Nature Walk

Katie spotted a skink

There was a fungus among us!

This is actually the view from our living room- so gorgeous now that the leaves have all come out!

Memorial Day Weekend Pics

Before we even had the van unpacked Elton was chopping down tree branches trying to regain a Satellite signal. The trees leafing out also put a huge damper on my wireless internet signal :0(
It was all for naught- Direct TV must be summoned...


Chris had to get in on the action. It was manly & "illegal". The tree trimming only escelated when my dad got there. I'm surprised we weren't exiled from ODW!

Shawny in the Baby Pool.

Sweet Katherine

Beautiful Brianna with a Buttercup

Memorial Day Weekend

We spent 4 days in Virginia celebrating Memorial Day and the "official start of camping season". There were lots of activites and all in all I'd say we had a great time. There were some "sour moments" to our extended weekend. We lost a kid 3 times! Sat night at the dance Brianna tells Elton that she & some little girl (6 or 7?) that we've never seen before are going to look for frogs. Elton, showing SERIOUS lack of judgement/parenting skills grants permission & fails to inform me. I don't know how long she was gone. She runs between the pavillion, the arcade, and the members lounge as she pleases. These are her perimeters and she usually obeys them. I love our campground because its private and gated, but still it was a super busy weekend and there were lots of people there we didn't know. t was also after 10 at night all the lights in the park, basketball courts, and mini golf area had gone off- it was very dark! I ended up looking for her for 10 minutes, find her and flip out on her, and reduce her to hysterical tears- THEN he sheepishly remembers she had told him where she was going! Sometimes I think I have 5 children! Then of course I had to yell at him- no hysterical tears... GRRRRR!

Chris mistakenly chooses that evening to go MIA. He pretty much does his own thing at the campground, but he knows he has to check in at 11 (the official start of "quiet time" at the campground), and then if he wants to go to a campfire or something- we generally just find out where he'll be and give him a curfew. I had gotten a couple glimpses of him during the evening, but he hadn't officially "checked in" since 4. Considering the fact that I hadn't laid eyes on him in 6 hours and he missed his 11 oclock meeting, I think he actually got off pretty easy when he finally sauntered home at 12:30! Teenagers suck!

The 3rd "lost child episode" happened Sunday at Water Country. We were at Rock and Roll Island and Brianna got tired of riding the Little Bopper and wanted to go to the Critter Corral. We said ok, let us tell K. Who never gets tired of crossing the floating guitars- to just meet us over there when she was finished. Apparently we were not quick enough for Miss Independent. Who I found 20 minutes later gleefully playing in the Critter Corral, totally unaware that she was lost (in all honesty- she probably didn't care...)

We also had issues with our water heater in the cabin. This was a totally unwelcome surprise- especially since we have had a few weeks of issues with the one at home and recently had to replace- after SEVERAL failed fix it attempts... So half the weekend we were either w/out water or w/out hot water. Elton did manage to get it fixed- he had to replace the pressure valve.

I guess I have complained enough- there was good stuff too. We spent time every day at the pool- which Shawn LOVES! Guess I have another water baby ;0) They had dances Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights, I found some great stuff at the flea market, I managed to get a nap Saturday (ever since Shawn cut out his afternoon nap my naps have become practically non existant...) I crossed a few things off my Cabin "To-Do" List, and left it *S*P*A*R*K*L*I*N*G* clean complete with freshly laundered bedding and towels! :0)

You've come a long way baby!

Then and Now... It's amazing how much he has changed. He's gone from a frail little black haired baby to a rough and tumble roly poly blonde haired toddler! He has 5 teeth, and two more trying to pop through; He's almost walking, he'll take a couple of steps- realize he's not holding onto anything and plop down on his butt. Sometimes I think he must have skipped the 1's entirely and jumped into the terrible 2's! He's inherited Brianna's love of dragging everything out, and making as big of a mess as possible. He's also rather fond of the toilet and generally anything else that is a No-No!

Shawn's 1st Birthday

Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you Happy Birthday Dear Shawny Happy Birthday to you!

Hmmmm. What am I supposed to do with this???

He got the hang of it rather quickly! He did a couple face plants in the cake which unfortunatly I was unable to capture...

The sugar high/ feeding frenzy kicked in & tomorrow I'll be cleaning the carpet & chiseling dried icing off the china cabinet! Remember Animal from the muppets playing the drums? That was Shawn with his cake!

The aftermath- glad we had our own cake!

Shawny's Birthday Party

Shawny's Elmo Party!

The aftermath...

Chris trying to lick the frosting off. Who needs a dog?

Me & my babies!

Elton & the kids

Shawn's 1st Birthday!

Bedhead Baby having his birthday breakfast of bananas

Look at that smile! 5 teeth, and two more ready to pop through...

Just doesn't get any cuter than this!

Shawn's favorite part of the day.

Brianna's big cheesey smile!

Signs of Spring

The Legacy in Elm City

I've always wanted to eat at the Legacy in Elm City. It didn't disappoint. Very old and charming, the food was good. Linen tablecloths and napkins, china plates.

Bridesmaids Brunch

Chicken and Bacon Quiche Crepes. Grits w/ cheese, & fruit. They also brought out plates with zucchini bread, carrot muffins, biscuits, and coffee cake.

Katherine at the Bridesmaid's Brunch. This was not the dress we had intended for her to wear. I bought her the cutest dress at Ross for $6.50, but the zipper got stuck, I worked on it for about 10 minutes, and gave up. We were already kind of pressed for time.

Missy and Nikkie

Jordan and Tinesha

Jen

David & Jennifer's Reception

David & Jennifer's Reception

The Hennes Wedding- Beautiful Jr. Bridesmaid!