Tummy Time!

Tummy Time is definitely NOT one of Ella's favorite times of the day! I was able to capture a few "smiles" out of her today, so I couldn't resist posting them!

Baseball with Bobbie!

Ella's First Road Trip!

Family Time at Walterboro's Waterfall!

Aunt Donna visits on Saturday!

Carson tries to get an up-close look at the USS Yorktown!


Carson and Seth at MUSC


Ella has already gotten the "I'm INNOCENT!" look under control!



Carson and Ella had a BLAST at Bobbie's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We braved it...AND SURVIVED!!!! We had been planning our first road trip to Bobbie's house for several weeks, but NOT WITHOUT HESITATION! It has been quite awhile since we have traveled with a little one. It took a half of a day to pack everything for Ella and another half of a day to narrow down what I packed! Packing for Carson seemed like a breeze! We headed out on Friday afternoon about 3:00. By the time we made it 10 minutes down the road Ella was ready to eat and Carson had to go to the bathroom!!!!! We must have made three stops before getting out of MOORE!!!! Once we finally made it to 26, things seem to calm down. Traffic was TERRIBLE, but we had two quiet children. We convinced Car to take a nap to make time pass by more quickly. Once we passed Columbia, chaos set in... Ella was NOT a happy baby. She screamed, screamed, screamed! We pulled over at a rest area, so I could walk her and so Car could use the potty once again. While standing outside walking her around, there was a line of convicts walking in their jumpsuits to the restroom!!!! Scary moment for a paranoid MOMMY! Carson and Brian were still in the restroom the men were about to enter and there I stood with a small baby by myself outside! Anyway, things turned out just fine. We loaded back in the car and attempted to continue our drive. Things were fine for about 10 minutes! Then the screaming began again! Carson began getting very aggravated at Ella. I was getting frustrated with Carson. Brian was getting angry with me. So, we decided to pull over again- this time at a tiny gas station beside a Lion's Den (adult store!). I got Ella out of her seat again, fed her, and put her back into her seat. We were off again, and this time without any more stops! We finally made it to Bobbie's house! I told Brian very quickly that our next trip to Hilton Head in a few weeks may just be in our dreams!!!!! When we got to Bobbie's, we changed clothes and went out to eat at an Irish restaurant to celebrate our birthdays. Bobbie's birthday is one day after mine. We went back to her house and had a very LOUD evening with Ian and Carson running all over the house!

On Saturday, we traveled to Charleston to MUSC to visit Carson's friend Seth who had recently had heart surgery. We had a nice visit with him. It was a great life lesson for Carson. We tried to spend the day in Charleston with Carson since we haven't had a lot of time with just him lately. The weather was too hot, and our child was too cranky!!!!! We headed back to Bobbie's house and had pizza in the air conditioned house!

It was time for us to leave on Sunday. Carson was so sad. We hadn't even made it out of Bobbie's neighborhood when he said, "Mommy I miss Bobbie!" He is too cute!

I am glad to report that our ride home was TERRIFIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ella and Carson slept just about the entire journey!

Maybe a trip to Hilton Head IS in our future...

Grammy Time!

We do not have many pics of Grammy and Ella because Grammy is always entertaining Carson with a game of baseball. On Sunday, I decided to make sure that I had my camera to snap a few pictures before the baseball game started!

My Heart!

For some strange reason Carson thinks Ella enjoys wearing hats as much as he does! She will be playing baseball with him before we know it!

An AMAZING Surprise!!!!

Wow! Words cannot express how blown away I was with my Surprise 30th Birthday Party!! I have never had a surprise party in my life, so this was the BEST! I still can't believe I didn't have a clue about it... Well, anyway, it was a pretty normal day at home with Carson and Ella. We met Brian for lunch at Fatz. After lunch we drove to Lowe's so I could get some cans of spray paint. I then tried to venture out to Target with Carson and Ella by myself because I was determined to get a new outfit to wear to what I thought was a dinner date with Brian. He had been telling me all week that we were going out for my birthday, just the two of us. Mom and Dad were going to keep the children. He convinced me that we had reservations at 7:15 at a "mystery" restaurant that he wouldn't reveal. He just asked that I not wear my "valure" outfit. I guess he doesn't realize you don't wear that type of material in the summer anyway! :) I couldn't find a thing to wear at Target, and I tried everything on that I owned in my closet. NONE, I mean NONE of old shirts fit, and if you've seen me you know why!!! I was really depressed, but there was NOTHING I could do about it. I resorted to wearing my khaki capries and a black polo shirt. (YUCK!) - - - Not what you want to wear on a date!!!! So, Brian got home from work about 5:30. I was so ready to get out of the house! He had to shower, iron his clothes, watch a little television, etc. I couldn't figure out for the life of me why in the world it was taking him SOOOOO long to get ready. I kept telling him that I was ready to get out of the house, and that I was not just dropping the children off and leaving. He kept saying if we left by 6:30, we would have plenty of time to get to the restaurant on time. I was convinced by that point it was El Mexicano!!!! Finally, it was 6:30 and we could leave! He conveniently forgot something in the house, so he had to go back inside- - - stalling some more! Then, he drove 10 mph all the way to Grammy and Papa's house! When we finally made it to their street I was SHOCKED to see all these cars around Lizzie's house!!!!! There was Charlene's van, Poppy's car, Kristy's car, and Carolyn's van just to name a few! When I opened it door I was so surprised to see most of my closest friends and family members sitting in Liz's house! :) (Freddy, Sabrina, Tripp, Kelli, Josh, Savannah, Kristy, Poppy, G.G., Sarita, Carolyn, Sara, Charlene, Mom, Dad, Liz, Teri, Carson, Brian, Ella, Karen) Liz began the party by showing a slideshow of "my life" until 30! She backed the pics with music from Lisa Lisa and the Cult Jam, Bon Jovi, New Kids on the Block, Poison, and Pat Benatar (sp). It was so good to cry and laugh all at the same time! After the show, we enjoyed a terrific meal including hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, chips, etc. Just what I didn't NEED, but it WAS my birthday. (I have to justify it some way!) The cake and ice cream were pretty amazing! My cake had a picture of me on my very first birthday! I was very blessed with terrific gifts including a sand castle candle that had a little boy and girl on it, gift certificates (even one to a spa!), clothes, money, a summer basket full of goodies, and a bracelet. Brian, Carson, and Ella gave me a digital photo frame!!! I can't wait to set it up! Carson drew me a precious picture of our family! After presents the children played and the adults had a photo shoot! It was an AMAZING night! Thank you so much Lizzie, Mom, and Brian for pulling this one off! You're the BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Countdown to 30!

And then there were TWO...

(Deb is now at Tigerville, and Sara is moving to 3rd grade.)

The official countdown to 30 is now underway! Charlene, Sara, Carolyn, and Deb took me out to Wild Wings to celebrate my upcoming 30th birthday! We had a WONDERFUL time despite the food dilemmas! It was so great to spend time with Deb since we do not get to see her that often anymore. We miss her so much! I feel so blessed to have these FANTASTIC friends! In honor of the "crew", I am going to post my TOP THIRTY MEMORIES with them at O.P. Earle.

Thirty Memorable Moments with The "Butterfly Bunch!"

1. Running off to the bathroom with a can of Lysol.
2. Laughing at the thought of a stomach virus then all getting it!
3. Waking up to a telephone call that says, "I'm Dying!"
4. Deciding upon our butterfly ensemble.
5. Celebrating birthdays with cake.
6. Celebrating "just because" occasions with snacks!
7. Finding mold. (the answer to all questions)
8. Spray painting fairy tale decorations until 6:00 at night and inhaling all of the fumes.
9. Receiving our yearly pair of "you know whats"!
10. Receiving a SANTA suit! :)
11. Dropping a pair of "you know whats" in the classroom after I made such a BIG deal out of making sure they were put away.
12. Making our yearly all day shopping trips in the 100 degree weather.
13. Complaining of sickness. "It must be this building!"
14. Laughing together.
15. Crying together.
16. Saying, "JUST TELL ME WHAT TO DO!"
17. Planning weekly for SS at my computer.
18. Saying, "Carolyn, you don't NEED that!"
19. Saying, "NO, we cannot do another thing!"
20. Learning how to BLOG together.
21. Bouncing ideas off of each other.
22. Hugging one another.
23. Shoving our food down our throats in record time.
24. Running to the bathroom with a can of Lysol. (THIS MOMENT DESERVES TWO SPOTS!)
25. Saying, "Charlene, GET OUT OF HERE!"
26. Making our morning cell phone calls.
27. Covering for each other when we're late.
28. Praying for and with each other.
29. Trying to figure out the "inequalities" of teaching.
30. Making the BEST of every situation!!!! :)

Fun in the Sun!

Carson had a "playdate" with his friend Seth on Wednesday! They had a blast painting the sidewalk, swimming, playing with trucks, and just running around.