Cubbies Graduation

Tonight (5/28) was Dane's Awana Cubbies graduation. I never imagined that this would be me, but suddenly I found myself poised with the camera and getting emotional like this was his high school graduation! How does that happen? How do you start off as a semi-rational human being and then all of a sudden you birth children and your behavior, as it relates to things about them, is anything but rational. Anyway, it was great and a little wild because Dane only started Cubbies in LA in January since he hadn't turned 3 until the end of Oct. and he jumped in here the very first week we got here. He has totally assimilated and you'd never guess that he is the new kid. He's done an awesome job learning his verses and I think that we are actually going to start the book from the beginning again this summer until Cubbies starts again in the fall. The first photo is Dane getting his certificate & award and the second one is him with his Cubbies leader Ms. Rachel.

Charleston, SC

For Tonii's 40th birthday I surprised him with a trip to Charleston, SC (which is only 3 hours away). We had been there once before for our 1st anniversary and LOVED it and had said that if we ever had the chance to come back we'd stay at the Wentworth Mansion. So planning this for his 40th was kind of a no-brainer for me. We went for 2 days and 1 night (kiddos stayed with Mimi, tonii's mom) and it was a blast in slow motion. By that I mean that everything seemed to happen so leisurely with no rushing around, but I guess that's what happens when the kids aren't with you.

Sunday morning we dropped the kids at his mom's house and then got on the road. It poured, but we loved it and then about half way there I said "Honey, were are your hang up clothes?". Now I had made reservations for that night's dinner at the Peninsula Grill which is one of 2 five star restaurants in Charleston, so proper attire is a must there. Well, his face went white as the realization hit him that he took his clothes out to get the stroller out of the car at his mom's and then never put his clothes back in! We laughed about it for an hour and I chided him that he just wanted to go shopping. Praise God, I had brought my gift cards with me. Anyone who knows me well knows that I love to get gift cards for B-day's, X-mas, etc. and I store them away in this special little pouch I have and pull them out when I really need something or want a little something special to wear. So I had my pouch and there was enough to buy him a pair of pants and a new blazer and then we went to J. Crew and found a great shirt on sale. By the way, as you'll notice in the above photo that shirt with the sleeves rolled up doubled as his shirt for the next day too! It was one of those little hiccups that lead to so much fun and really cool memories.

Our time there provided much needed refreshment and the chance to pour ourselves into one another and really enjoy each others company. I am so grateful to have my mother-in-law here and so grateful that she is so generous and willing to help out with the kids so that we can have this time together. The kids had a great time too, in fact Beka's favorite word now is Mimi!

Our Home

SO my dear friend Kate Keith is due to have her 3rd baby tomorrow. She is 2cm and 80% effaced and what does she do today? She e-mails me and requests a photo of our new house to be posted on the blog. Well, considering her state I thought it best to appease her. So Kate, this is for you! We love our yellow house and our neighborhood is just like Mayberry (does that show my age or does anyone else get that reference??). There are a ton of kids and a bunch of them are home schooled so there are always kids out playing and riding bikes, etc. We SO appreciate the space that we have now, but would never have been able to truly appreciate it without having spent the past year and half in a 1200 sq ft house. A week after we got here Daniel G. asked me what the biggest difference was between our LA home and our new home and I said, "2000 sq ft" and that is the truth. 1200 to 3200, and man do we like the difference!

Afternoon Ghost

Looking from above, I'd imagine the four lanes of Highway17 through the low country of South Carolina look somewhat like two old grey water mocassins, laying side by side, warming in the late afternoon sun.

Speeding between the tall swaying loblolly pines and the live oaks drooping with Spanish moss, we ventured up this stretch of highway north of Charles Town approaching Awendaw, when low and behold, I spotted a ghost in broad daylight. White and massive, lurking behind two long vacated, boarded-up block buildings, I caught just a fleeting glimpse as we crossed Cooter Creek.

At the first available spot, I turned the car around and headed back south. After a second U-ey, I pulled off the road, climbed out, camera in hand, with the goal of not getting shot trespassing on some fella's property. Leaving the car locked, with Lamya within, I ventured down the narrow path between the two structures, minding my footing in the high grass, as copperheads and mocassins do reside in these parts.

Stepping from behind the buildings, there she was, in all her glory, resting in the waste-high reeds, pitched on her starboard side. Oh, the tales that were told within the hull of this old beauty. The recollections of Hurricane Hazel and her more recent cousins, Hugo and Floyd. The lives' found and lost. The bounty caught and the one's that got away. A lifetime of stories, that I, quite possibly will never hear. But, at least she's at rest above the tide instead of below, for a casual visitor like me, to stumble upon and dream about the stories yet untold.

Spring Sandpiper

Friday night was the spring Sandpiper formal at the Cape Fear Country Club. This event was described, on more than one occasion, as the invitation only Wilmington prom for adults. Sound silly? Yeah, I thought so too, but man was it fun. Having grown up overseas and never experiencing an American prom this was pretty cool. It is so awesome to hang out and have fun with Kim (Tonii's sis) and Patrick too. We met a bunch of people, most of whom already knew about us, danced and danced and even partook of the breakfast buffet (the dance ended at 1am). I LOVE the fun of dating my husband again and am so grateful for even silly events like this that provide the opportunity! By the way, this is the dress that I found on super sale at Ann Taylor while Sally was here.

Time with the Terrell's

Sally and the girls arrived on Thursday night and left this evening (5/4). It was awesome having them here. We squeezed a lot into 3 days, especially Sally and I. We went to Lewis farms to go strawberry picking, Chick Fil A for lunch (and the play area), the playground, the beach and church today. The kids had a blast playing and arguing about anything possible.

My favorite times were at night when the kids were fast asleep and Sal and I could indulge in conversation and cookies. It is so rare in the life of a mom to have one on one girl time and it was so sweet because we had never spent any time alone together before. We stayed up way too late talking, but that was so worth it because I got to meet Sally's slap happy alter ego. On Saturday my sweet hubby even offered to let Sally and I go out alone together in the afternoon. That was very cool. My mother-in-law came over and hung out just in case things went haywire with the 4 kids (but they didn't) and I took Sally to this very cool, well known consignment store called Ivy Cottage (we did all three buildings of it!) and then to Ann Taylor. She helped me pick out a dress for a formal we have next week and she got a shirt, both of which were on sale and we did all of that and still made it home before Beka and Mallory woke up from naps! What a time!! Time with the Terrell's was so bittersweet, but before I get sad I'll just pause and quote little Mallory who often says, "Akuna Mattata".

Anyone else want to come visit? The invitation is open.

Beka's new kitchen

So Beka is almost 15 months old and believe it or not we have only bought her one toy ever and that was for Christmas! Until now we knew that all the baby stuff we had for Dane would be fine for her too. Well we have noticed over the past several weeks that whenever she is someplace that has a kitchen set she is drawn to it and can spend lots of time tinkering with it (sounds like someone I know = P ) So we decided that the time had come to get her a kitchen of her very own.

Daddy took the kiddos to Toys R Us on Tuesday night and found the perfect kitchen that even had a grill on the back side to share with Dane. These photos are from Wednesday morning which is the first time the kids saw it put together. Beka immediately squealed with glee and Dane went right to work grilling hot dogs. Truth be told, I'm not sure who likes it more, Beka or Dane!

Diva in training

Our little girl is becoming quite the diva. This photo was taken on Thursday. I had walked into the guest room to prepare some things for our guests who were arriving later in the day. Well, Ms. Beka followed me in there and sees the arm chair pillow and without ever having seen anyone use it she walks right over, plops herself down and leans into it. The look on her face said, "Oh finally some relaxation!".