Anna is really into birds right now, especially swans and their cygnets (her new favorite word). Almost daily she and Noah build a swan's nest, AKA pile of couch cushions, pillows, and blankets, and they spend a long time playing swan family. Anna has long detailed narratives about the relationships within the swan family, complete with dramatic voices. Noah pretty much goes along with whatever she says, until he loses interest and goes off to play Hot Wheels. The other day Anna brought me a piece of paper and asked me to write these words:

Then last night she had me record the official Bird National Anthem. Hee hee!

Lunch first

See?

This is where they chased the poor ducks and I laughed inappropriately. 

So glad we have another full month of summer! 

A few weeks ago Nathan planned a little backyard camp out with the daddies and kids from our small group at church. At the last minute one of the little girls got sick and another of the dads had to go into work, so it ended up just being our kids and one little friend. In the end I think it was a good thing to keep it small for the first run.

Jack's dad Rick brought his camping supplies, including this little collapsable picnic table. Nathan and Rick cooked all of the food outside on the fire pit and griddle. They made hot dogs, corn, and beans for dinner, s'mores for dessert, and yummy egg and bacon sandwiches for breakfast. Impressive!

They read a not too spooky book by flashlight. They also read books in the tree house.

I wasn't sure if they would, but they stayed outside in their tents until morning. Ben and I enjoyed a quiet night of our own, in the air conditioning without bugs.  :)

Nathan and I have been to Hilton Head twice without children. Each time we would go to see Gregg Russell sing in Harbour Town. And each time we would say over and over, "We can't wait to bring our kids here!". We saved this concert for our last night of vacation and it was worth the wait!

I just love the Sea Pines end of the island. These trees are so amazing.

I was just a teeny bit psycho about finishing dinner and grabbing a good seat. I wanted the kids to enjoy it, and I knew things would not go well if they had to stand in the back the whole time. As you can see here, Ben wasn't too keen on sitting anywhere, and Noah was just about to cry because of sand getting in his shoes. See Nathan's shadow?   :)

Like I said, Nathan and I have been looking forward to taking the kids here since before they were even born, so I admit I got a little emotional when he started singing this song. This isn't my video, but it's better than the one I took!

After the show he did a little meet and greet with the kids. Anna and Noah ran to get in line and they were super excited to sit on his lap and have their pictures taken. Anna told him she loved him about a hundred times.

After it was all over we got ice cream and hung out in the red rocking chairs overlooking the harbor. Again, something we did before the kiddos, so it was another little moment for me. I know. I'm such a nerd! But it was a great night.

Last weekend I had some errands to run, and since Nathan was here I decided to just take Anna and have a little girl time. Ben was asleep, so Nathan and Noah had some boy time while we were gone. After being gone for a while I came home to find them in the backyard digging. Nathan was digging up part of an old stump and filling in a little sink hole, and Noah was right there in the action. During the digging, Nathan found a salamander, and when Anna and I got home she was thrilled to see it. 

A few times I looked out and saw her holding it, and each time I told her to put it back down. To her credit, she was super gentle and sweet with it. But sadly, I think it was just too much for the little guy. We're not sure he was dead, but Nathan says when he went to put it in the creek back behind our house it didn't seem to be doing too well. Anna came inside and told me that Flowerina may not make it. So sad.

R.I.P Flowerina

It doesn't take much to make me happy. Last week I reorganized the kids' shelves in our sunroom. We are lucky to have lots of built in bookcases in this house. Nathan and I have more than enough books to fill them, but I knew I could use them in a better way. A few months back I took all of the kids craft supplies and school related things out of my pantry and made room for them in the sunroom. It cleared up a ton of space in the pantry and it made it much easier for the kids to do crafts whenever they wanted. Well, almost. Things like paint and glue and glitter stayed out of reach. This set up has worked well for months, but it was starting to get cluttered and disorganized. So I took it all down and reorganized it. Nothing huge, but it made me feel better!

Mommy school items are on the lower left shelf with other workbooks and project books on the shelf above that. That highest shelf has stamp sets and a big ugly box that holds scrap paper. I really should do something to make that box cuter! The right hand side has all of the craft supplies. Noah's cutting set is there, along with several character art sets they've gotten as birthday gifts. And there are two bins filled with all the extras - googly eyes, foam stickers, pipe cleaners, felt, etc.

Last week I also decided to give these baskets some real function other than just being catch alls. A quick trip to the craft store and a few bucks later, each basket is now assigned to each child. Now when I inevitably find their toys, hair bows, shoes, etc, it all goes into the basket. Then they are responsible for taking their baskets upstairs and putting everything away. The baskets are not getting filled nearly as quick as I thought they would, but that's a good thing I guess! I used a ribbon that I think is going to match the new curtains we want for our kitchen. The good thing is ribbon is easy to change if I change my mind on the curtains....which I probably will about 400 times between now and actually purchasing them.

Before:

After:

Like I said, it doesn't take much to make me happy!  :p



Just some random pictures from a night out. We had dinner at the Salty Dog and then hung around to sing and dance with other kids in the little courtyard between shops. Well, Noah wasn't too interested at first.

But once she started handing out instruments he joined in.

After our family headed back to Hilton Head, Nathan the kids and I stayed in Savannah for a few more hours. First stop, ice cream. These popsicles were as big as the kids!

Brrrrrrr!

We finished up there and got back to the whole reason we were there, walking. And taking pictures, of course.

Love this sweet girl!