iPhone pictures

These were all taken in the last two weeks...

 

Dressed up to play outside

 

 

His baseball card pose (he wears this baseball outfit every day now.  I've given up on keeping it clean and it currently has dirt on it and it smells bad.  I'm sure he will put it on right after school!)

 

 

At Fort Screven on Tybee with the lighthouse in the background.  We had just climbed to the top of the lighthouse but I didn't have my phone to take pictures.  It was great and the kids both climbed all 178 steps themselves!

 

Alligator wrestling at the Crab Shack

 

Her favorite part of the Sand Gnats baseball games....the ice cream in a baseball helmet.  She comes homes and gives them to her babies of course!

 

 

These two have been to at least 5 Sand Gnats games this summer, they love it! 

 

Before the game

 

 

A children's museum has just opened in Savannah so the kids and I went last week to check it out.  It is all outside right now but we went on an overcast day and it was great!  They are adding more inside exhibits in the future.  

 

 

We drove to the paper mill to have a picnic lunch with Anthony one afternoon.  Like everyday in August here it started pouring right before we were going to eat.  We had to all cram in the back of the Yukon to eat.  It was fun though! 

Our Ballerina

 

 

CeCe started ballet class Tuesday morning.  She makes the prettiest little ballerina!!  She was so good to walk upstairs without me (the parents stay downstairs but can watch on a TV).  I watched the whole 45 minutes and she was doing eveything the teacher asked (and a little more!!).  She was in heaven!!  

1st Day of 1st Grade

Bryce stated first grade on Monday the 27th.  I wasn't here (CeCe and I were at my cousin's funeral in North Carolina) and that was hard on me, but I think he and Anthony handled it fine!  I hope that is the last first day of school I have to miss!

 

We are excited about this year, his teacher seems great and he is so proud to have a desk of his own!

 

And what a great surprise....his buddy from down the street, Nick, is in his class!!  YAY!! 

Sad

 

 

No, these two girls aren't the reason I'm sad.  In fact, they were the bright light we all needed these last few days.  This is CeCe's cousin Greta and this picture was taken at Greta's mom Emily's funeral yesterday in North Carolina.  Greta's other mom is my cousin Kara.  Emily was diagnosed with MS around this time last year and has been very sick since this Spring.  Her death is still such a shock to me, I didn't realize how sick she really was. 

 

I'm sad because my cousin has lost her partner, her best friend, her love at such a young age (35).  I'm sad because Greta lost one of the best moms ever.  I'm sad because Emily won't get to see Greta or her unborn brother or sister grow up.  I lost it today at CeCe's ballet class because I realized Emily will never get to see her kids do things like that.  I'm sad because Kara is going to be a single parent to two wonderful kids. I'm sad/mad that Kara and Emily were never allowed to get married.  Their love is beautiful and it sure taught me a thing or two about what is right and wrong.  I'm sad that I will never get to see Emily's beautiful smile again, or hear her say 'I love you' over and over again.  I am so thankful that she was a part of our family.   Her life was way too short, she accomplished so much but could have done much more to make this world a better place. Her memorial service yesterday was beautiful, I haven't cried that much in a long time.  I know I will never hear the song 'I Danced in the Morning' without picturing Emily dancing around the room and more than likely shedding a few tears while I sing. 

Bryce can ski!

After spending about 2 weeks at my parents house we all drove to the lake.  Anthony met us over there and the kids were so excited to see him!  Bryce decided (with a little parental urging) that he wanted to try skiing again.  He tried last year and did ok, but I just knew this was his year to get it! 

He had a few spills like this,

But soon he was up!!!  

And SKIING!!  

He was pretty proud of himself!  We are all proud of him.  I know my Gran is looking down grinning! She is legendary for her ski-teaching skills and taught almost all of us how to ski.  I loved being able to pass that down to Bryce.  Can't wait for little birdie to learn in a few years too! 

Meet Me In St. Louis! Magic House

Monday morning we walked to the arch and riverwalk in downtown St. Louis.  We decided not to wait in line to go to the top of the arch, but wanted the kids to see it.  Then we walked back to the hotel to check out and drive to the St. Louis Children's Museum, The Magic House.

It was packed and very chaotic in some parts of the museum but the place is HUGE with tons of different exhibits.  We spent almost 4 hours there and enjoyed it all!

CeCe found a baby that needed to be rocked.  She sat and rocked and sang to this baby while kids were running wild all around her! 

After her baby went to sleep she decided to do a little cooking for the 1st Thanksgiving

 Bryce climbing on Plymouth Rock

There was a great exhibit on the Presidents and the 3 branches of government.  Our Presidential history buff was beside himself with excitment!  Here he is voting.

Sitting at the desk in the Oval Office

Talking to JFK.  CeCe was hilarious talking back to them on the phone!

 Bryce giving a real Presidential speech, he chose to read the one from FDR right after the Pearl Harbor attack. 

 Duke for President, 2044!

There were trivia questions about the Presidents on the walls.  It would have the question and only photos (no names) of 6 Presidents for multiple choice.  I didn't know a single answer but Bryce got 10 out of 11 correct on the first try!  Amazing!  And so fun to watch him read the question, think about the answer and then lift the picture to see that he was correct!!

Cappy, CeCe and I stumbled upon a baby nursery in the Children's Hospital and Dr. Duke took good care of the patients up there.  She gave them bottles, weighed them, bathed them, suctioned thier noses and changed them. 

She also rocked and sang to this one.  Personal service from Dr. Duke!

They love to play 'shopping' and had a ball in the grocery store!

 CeCe painted a beautiful picture of the lake

 Bryce in the Lewis and Clark Exhibit

CeCe in the same exhibit

 Reading the map before his journey

I have a picture of me with this same ball and crazy hair!  I remember going to this museum years ago when it was much smaller. I'm trying to find the picture now to put on here, hopefully I can find it to at least show the kids.  Bryce's hair is too thick to stand up but CeCe's went wild! 

We had a great trip!!  Only thing missing was Anthony.  I hate he had to miss it all!! 

Meet Me In St. Louis! Cardinal's Game

Sunday morning we decided to take a last minute quick trip to St. Louis.  Jude and Jasper were supposed to be at my parents house but a very contagious but quick cold/fever virus has been making its way through everyone since the Florence trip and Jude was sick so they didn't come.  We booked everything and got tickets to the Cardinals game for Monday night and then I realized CeCe wasn't acting spunky like normal.  Yep, her turn for this virus and we had just booked our trip for the next day!  We laid low Sunday and decided that at least Papaw Ruff, Bryce and I could go and Cappy and CeCe could stay here if CeCe wasn't feeling better by Monday.  Thankfully she woke up feeling fine Monday and hasn't had fever since Sunday night.  I'm so glad they were able to come.  It was such a fun trip!

We rode the metro from the hotel downtown to Union Station.  The kids loved riding the subway!

Bryce's first Major League Baseball game.  He's been trying to decide between being a Cardinals fan and a Braves fan (since we live so much closer to the Braves) but I think this trip sealed the deal for the Cardinals!  Yay!  The Bordens and Dukes are all Cards fans so this will make everyone happy!  He was on cloud nine to be there. 

I LOVE this picture....Bryce in my Dad's lap and CeCe with her arm around Bryce.  So sweet!

CeCe and Cappy were ready to go by the 7th inning so I walked back with them (Cappy's not great with directions!) but Bryce and Papaw Ruff stayed to watch the Cardinals beat the Giants 8-2!  Great game!!



Florence, AL day 4

On Sunday (our last full day) we spent the entire day out by the pool.  Anthony had to leave that day (he hoped too leave by 9, but couldn't pull himself away until 12:30!) so they started out at the pool early!  This is the only picture I have but imagine all of the men and boys (plus me and Adrian a few times) doing this same thing over and over and over! I wish someone had counted how many times that diving board was used those two days!  They had splash contests, diving contests, creativity contests, height contests, etc.  It was so fun!  Bryce and Jack both learned to dive off the diving board and do front flips off the side and diving board.  Jude learned to swim by himself, and Jasper got comfortable enough in his floaties to float around by himself!  Lots of learning going on! 

These two giggled for 4 days straight!

Aunt Amanda brought her dulcimer and gave demonstrations for the kids!

The next morning we woke up to gray skies while we packed up and said our goodbyes. I can't wait to all get together like this again!  I know my Gran and Pop would be so happy!!

Florence, AL day 3

Day 3 we woke up to a blue pool finally!  But before we swam, we went to downtown Florence for a  parade called the Street Strut.  It was fun! 

That afternoon we spent hours outside swimming.  It was great!!  I don't have any pictures though!

That night before we ate, my dad and his brothers sang to us.  I'll never get tired of hearing them sing together.  It was awesome.  And just as awesome for me to watch my kids enjoy it as much as I do! 

 They surprised me by asking Bryce and Jack to come up for their second song, "Grandfather's Clock".  They had snuck away earlier in the day to practice so Bryce knew it was coming.  Bryce and Jack have inherited my dad's super loud way of clicking their tongue so the three of them clicked together during the clock ticking part.  It was great!!

 Papaw Ruff, Cappy and the fab 4 (soon too be fab 5--my sister, not me!!) in their matching Life is Good shirts. It is of a person jumping off a dock, which is perfect for our family!