Edisto Beach Trip 2017

We left for the beach on Wednesday morning and hit the sand as soon as we arrived at Edisto!

The cousins loved playing together at the beach and of course couldn't wait to feed the turtles at the lagoon out back.  Thankfully there had only been one appearance of Big Al and that was on Monday.

Thursday we came in early from the beach and got in line early for Bingo!  Alyssa actually won this year, with the four corners method, and choose a fishing rod for Ashley.  What a great big sister!

Since we were back from Bingo in time after a quick dinner we headed down to see the sunset.  It was just beautiful!

Of course the late nights didn't keep this little guy in bed longer than normal.  He was up bright and early Friday morning.  Before I even knew it, when Dave and I got back from our run I noticed him throwing this away.  I said to Preston, "did you eat all of those?"  Savannah chimed in "I ate four."  Preston looked at me, smiled, and said "I ate A LOT."  Ugh!  Thankfully it isn't normal practice for him to polish off an entire bag of gummy worms before 9:30am.

We took some annual family pictures

 And of course the kids enjoying burying Dave and Preston in the sand.

After a long day at the beach, the littles couldn't wait to watch the debut of Descendents 2 . . so we left Dave with them and the rest of us went to enjoy some mini golf before it got too dark.

Saturday we were up bright and early just so we could be on the beach for the sunrise!  Our family agreed that this was the BEST event of the week!!  What an amazing chance to see God's beauty and enjoy it on a quiet beach.

Before we left the beach, we made sure to mark our spot for later when we came back with the tent and car load of "stuff" that accompanies 9 people at the beach. Insanely enough it was actually still there when we went back a couple of hours later, waiting for us to set up.

Now the other super memorable event was the second (our first) appearance of Big Al.  The kids were out back feeding the turtles while Aunt Susan slept, and Grammy and Papa were getting ready.  The next things Dave and I knew they came running in screaming BIG AL, BIG AL is here.  We raced out and sure enough he was there super close to the shore, just trying to figure out how to get the bread.  See when the kids saw him they took off running and forgot to bring the bag of bread with them.  oops!  Long story short, the turtles climbed ashore and drug the bag of bread into the water.  Big Al then took over and slung the bag everywhere.  That was the end of the last bag of bread. :)

We finally made it to the beach, where Preston enjoyed trying to catch fish in his new net.

And then we took a few more fun pictures.

And that was a wrap on Edisto 2017.  Another fun and adventurous vacation in the books!  A huge thank you goes out to Grammy and Papa for inviting us and making it a trip to remember.

Microsoft Camp

This week the kids have participated in a Microsoft 3D camp at Southpark Mall.  They weren't sure what to expect or if I'd be any fun at all, but they have had a blast!

It was from 10-12 Monday through Thursday and they enjoyed every minute of the time!  Today was the last day and they received their certificate and bag of goodies too.  They even had a "mini camp" for parents for a few minutes each day. Although the second day was miserably boring, I leared a lot the first day!  I had no idea Microsoft does so much trouble shooting and virus removal for FREE!  On Tuesday, I took advantage of their free services by taking our laptop in to be checked out.  Win Win for us all. :)

Celebrating our Summer Birthdays in Altahamaw

Since four of the kids had birthday in June & July, we decided to do a little family party at Great Grandma's house today.  Savannah and Preston were super excited to see their cousins . . . and of course to have cake and open presents too. :)

This kid is just too funny!

Cousin Picture

It was a super fun day spent with those that we love so much!  I'm thankful we had a chance to just relax and enjoy some laughter, good food, and quality time together.

It's Official, She's a Robinson Charger!!

After 7 long months of waiting, praying and taking some drastic action, today we officially became a part of the Jay M Robinson family!  It started with an online application in January, that was denied, and then a board hearing where I had to plea my case, but we did it!  Savannah will thankfully be attending the middle school only 2 miles from our house, much closer than the 35 minute bus ride she would have had (one way) to the other school we were zoned for.  We received the official letter from the school board on Monday and today we went to see the registrar at Robinson to get her all set for next year.  Next stop, school supplies!!!  I can't wait to see what this season of life holds for our Gracie Bell.

Fun Festivities on the Fourth

Our 4th of July started bright and early with Dave's race near uptown.  He had a 4-miler and totally rocked it!!

After the race we went home and had a quick lunch before heading to the pool!  It was pure craziness there as I think just about every Y member decided the pool was a good idea. But we braved the insanity and spent a few hours there before heading home for a yummy BBQ dinner.

We opted to go to Waxhaw for fireworks this year since they start way earlier and it's a shorter ride (and a lot less crowded too).  Savannah and Preston enjoyed their pop-its and sparklers while we waited for the show to start.

This little guy had quite an exciting day and was worn slap out.  He fell asleep almost as soon as we started driving home.  It was a super fun family day . . and we were grateful to have daddy home to spend it with us!