Right where they left off . . .

We have been anticipating this day for months . . . a year even . . . as we waited for our friends the Marions to return to the US for a visit.  I love the fact that as soon as the front door opened, these four kiddos picked right up where they left off!

They played dress up, enjoyed several games together, made jewelry and raced cars, rode scooters outside, played in the rain, had lunch, ate an entire bag of nutter butters (okay, so the mamas helped them a bit), decorated the workout room with stickers, had Papa Johns for dinner, and then played some more.  It was such a fun day!!

The Bestest of friends!

We were so sad to say goodbye to them, but are thankful that this year they're coming back for Christmas!!  In the meantime I'll keep praying that their move back to Charlotte is sooner rather than later.

Meeting our New Jersey Family

I have known Dave for almost 12 years and never once have I met his cousins from New Jersey.  But, this weekend in the mountains of Virginia, that all changed.  We had the pleasure of going to Massanutten for a long weekend with Dave's family . . .  all 30 of us met in Virginia and I have to say that it was a complete blast!

We made it to the Virginia welcome center!

We were the first to arrive on Friday and the first to leave on Monday, but in between the families slowly arrived.  In the meantime these two quickly started enjoying some screen time! ;)

On Friday we enjoyed a nice play in the pool closest to our condo.  After hours in the car, it was certainly nice to get out and let the kids play!  We woke up on Saturday and decided to burn off some energy (and calories) by going for a hike while we waited for the first group from NJ to arrive.

Taking a rest from the rocky hike

After hiking we had a picnic lunch and let the kids play on the playground.  We then went back to the condo and waited for the first group from NJ to arrive.  We met a few cousins and then all hit the resort pool while we waited for others to arrive.  I have to say that I wasn't the one that planned on meeting family for the first time in my swimsuit, but it all worked out. :)  After some pool time we all showered and everyone came to our condo to grill out hamburgers and hotdogs.  What a spread of food we had!  Whew!

Playing a game after dinner

Sunday we all hit the indoor/outdoor water park.  It was amazing and every single person had a blast riding the slides, playing in the wave pool, and of course going in the hot tub!  We stayed for over 6 hours before a storm came that actually knocked the power out in the entire place.  At that point we figured we had been there long enough and packed it up to go back for dinner.

Preston was scared of the slides at first, but after a little bit he was going up and down constantly.  

This picture just makes me laugh!  They only enjoyed the baby pool for about 3 minutes. :)

We had dinner at the Sweeney condo Sunday night and enjoyed the famous Bachmann homemade macaroni.  WOW, it was amazing!

This is how I found Preston at 7:45 Monday morning . . half on the bed . . . so worn out!

The last part of the family arrived late Sunday so we met them Monday morning when we all ventured to the chair lift up the mountain.  Everyone loved the ride, even Grammy, who is super afraid of heights.

Papa & Grammy with Aunt Dee . . and all of their children, making them first cousins

And then the cousins' children . . making all of these kiddos second cousins

Thanks Jimmy for help figuring all of this out . . . it was sort of the joke of the weekend trying to decide who were first cousins, second cousins, or that crazy once removed thing. :)

Preston with his buddy Riley (they were inseparable) and Aunt Dee

 It was sad to have to leave so soon . . and Preston sobbed when he had to say goodbye to Riley, but hopefully we'll see everyone again before another 12 years pass!  We surely enjoyed our time in "Not for Nuttin!"

2 Healthy Children!

Today I ventured to the pediatrician with both of my kiddos for their well visits.  I had forgotten what a chore well visits are with the mounds of paperwork you get to fill out . . .  and then to have to deal with shots too.  No fun!  But, after a very long chat with our amazing doctor about various concerns for each of them, we left with two clean bills of health.  I realized tonight just what an amazing blessing that having 2 healthy children is . . . so many families are faced with so much more than eczema and blackheads in the ears.  So tonight I'm beyond thankful for healthy babies! 

They each grew about 2 inches this past year!  Savannah is now at 51.5 inches tall (which I think might be a bit inflated, but is pretty close) and Preston is 40.5 inches tall.  They are both holding steady with their BMI and are good on their growth curves.  Here's to another year of NO sick visits for Savannah and we'll shoot for that with Preston too! :)

Faith, Family, and Freedom Concert

On Saturday we all went to the Faith, Family and Freedom concert at the zMax dragway in Concord.  Preston had been talking for weeks about seeing Mandisa sing the Good Morning song and both kids were super excited about seeing some fireworks!  The line up was incredible including Plumb, For King and Country, Mandisa, Sanctus Real, and Building 429!  Of course we bought the cheap $5 tickets, but as we were going in a youth pastor offered us free grand stand tickets and we gladly took them off his hands. :)  Because the youth that were supposed to be around us ALL were in the big mosh pit in front of the stage, we had several rows of empty seats all to ourselves and an incredible view!  We were in the shade, there was a nice breeze blowing, and the kids loved the show.  It was one of the best, most relaxing concerts I've ever been to. 

 

Unfortunately, the bands played super long sets and we decided, at 10:30pm, that we needed to leave before Building 429 started . . . and of course that meat we missed the fireworks too.  But our kids were so exhausted after a morning photo shoot and an afternoon outside that they were actually ready to go!  We promised they could use the 3D glasses when we go to see fireworks on 4th of July.   

Camp Invention

One of Savannah's many creations

This week Savannah participated in her first week long camp.  Earlier this year when she started saying she wanted a scientist birthday party, this was our compromise with a week long camp where she could do all kinds of experiments.  Camp Invention is a national program that uses local schools for a week long exploration of a predetermined topic.  I have to say I didn't know what to expect with her being at school all day (8:30 - 4:30), but she LOVED every second of it.  I was quite impressed with their focus on world problems and solutions too.  They did lots of team work activities, learned many interesting facts about geography, dug for fossils (Savannah found a sharks tooth), and spent countless hours making creations out of recycled items that everyone brought in.  They also were able to take in an old electronic item and literally destroy it to make something new.  Savannah had a blast taking apart an old VCR. 

Waiting for her swim lesson and still using Camp Invention materials to look for fossils in "rocks" they sent home with the kids

On a funny note, when Dave unhooked the VCR Sunday night to get ready for Monday morning camp, he forgot to reconnect the cable to the TV.  So on Monday night when the kids were winding down Preston tried to turn on the TV and it was all fuzzy.  He called for Dave and said that it was broken.  Dave was in the middle of drying Savannah's hair and was trying to explain it was because he took out the VCR.  Preston says to put it back and Savannah yells "we can't because I DESTROYED that at school today"!  Preston thought that meant they couldnt' watch the TV anymore so he started screaming and crying!  HA! 

Happy 4th Birthday Preston!!

 

It's hard to believe that 4 years have already passed since we welcomed this spunky, paci sucking, b carrying little boy into our lives!  He continues to bring laughter into our home, along with lots of curiosity and adventure.  If I had to make a list of Preston's favorite things right now, his sister would be at the very top, far above every other thing.  Preston has to be right where she is at all times, even sometimes sharing a chair together! He truly loves her and cherishes any time she will devote to playing with him.  They play restaurant, dress up, rocket ship, husband and wife (and also include the stuffed animals as their kids), do crafts together, and if he's really lucky she'll read him a story! 

 

Although he has given up the paci long ago, he still carries his blue b everywhere in the house.  Thankfully it doesn't leave the house so we don't risk losing it (lesson learned from child #1) but we often arrive at bedtime and are searching for "bluebee".  Preston has made HUGE progress with speech therapy, although he still struggles with blends.  We were at Chuck E Cheese's for his actual birthday and he was trying the tell the guy he wanted some smarties for his tickets . . . so we're standing there and he is literally screaming "I want some farties" to these 2 teenage boys. :) 

 

This is becoming a tradition to go to Chuck E Cheese on his actual birthday while daddy is working

 

Preston continues to be very curious and asks questions non-stop.  Literally. Non. Stop.  At least 4 times a day he asks specifically about tornados too.  He often asks about Heaven and wants to know when we're going there and is also very curious about how things work in general.  His laughter is contagious and we love seeing his little mind at work, even though it is exhausting to keep answering the questions. Preston, we pray the year ahead is filled with more fun and laughter as we continue to watch you grow and become all that God has planned for you.

 

I have no doubt Savannah is saying, "Now listen buddy . . . "

Celebrating Dave

I'm convinced that there is no way to know if someone will be a good mother or father until you actually have kids and are thrown into the fire of parenting.  So, when Dave and I said "I Do" 9 years ago this week, I hoped and prayed that he would be a good daddy (and that we'd be a good parenting team together).  Everything I knew about him indicated that he would be an awesome dad, but it wasn't until we actually starting having children that I realized what an incredible father (and husband) he is! 

To say that he is patient is an understatement, to say that he provides for our family would also greatly under represent his contribution to our family, and to say that our kids love their daddy would not even come close to explaining the admiration they have for the man they call dad. 

Dave, there are no words to thank you for the way you love each of us.  For putting in super longs days at work and then coming home to take over with the kids I am forever grateful.  Even with the kids demanding requests to play dress up and to help with riding their scooters, and my requests to mow the yard, clean the shower, and to be home "just a bit early", you always have a smile and gentle hand to guide the way.  You are such an gift to us and we love you to the moon and back!

Happy Father's Day and Happy Anniversary to the Love of My Life!!! 

Here's to many more years together!