if you ever come by our house, you'll hear his sweet voice singing almost all the time.  His repertoire at home includes "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus", "I Surrender All", "Shout to the Lord" and all the Veggie Tale's songs.   I just love that kid! 

Caleb looked so forward to singing that night.  He LOVES a little spotlight.  He was so excited that Nana, Papa, and Uncle David came to watch because to Caleb, what's a spotlight without an audience?

The older children always put on a Christmas musical.  Ryan had another solo this year and he was great!  He's the red robed wise man there in the middle.  They also had to do a little dance which he wasn't quite as thrilled about!

That's about as enthusiastic as he got with the dancin'!

So from our tiny corner of the web to yours...MERRY CHRISTMAS!   

 ^5-6Remember, our Message is not about ourselves; we're proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Master. All we are is messengers, errand runners from Jesus for you. It started when God said, "Light up the darkness!" and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful.

2 Corinthians 4:5-6  (The Message)

Gobble Gobble!

Raise your hand if you can say that your Thanksgiving turkey arrives by golf cart!  I CAN!  For the last few years, we've hosted Kevin's parents, his sister and children, my parents, and my uncle for Thanksgiving lunch.  Mom and I always plan out our menu and I try to do the majority of it so that she'll handle the turkey (see my strategy???).  It never works!  She always ends up cooking enough for an army.  In fact, we're thinking about requesting a troop surge next year to help us eat it all!  My parents and my uncle all live within walking distance...our house is in the middle...so Uncle David drove the golf cart over to pick up Mom and the spread.  This is what backed up to my front porch!

Do you need a closer look?

There's even a jar of chow-chow up there.  Google it if you need to :-)

This is what it looked like after the katrillions of hours it took to unload...

And now from the other side...

Mmmmmm...can you smell it?  

We are incredibly thankful to God for His amazing love and for our dear families that spent such a memorable day with us!

Go Tigers!

We took a trip to Clemson on Saturday for the Clemson-Virginia game.  We had a great time and the weather was perfect!  The only bummer was that little Ave-man had to stay behind with Nana and Papa because he was sick.  Kevin and I had season tickets for a few years after we graduated until Krickets started hatching.  Yep, kids change everything!  This weekend was the first time we had traveled to Clemson for a game in two years and we were happy to witness Clemson football history in the making as they became ACC Atlantic division champs. 

We met cousin Claire up there to tailgate.  We packed a spread and Aunt Claire made her famous orange and purple Jello jigglers and puppy chow!  YUM!  Macy loves "Cware" and asked her to read over and over.

The boys quickly made friends and played football for two hours straight.  The knees of their jeans will never be the same again!

We watched Tiger Band and the cheerleaders parade past.  Macy wants to be a Tiger Twirler!

Go Horns!.......

... even though they scared Macy.  She held on tight to Kevin as the band passed. 

We also got to visit with some former Clemson roomies and their precious girls.  Kevin is going to buy me a ring like that for Christmas!

At the game, one of the highlights was watching C.J. Spiller run down the hill with the American flag.  He is a senior this year and was recognized with the rest of the seniors.

Our C.J. was totally into the game the whole time.

After the game, we took the boys down to the field so that they could make a touchdown.  Of course, they wanted to make one on both ends.  Did I mention the knees of their jeans?  They found a few friends on the field from home and played a little more football on the actual football field!  How cool is that?  Now...let's hope we can pull out a win over the Gamecocks this week!  Go Tigers!

I ♥ Faces: Autumn Beauty

Check out the weekly contest over at  I ♥ Faces.  I love taking pictures in the fall because of  the spectacular colors.  This picture is one of my fall favorites not only because of the beautiful fall colors in the background, but because of these sweet little faces that I ♥ so much!  Their expressions in this picture tell so much about each one of them:  Ryan (the oldest) is so serious, Caleb (#2) is quite playful and full of energy, and Avery (#3) is pleasant and content...most of the time!  By the way, one of my favorite things about fall around the south?  You can still walk around barefooted!

Balancing Life with Krickets

This post HERE by Courtney Molony inspired me to evaluate once again how we spend our time as a family.  I'm quickly realizing that finding a balance between activities (including church) and family life isn't good enough.  That balance must be tilted towards family life at all times.  In our backyard, around our dinner table, and playing games together at night are where relationships and memories are formed.  It's what bonds us together as a family.  It's how children learn to relate to others with honor and respect.  It's where responsibility is taught.  How quickly do we sign up for the next best thing offered for our children?  Flyers come home all the time from school and church advertising this program or that program.  It's all good "stuff" but none of it can replace the time spent together at home face to face.

A couple of  years ago, we realized that the beginning of each week was very difficult for our entire family.  The reason was that we were attending Sunday night church from 5:00 until 7:30.  We would get home around 8:00 after eating dinner in the car on the way home, rush everyone to bed, and then I would spend the next hour or two getting lunch boxes out, clothes ready for the week, and myself ready for bed.  We were stressed and our children, as much as they enjoyed the program we were attending, were so stubborn about getting back in the car on Sunday afternoons.  Last year, we decided to reclaim our Sunday afternoons and evenings and boy do we LOVE it!  We found a program similar to the one at church to use at home which we all work on together during the week.  Sunday afternoons are now spent throwing the football in the backyard, riding bikes, swimming when it's warm, and eating dinner together around the table.

I don't know what will happen as our kids get older and become interested in different things.  I'm sure life will be different and busier, but I hope we will keep our "life balance" out of balance...always tilting in favor of true family time.

Hoedown with the Krickets!

Did I really almost forget to post these?  So I've heard!  Cut me a little slack...I've been sewing a quilt :-)!!!  So here are the Krickets in their little Halloween costumes!  Avery wanted to pull out the old fireman costume, Caleb wanted to be a basketball player, Macy was herself- Queen Bee, and Ryan was what Ryan is every Saturday...a soccer player.  Do I detect a lack of excitement about dressing up from the Biggest Boy?

Before we even got started with our night, Avery was already sleepy.  To much excitement and anticipation can do a three year old in!

We saw Macy's backside most of the night because she was constantly bent over her candy pail.  Which usually resulted in this:

I can't believe the kid slept that night.  She had more sugar in her than a Dixie Crystals bag.

Because I have it so together, we got to church for the Hallelujah Hoedown an hour early.  NOT...I messed up on the time.  So, with four wild kids in the Kricket bus, we reluctantly headed over to the Pumpkin Patch hoping to find a pumpkin to take home with us.  We took our annual picture in the truck and then...

...checked out all of the pumpkins.  Being the really cheap mom and dad that we are, we ditched the idea of buying a thirty-bajillion dollar pumpkin and decided to each pick out a baby pumpkinette or gourd for 50 cents.  Then we headed on back to the church where we were greeted by these sweet ladies...

Ms. Kimberlee (who will be getting a photoshop treatment from me to turn her hair purple) and Ms. Sandi!  We had a blast trunk-or-treating and ran into lots of friends including these newlyweds...

who were very scary in their monster gamecock attire.  She has started a blog as well and you can find it HERE. 

Then, Macy stopped to chat with her buddy Hannah.  They compared loot and Macy admired her pwincess costume.  Next, came the inflatables.  Macy and Daddy went down the slide over and over and over and...

over until Mom and Dad were WORN OUT!   On the way home we picked out ONE (or two...or three) pieces of candy to eat and headed to BED! 

Class Quilt

Caleb's teacher puts together a class quilt every year. Each child in the class designs a square and then they give it to a mom to put together and sew.  Guess who got that job!  I do sew a good bit, but I have NEVER tackled a quilt!  I had a great geometry teacher in high school but she would tell you even now that I have no business measuring and cutting out shapes much less trying to piece them all together to make one big rectangle!  I was the one that attended every help session she held and still barely caught on!  Anyway...I put my high school math fears aside and gave it a try.

 I started with three fabrics and 20 squares designed by a precious group of first graders.  I bought lots of blue so I knew that would be the back.  Next, I hired some good help.  MACY!  She endured days and days of mama at the sewing machine.  Many of those days, she sat in my lap and pretended to help as I sewed the pieces together.  Below is the finished product.  Caleb was so excited to take it to school!  I'm glad it's done!  I don't think I'll be entering any quilts in the State Fair anytime soon but hopefully this one will be a winner with 18 special first graders!

Avery scores a goal!

We were so glad that Ryan got Avery's first goal on video!  Check out the little guy!  Ryan is becoming quite the videographer!  I'm sure I'll be posting more of his videos soon!

LHS Alumni Band

A few months ago, former LHS band member Steve Jackson began contacting people through Facebook to see if there was any interest in forming an (award winning, of course!) LHS Alumni Band for one of the games this year.  Here is what he wrote:

No one totally puked (or gagged on a spoon) when I pitched the idea - Amy Miller - even noted that she was OK with it. One or 2 of us (hopefully more cuz this ain't solo & ensemble) still play our instruments and some geeks like me would love the opportunity to get back out on the field once/year to peel the paint off the press box - maybe we could inspire the younger generation to do the same - or at least dream to be as cool as us old folks. Jerry Gatch has given us the OK to take the ball & run with it - I'll take the fall for it initially but I don't have any problem with having others help coordinate (Amy M, Toth Top) We'll start slow this year (fall) & probably do something like a long weekend day (Saturday day or Sunday afternoon) rehearsal the weekend before Homecoming then splat, screech and sing our way back into the hearts of our true fans (ourselves). If you still toot your flute, honk your horn or you can still crush a quad - and you want to do this, "We Want You!" Let me know & or tell others you know that don't stink to let me know by the end of March 2009 so we can move to the next step which would be Letting Jerry Gatch (the head LHS Band Geek now) know that we're serious & he needs to dig out the music to Pictures, Tiger of San Pedro & Come In From the Rain - oh yeah the drum feature that year rocked too - if that is too ambitious - I am sure we could scratch up a totally ballistic version of Mary Had A Little Lamb - I'm thinking samba feel?? NO JOKE - LET ME KNOW ASAP IF YOU ARE INTERESTED - IF THIS IS TO HAPPEN - JERRY WILL NEED TO LET THE Atheletic supporters (he he he) know that they'll need to offer extra ear plugs & put unpeelable paint on the press box - and to cook extra hot dogs.

So, a bunch of us got together for a practice the second weekend in October and had a blast!!!!  It was so much fun seeing each other again and trying to toot out a few songs.  After practice, we had a reunion party at our house.

Everyone brought food and we relaxed out in the yard and caught up.  

Here are some LHS band legends!  Left to right:  Steve Jackson- Trombone...he is the only person EVER to give me push-ups as a freshman;  Tony Roebuck- Trumpet extraordinaire and husband of one of my sweet friends;  THE Kristi Shull- Horn (one of the few and the proud); Jaye Ingram- Percussion...Jaye works with the LHS band, passing down the tradition of percussion excellence to high schoolers of today.

This is one of my band buddies, Kimberly, and her son.  Kimberly and I sat by each other at rehearsal and cut up worse than we did in high school!  No fear of detention this time, though!

Here are the shirts that we wore.  In high school, our football team rarely won more than one or two games.  There were some ill feelings between the football team and the band, mostly because they rarely won and we (ummmm, welllllll)...ALWAYS won!  There was even a time when their parents and supporters wouldn't leave the field after the game so that we could march (even after the announcer asked them to scoot).  We would wait for 20-30 minutes.  So...our shirts were more appropriate than people realized!

The big news of game night is that they ACTUALLY LET US MARCH!!!  We were pumped!  My calf muscles hurt the next day from rolling my feet so much!  Woo hoo!

This was the MOST fun part!  Just laughing with old friends.

And when we weren't laughing, we tried to play.  I have to say that we weren't half bad.  I was bad but most everyone else was GREAT! We had such a great time and hope to do it again next year.  I'm so thankful I got to reconnect with some great friends who still, after all these years seem more like family!

Hopefully we'll be seeing this sign again next year!

Piggy Flu

The Kricks are NEVER sick.  All of the Krickets have had their share of ear infections and colds as babies and toddlers but we just don't come down with much more than that.  Ryan hasn't been sick in three years so it was a little strange when he started complaining of a headache and achy legs a few weeks ago.  He was sick all day on Thursday with a temperature reaching 103 +.  I made a doctor's appointment on Friday and even though he wasn't running a fever Friday morning, took him anyway.  After the nose swipe, he tested positive for swine flu.  Funny thing....he never ran a fever again and was out riding his bike by that afternoon.  Six people were out of his class at the same time so it's obviously making it's way around school.  Kevin was sick earlier in the week with many of the same symptoms so we think he probably had it, too.  Hopefully we won't have a "Return of the Piggies" post anytime soon!  Oh...the funny thing about his picture- I put a piece of cornbread in front of Ryan hoping he would eat something.  Cornbread is his all time favorite!  He wouldn't touch it.  That's when I knew he was REALLY sick!

Happy Birthday, Big Boy!

October 14, 2000 my sweet Ryan was born!  He was so adorable, so alert, and already seemed to understand so much about life.  He was such an easy baby.  The big event on day one of his life was watching the Clemson football game with me in the hospital.  Now, Clemson football is one of his favorite things...even when we aren't winning.

We celebrated after church with Nana and Papa and all the little Krickets.  I made him football "cakelets" as a surprise!  He got a new bicycle helmet, golf balls, monster trucks, a zero gravity car and a camera from Nana and Papa.  He has already taken 15 pictures!  Maybe he needs his own blog?

 

Happy Birthday to Ryan!!!

20 Reasons I love Macy at 20 months...

1.  She gives big squeezes with her arms linked around my neck.

2.  She sings ALL the TIME!

3.  She plays babydolls and kitchen with me.

4.  She'll sit in my lap and read, and read, and read, and read...

5.  She asks for her brothers and Daddy every morning when she gets up.

6.  She loves to play in the dirt.

7.  She waves bye and says, "Bye Woe-wee" (Zoe the dog) every time we leave the house.

8.  She prays for all the neighborhood animals at night.

9.  She always asks for a bow when I'm getting her dressed.

10.  She cries when Avery hops out of the car at preschool.

11.  One of her favorite past-times is talking on the "pone".

12.  She knows how to put clothes in the washer for me.

13.  She hugs her Daddy as soon as he walks in the door.

14.  She loves to go to church and can already name some of her friends there.

15.  She always wants to wear my shoes.

16.  I often find her in my makeup drawer with my powder brush in her hand.

17.  She can sing "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus".

18.  She likes to run onto the soccer field in the middle of big plays.

19.  We never imagined life with her and now...

20.  We could never imagine life without her!

Everyday with Avery...

 is the best day ever!

Kids change fast but here are a few things about Avery right now:

He loves bug, worms, and anything that crawls.

He wants to go to preschool everyday of the week.

He loves to give, "big giant hugs"...just to his Mama!

He loves for his daddy to tickle him over and over and over.

He would wear his green crocs everywhere if  I would let him.

He loves his brothers and relates to them both in a special way.

He hugs Macy all the time and says, "Let me give you some love, girl!"

He sleeps with his "Bunny Bear" and "Blue Bunny".

He loves to drive his Uncle B's old fire truck.

He always wants to play with his tractors and his blocks.

He performs "McSpiriments" (experiments) in the bathtub with the colored cups.

Life is just so sweet with Avery!

Grandmama turns 94

My sweet Grandmama turned 94 on September 16th.  She is an amazing woman!  She raised three boys (and obviously survived the experience) and has lived her life as an incredible wife and Godly woman.  This is the first year that Grandmama turns a year older without my Granddaddy.  He passed away right after Christmas.  She was 10 days older and never let him forget it!  We went to celebrate with her and enjoyed watching her dig in to the delicious cake my Aunt and Uncle brought.  My boys enjoyed visiting with one of their favorite people..."Aunt" Claire and, of course, they were thrilled that Grandmama shared her cake with them!  You can read more about my memories with my grandparents HERE.  Happy Birthday Grandmama!

Caleb's 2009 Interview - Age 6

What is your favorite thing to do?   Swim in Uncle David’s pool
What is your favorite food?   Ice Cream
What is your favorite book?   “Saturdays and Tea Cakes”
What did you like about first grade?   Everything!
What was your favorite food in the cafeteria? Popcorn Chicken!
Who is your best friend? Maff and Kodie
Who were your teacher this year? Mrs. Hubbard
What is your favorite sport? Baseball
What is something funny that happened to you this year.   When Roby’s dice fell, I picked them up like a football player at school. 
What is something you are proud of?   Me!
In what way are you and your dad alike?   Our hair and our eyes look alike.
What is your brother’s favorite toy?     Ryan likes Tribot and Avery likes 
his toy camera which is a view master.
What do you love about your mom and dad?      What they do for me like going to a football game  which is what we are getting ready to do.
What makes you scared?    Nothing
What are some things you do well?   Writing
What do you want to be when you grow up?    A football player like CJ Spiller
What makes you laugh?     When someone tells me jokes...especially Ryan
What is your favorite TV show?     “Imagination Movers”
What do you love about your family?      I love everybody and all that we do together.
When you wish upon a star, what do you wish for?     A big monster truck for me to ride in everywhere.

Soccer Season!

Soccer season has begun!!!  All three boys are playing this season and they are having a ball (haha)!  They talk all week about their upcoming games and play hard on Saturday...well, almost all of them play hard.  You see, it's more cool when you're three and four to stand around on the field chatting with your team mates about who brought what for snack time after the game than it is to actually try to get a goal.  I was really amazed as I watched Ryan's game at how aggressive these guys have gotten as they've gotten older.  They played so well and really seem to play well as a team!  Ryan wasn't afraid to go to the ball and even made a dramatic fall one time!  He's heard too many Uncle B stories!

 Caleb scored lots of goals.  I lost count...I think about 6?  I'm not kidding.  The kid can move.  He is also the oldest on the team because his birthday is in August.  I had to get onto him for boasting (big no-no at the Krick house). He kept celebrating after each of his goals.  Got to keep the attitude in check! 

  Avery, Avery, Avery!  He had a ball dressing up like Ryan and Caleb.  Once, he got to his game all he could think about was the Little Debbie Cakes we brought for team snacks.  He'd run for a little while and then he would stop mid-kick on the field, run to the sidelines and beg for his cake!  He enjoys his pal Dad being his coach and Kevin is so good with the kids!  Avery gets tickle-timeouts with Daddy.  I have to say that Avery gets the go-get-em award.  Check out the picture of  him pushing that kid!  We are looking forward to a fun season and lots of good memories with our family!

Dressing to impress...or not so much!

I thought this was so funny!  I asked the big boys to lay out their clothes for a little trip we took during the summer and this is what I got.  These first two are Ryan's.  Ryan likes to wear collared shirts and he loves stripes so his shirt choices didn't surprise me at all.  However, the camouflage pants were a bit of a shock.  If that wasn't enough, he matched his camouflage shorts to his camo underwear.  You see why his mama dresses him? 

Caleb's were next.  Caleb, my organizational guru, lines his up according to the days we were going to be away.  He even layed out his socks to match.  He can't stand wearing collars and would wear that yellow t-shirt in the middle every week if I would let him.  These pictures make me smile so big because these are my boys!  Twenty years from now I can look back at these pictures and remember so much about their little personalities.  I just love 'em to pieces!

Sailin' in the Wind!

A few weeks ago, my Dad decided that he would take the sailboat out of the water.  I'm sure if the poor boat could talk, he'd be telling stores like an old man about great days long ago when he would race in the wind...

  ...Days when two little blonde kids name Andrea and Brian would lounge up in the front while listening to Clemson games on the radio (check out "cottontop" in the pic to the left).  Or maybe he would tell you about the windy fall days when Charlie and the crew of cousins would come up to race...Ben in the little orange boat and Charlie in the white.  This boat hasn't seen that kind of action in a long time but maybe that's about to change! 




After pulling the boat out of the water, they cleaned and cleaned and cleaned.  With a few replacement pieces, this boat might be ready to shine again on the lake!

Ave-man starts preschool!

Avery started preschool this week and had so much fun! He had his first school picture taken on the steps with his new book bag! We've been talking about getting a new book bag all summer. He kept telling me that he wanted a "wed one". While we were at the beach, I saw a really cute navy one with balls all over it and just knew he would love it. I took him by the store to see it and he looked at me and said, "I don't wike it. I want my wed one, Mama." So, we came home and ordered him a nice red book bag with his name on it.

Avery has Mrs. Pack and Mrs. Sox this year. They are terrific! Both are so loving and energetic. We have known and loved them for quite some time, but Avery has totally fallen in love with them in just four days! He loves his teachers and will tell you all about them if you ask!

Parents came the first day. Kevin and I both went so one could be with Avery and one could keep up with Macy. Kevin enjoyed chit-chatting with all the Mamas.

Kevin helped Avery make his "Good Morning Man" that he puts in the basket every morning to show that he is present. Poor Avery didn't want to leave his man, though. He wanted Good Morning Man to be his Afternoon-at-Home Man and his Goodnight Man, too.

Avery loved playing with the counting frogs that morning...notice "the man" in his hand. Big news the first week: He got to go to the "tweasure chest" on Thursday!

We love Clemson!

We made a quick stop by Clemson this summer. Kevin and I both love taking the kids there and telling them stories about the wonderful four years we spent there. My dad did the same thing when I was little. I have great memories of walking around campus at night with my dad when I was a child. Of course, with the Krick kids on campus, the silence was broken as soon as they saw the bell!

Freshman orientaion was underway. I love this sign right in front of Tillman that gives it the title of "Building with clock tower".

No outing is complete without a picture of the little Krickets...or Tiger cubs.

It was a great time of family bonding...Clemson seems to do that to you!

Lickin' our Fingers!

While visiting Grandma and Grandpa, we stopped at a little Fudge Shop in town. We stopped so the kids could taste yummy fudge for the first time (yea, right!). Look at those expressions! Caleb is making sure Daddy doesn't get the last bite!

Summer Fun: Visiting Grandma and Grandpa

We had a great time visiting Grandma and Grandpa this summer! The boys went on a couple of hikes. We also played at a wonderful park and sports complex in the area which was a great opportunity to snap some cute pics of the kids! We can't wait to go back!

Ryan's First Days of School

My little Ryan has grown up so quickly! He started third grade today and was totally embarrassed by his camera happy mom. As I tucked him in and snuggled last night, he shared with me that he was really excited about Mrs. Derrick's weather station and making new friends in his class. He loves school and as much as I miss him...I'm glad he loves school! I snuck his favorite treat in his lunchbox: White chocolate yogurt and a picture of Zoe (the dog)!

Ryan - 2 year old preschool LBK (Mrs. Rush)

Ryan - 3 year old preschool LBK (Mrs. Edwards)

Ryan - 4 year old preschool LBK (Mrs. Martin)

Ryan - 5-K (Mrs. Quiat)

Ryan- First Grade (Mrs. Taylor)

Ryan - 2nd Grade (Mrs. Fox)

Ryan - 3rd Grade (Mrs. Derrick)

Caleb's First Days of School

Don't blink! This little guy is growing up so quickly! He started first grade today and he was so excited! Being our people person, his biggest fear was not being in a class with his friends. Luckily, he saw one of his best buddies when he walked in the door! I'll miss Caleb so much, especially his helpfulness! I packed his lunchbox this morning and included his favorite: a cheese stick!

Caleb - 3 year old preschool at LBK (Mrs. Edwards)

Caleb - 4 year old preschool (Mrs. Martin)

Caleb - 5-K (Mrs. Crocker)

Caleb - FIRST GRADE!! (Mrs. Hubbard)

Zoo Day!

We love going to the zoo and actually visit quite often. There was a nice zoo man outside the bird house this day that let the kids touch a sphinx. He was very informative and also had nice bottle of hand sanitizer waiting.

OK...now here's the story of the day. These turtles NEVER move! You can see where they are in this pic. Now look at the next one.

I've moved the Krickets back from the fence so they don't become turtle food. The big thing charged at us...no lie! The creature RAN! Never seen anything like it before in my life!

The flamingos are my favorite. I wish I could have a few. I wouldn't even mind a few plastic ones in my yard.

A few more beach pictures of my loves!

Macy, meet the ocean!

We didn't take a vacation last year. Last summer, we had four kids under the age of seven and life was CrAzY!!! ...not that it's not crazy this summer, but we're more familiar with the craziness now. We knew that anywhere we went last summer would totally drain us so we opted to stay at home, which we consider a vacation most days anyway. We did go for a quick beach visit in November while my parents were there for a week but I consider last week as Macy's first beach vacation! These pictures are of her first moments on the beach. She was very timid at first but by the end of the week, she loved riding waves and insisted on getting sandy from head to toe.

Macy stood at the top of the stairs for a long time and stared at the waves. I wonder what she was thinking?

Macy wanted to be held at first and slowly warmed up to the sand. I love this sweet picture of her with Kevin. She is a Daddy's girl for sure!

The feet hit the sand. We know she is a little afraid when she stands still. The rest of the week she zoomed around making friends with other babies and chasing waves!

We dig vacations!

Here is a little hint about what we've been up to! More pictures and stories to come!

Fun with the Allreds!

Our friends, Ryan and Merri Anna Allred and their sweet children came to see us the weekend of our Clemson get together. Mr. Ryan brought the big red boat and boy did we have fun! There is nothing like a laid back night at the lake with friends!






Mr. Ryan pulled the boys all over the lake on the tube. They had a blast!



Macy and Emily had a ball playing together. Macy was happy to have another girl around!

Ryan

Alex

Caleb


What's a fun day on Lake Murray without a beautiful sunset?

More Clemson Reunion Pictures!

Here are a few more pictures from the Clemson Reunion.

Erin and her sweet little guy! He was so smiley the whole day and so cute!

Kevin and Rob...also a former roommate at Clemson

Sweet Tiffany and one of her precious girls!

Mark, Kelli, their extremely cool little guy and soon to be big brother!

Claire and Shannon picnicking with the guys