The Call

On Tuesday, Lindsey and I got the call from Dana. An engagement! We got so excited up and Miles kept saying, "what's going on? why are you yelling?" We LOVE Brad and can't wait to have another brother in the family. The boys are stoked about it & have already transitioned to calling him Uncle Brad. He rocks. Dana, too. She's a total rockstar.



When we got home from getting ice cream the boys were not ready for bed. Lindsey suggested that we make cards for Aunt Dana and Uncle Brad. We all got to work. Here's what Miles came up with:




Now that Dana and Brad are getting married, Miles is sure that they are also having a baby (probably because he's asked me why Dana doesn't have kids in the past, I've answered by saying, "well she's not married yet.") Seriously, these last 2 cards crack me up. The first one for Brad is just so darn sweet.

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Not related to the engagement, but this one's for you, Dana.

Beach Trip (Part 1 with Lindsey)

On Friday my friend Beth called and mentioned that her family was heading to the beach the next day. She'd invited us to join them weeks before, but I incorrectly thought we had a camp conflict. When I realized we were free, I jumped online, found a house in their neighborhood, called the owner, negotiated a discount, and booked it. Nothing like spontaneity! My sister Lindsey drove in from VA for the first part of the week (while Mike was in Boston) -- a huge treat.


The Pool
The boys and I hit the pool as soon as we arrived. This little neighborhood in Windy Hill, SC has a great pool, just steps from all of the houses. It has a baby pool, a "hot pool" as the kids call it, and a big regular pool. Except for the baby pool, it is all shaded with these humongous beautiful trees.



(Miles....forever sorting things)



Lindsey joined us there several times over here visit.


*****
The Beach

Lindsey had the distinct pleasure of being with us as the boys warmed up to the beach. :) The boys all have fun playing in the sand & ocean, but they they each have their own warm-up period. Packing rain boots just-in-case made the week possible....Miles and Noah wore them to the beach everyday. It let them get sandy on their terms, when they were ready. They could also clean off their feet and slip back into their boots as soon as they decided sand-time was over (usually around the 2-hour mark). Hallelujah for the boots!




On our first beach day, the boys decided they were ready to go about an hour into it. Aunt Lindsey showed them how you can draw in the sand and they were hooked. Brilliant! She bought us another hour.



After they were done drawing, she roared like a monster and chased them all. She won the "beach fun was made possible by....." award for the day.



The next day she built a huge hole in the sand.


Griffin and I supplied the water for the hole.


When the boys got antsy on the 2nd day, Lindsey started telling them elaborate stories. She'd say, "give me a character"....."where's he going?".....and she worked it all into the big hole and she used shells for their characters.


Having Lindsey with us made me SUPER happy. :)


We borrowed the Haenni's golf cart and took the boys out for ice cream one night. Yum. We zipped right back to the same spot when Mike arrived a few days later.

Happy Father's Day!

We had a fun day celebrating Father's Day. My parents were in town for the majority of the day and Dana and Brad were here hanging out, too (we missed celebrating with you, Bob & Peggy!). After dinner we went to play at a neighborhood church's playground, where Miles & Noah attended VBS this week. We checked it out as a way to prepare the boys for a week in a new location and it turned out to be the cutest, shadiest playground in Charlotte. Definitely our new favorite and only 1 mile away.











Griffin fell on his mouth a few times. I see another toothless boy in our future. :) Then he pooped and abruptly ended the party. I mean, who carries a diaper bag for the 3rd child? :)



We love you, Dad/Mike! Thanks for a fun night at the park....and just for being you. We're blessed to have you in our lives.

I ♥ Faces: Boys!

The I ♥ Faces themes this week is BOYS!

I immediately thought of this picture of Noah, taken last month at a rest area somewhere between Charlotte and St Louis. Such a boy move -- to hop out of the car, grab some sticks, and start making funny faces. L.o.v.e. i.t.

Come join the fun and see other entries at www.iheartfaces.com.

Aunt Dana & Brad

The boys got a lot of quality Aunt Dana & Brad time this weekend and Mike and I did, too. My parents watched the boys while the four of us went out on Saturday night. Thanks, mom & dad!

L.o.v.e T.h.e.m.

Family Game Night

We were very excited to have my parents here for the weekend. On Friday night, we cooked on the grill and had a fun family night with them and Dana & Brad. After dinner we started playing games to keep the kids entertained and ended up cracking ourselves up. Miles suggested charades (after he'd had his fill of my mom's game of "I went on a camping trip and took an apple, a banana, a cupcake, etc.. :).

Here is Miles thinking of something to act out. He also offered a suggestion if anyone was fresh out of ideas. I took him up on his offer once. He "guessed" what I was about 1 second after I started performing.


Not necessarily part of the game, but Mike did a token Darth Vadar impersonation while cooling off.


Griffin's dog impersonation.


Brad -- were you an ostrich? Griffin jumped up and started copying him immediately. It was hilarious.


Dana rocked her fish impersonation.


My mom's kangaroo was a hoot.



For those family members that wished they'd been here to join the fun, here are a few video clips from the night (warning, I'm still trying to figure out how to video and focus at the same time).

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Time to refuel...that was much fun!

Our Tri Guy!

I am so proud to announce that we have a resident triathlete in our house! On June 6th Mike tackled his first sprint triathlon! The race was in New Bern and was a 400 yard pool swim, a 12.4 mile bike ride, and a 3.1mile run. WOW! We're so proud of you, Mike!

When Mike signed up for the race, Miles, Noah and I already had plans to go camping, so we couldn't be there to cheer him on (such a bummer!). I've been waiting to blog about it, hoping to find some race photos that I could link. Unfortunately, there wasn't a photographer there that day. Its weird that we don't have any pictures of his first big race, but I know he'll be doing MANY more. I'm not doing my first one until October -- so for his next race in August, I'll be there with my camera and my pom-poms! :)