AWANA graduation

Another year of AWANA at church has gone by. We celebrated the ending with Closing Ceremonies tonight. Max completed his first year of Cubbies, while Kinsey completed her first of three books in her second year as a Spark. I also should note that Jack received an award for 6 years as a AWANA leader or helper. Way to go, guys!

GOAL!

OK, so he's no Pele or Beckham. And the picture above may very well be the only quality time he spends near the goal, but he does have fun chasing after that ball!

He Arose!

After a busy Saturday of teaching Kinsey how to muck horse poo, picking starwberries, cooking Easter dinner (new fave, key lime cake) and a fun Motown date night with Jack and my running pals, we looked forward to celebrating on Sunday. Egg hunt, baskets (disaster, don't ask), yum church breakfast, lovely musical service, my evil vacuuming accident (again, don't ask), and a WONDERFUL lunch with Nan and Granddaddy was our line up today. Best of all, the kids went home with the grands leaving a GLORIOUS lazy afternoon for Jack and me.

My favorite thing today was in the service, while we were singing "Up from the grave He arose," Max's eyes got big and he said "Ooo, a rose? Like Beauty and the Beast. Except Beauty and the Beast rose is ENCHANTED!" Sweet!

Weekday fun

After school today, we had an impromptu swim (brr!) and delish taco dinner at the pool with the Griner pals. Thanks to our buds!

Self-sufficient

Apparently, my kids think they are old enough to be left home alone. This afternoon, I had planned to go on a run once Jack got home from work. I told the kids of my plans. At 5:15, Jack came in the door and they were so involved in the movie they were watching, they didn't notice his arrival. So Jack and I schemed a little. He decided he would stay (hidden) in the kitchen and see how long it would take them to notice he was home. I went into the den and told them I was going to go ahead and leave and asked them if they felt comfortable staying alone for just a few minutes until Daddy got home. They assured me they were fine. I reminded Kinsey to call Jack's cell or go next door if she needed anything and she said OK. I asked them one more time if they were OK to stay alone and they said they were! So I left! Turns out, 10 minutes into their "alone time", Max asked Kinsey when Daddy was coming home and she told him, "Not yet, he'll be home at 6:00!" Max decided he'd go check the back door and after he ran right past Jack, he turned around and saw him and they realized he'd been home all along. Good to know they THINK they're big, huh?!? ;)

Max's new "Easter Egg"

Check out Max's new look! He had a run-in with a metal monkey bar on the church playground this morning. Ouch!

Kids Say...

Being 6 and 4, there are not too many things left that the kids can't pronounce, but there are a few sweet words that I will miss as they get older.

Max:

"Breaktist" = first meal of the day
"Plugger" = anything having to do with electricity (outlets, cords, etc)
"Sammurch" = as in "I want a peanut butter and jelly sammurch for lunch, mama"
"Madrick" = Daddy pulling a coin out of my ear is "madrick"
"Nunnents" = Max's favorite food is chicken "nunnents"
"Basagna" = another favorite italian food
"Opsee" = a game where you roll 5 dice and try to get the best hand
"Commersation" = a talk between two or more people
"Musegic" = singing, playing instruments, listening to songs, etc


Kinsey:

"Lenomade" = sad that "Little Maid" is no longer in her vocabulary
"Coursely" = when something is very obvious; as in "of course"
"Ahind" = if you're not in front, your "ahind"

Grand Champion

Kinsey's third show was this weekend. After a huge rain storm Friday night, the start of the show was delayed, the ring was muddy and it was very windy. Kinsey and her buddies did a wonderful job overcoming the obstacles. She got to ride her best little pal, Haze again and this time won her division and will get a try at the next division in two weeks at her next show. What fun!

SB2011: Sullivan's Isle

We spent our last morning of spring break on Sullivan's Island. The weather was overcast and the kids fussed so much with each other we had to draw a line in the sand to separate them! But in the end, they each found their own little hole to go sit in and play and the day was ended with some splashing in the surf and an AWESOME dolphin watch! Check out this cool picture...

SB2011: Pool Fun

The pool wasn't NEAR warm enough to swim in, but that didn't stop Kinsey and Max!

SB2011: Big Fish

While Nanny and I were playing at the pool with the kids, Papadad and Jack, who came up for the weekend were busy landing this HUGE cobia above (5 ft long) and a couple of nice bonito below.




Way to go guys!

SB2011: Lured Away

One day, we took a morning cruise on Papadad's boat, Lured Away. We spent a while in the Charelston Harbor spotting dolphins, enjoying snacks, and hanging on for dear life when Captain Max was at the wheel!!!

SB2011: Cousin Fun

Our big Spring Break excursion was a night in Myrlte Beach with aunts, uncles and cousins. Although the trip was short it was definitely sweet to have some time with extended family!

SB2011: Blackbeard's Cove

One of the kids' favorite places to go when we visit Mount Pleasant is Blackbeard's Cove. We spent one of our first days here playing putt-putt, bouncing, racing go karts and playing video games. Arrrrggh!

Reserve Champion!

While I was running in Charleston, Kinsey was riding Purple Haze back home in her 2nd horse show of the season. And, WOW what a show she had! A first place, two second places and best of all, she took home Reserve Champion in her division. I am a proud mom, indeed!

Little Run Over a BIG Bridge

2nd trek over the Cooper River Bridge. This year LOVED getting to share it with