Summer Alphabet Adventures: E

E is for...East!! So maybe this is as far as we got over the summer, mostly because of my morning sickness making it nearly impossible to get out in the heat, but I think the boys had fun with it anyway. Maybe I can continue it into the fall, you know, when my energy comes back and it's not so hot outside! But back to this post...East. Yup, we headed East for the day to Wrightsville Beach with the four of us and my nephew Tim.

Here's Tim helping the boys make itty-bitty sand castles. The kind that were made from one bucket of sand. The kind that were perfect for building and quickly stomping on.
Zack's picking up seashells to decorate the mini-castles.

Daddy hanging out in the surf with Xander--it was just too cute!!

Zack's apparent new hobby is boogie boarding. He had a great time and loved that Tim was helping him out!

We parked our stuff right in front of this huge hole. It was deep enough that it was almost above Xander's head when he got in.

So at lunchtime, we headed up to the pier, within sight of our umbrella. But of course they didn't take credit cards and the chicken strips with a drink were $8!! Now, we had noticed the storm clouds rolling in just south of us, but we figured we would be right back. So everything was left there on the beach: towels, snacks, chair, umbrella, my camera. We tried to find another place to eat on the island, but they apparently don't like tourists much, because they didn't take credit cards either. We ended up going all the way to Landfall to Wendy's. All this time of course, it was starting to rain and it was getting darker. I didn't really want to admit to Mark that I left the camera on the beach, though.

While we were at Wendy's, the bottom dropped! It poured and poured and poured and poured!! Thunder and lightning, too, and lots of it! The storm decided to stall over the Wilmington area, of course. By the time we got back to the beach, Mark and Tim sprinted out on the beach (while there was still lightning) to get all of our stuff. (Time quickly brought the towel bag to me in the car so I could check on my camera--it was okay, thankfully!) We hung out under the gazebo for a while because the rain was getting lighter and the sky brighter. We saw several bolts of lightning over the ocean and counted to see how far away they were.

Anyway, we drove four hours round trip to spend about two to two and a half hours on the beach. We weren't sure if it was worth it, but just look at the faces on those boys (and I didn't even get to capture Xander's best face).

Summer Alphabet Adventures: D

D is for...decorating!! We had TONS of icing left over from Xander's birthday cake, so I recently made cupcakes and let the boys (and the big kids, Jenn and Tim) decorate them. We put the colored icing in ziplock bags, with the corners reinforced with packing tape. We got out all kind of sprinkles, and let the boys go to work!!

Here's the beginning of the mess on the counter. Thank goodness Aunt Mo was here to help out!

Swirling with a toothpick, which, of course, he promptly popped into his mouth!

More swirling (or is it twirling?)

Our snack afterwards was putting icing on graham crackers. We waited to have cupcakes until after dinner (well, the boys did anyway).

The finished products!! One or two made by me, one made by Aunt Mo and Jenn each, and Tim made five or six, including the duck and the rose. We brought five of them to our new neighbors.

All the kids..Zack, Jenn, Tim and Xander

The aftermath...

3

On July 6th

Mark came home
and looked at these pictures.

About halfway through,

He said, "Ohh!"

Little did he know

that the pictures

were not telling him

what he thought they were.

Instead,

they told him

this.

And here's what the little gummy bear looks like at 10 weeks and 3 days,

due to make his or her appearance at the beginning of March.

A Letter to Me

I'm sure you all have heard the Brad Paisley song by the same name. Since the first time I heard it, I've thought multiple times about what I would say to my seventeen-year-old self. So much has changed in my life since then, changes that I never thought could happen to me. I always wanted to be married, to teach, to have children, to own a home, and, well, aside from teaching nowadays, I have all that. I guess the road to where I am is what amazes me more, the things have happened along the way to make me the person I am today.

Dear Seventeen-year-old Christine,
I'm writing to you from 14 years in the future. I hope you can just trust that it's me, but I can tell you that the turning point in your life at that point was in the cave in Alabama with the youth group. It really put things in perspective and has stayed with you since. There's some things that I know you worry about, but I want to let you know that your life really does turn out okay, though no necessarily in the way you would expect. So here's some bits of advice from the grown-up version of you:
1. Cherish every moment you have with Mom. Do not take her for granted...ever. Be sure you visit with her and spend time with her after you leave for college. There will come a day when she's not around, so don't forget to hug her when you say good-bye everytime.
2. You will find love, but you won't end up with the person you think you will. I'll tell you that he will amaze you, and he will be your hero in many ways.
3. Make sure you drive carefully in the Fiero, and don't use cruise control in the rain.
4. I know right now you sometimes feel alone and left out. I won't lie to you: that will keep happening, but you will also keep some of your friends now for a lifetime. Try to stay in touch with people as much as you can. That will probably help. But one day, you'll have Facebook, which helps even more!
5. Enjoy your summer at the beach! You'll make memories and have feelings, but you'll also have a lifelong friend when it's over.
6. Be patient.
7. When you go to California this summer, be careful about how you set your watch on the way back. You won't miss your flight.
8. Even though you're the baby of the family, you will be grown-up, and equal with your brothers and sisters someday. You'll learn to let things go and understand how others are feeling.
9. Exercise.
10. Live life to the fullest, don't let things bother you, take time to enjoy the blessings that surround you, and (well, to quote a song from today) love like crazy!

Summer Alphabet Adventures: C

C is for cookies with Gramma.

She even got the boys these cute little aprons!
I couldn't believe I got both of them to look at the camera and give such cute and handsome smiles...at the same time!!!

They made Granny cookies aka tea cakes with Gramma (while Mommy visited Daddy for lunch and then folded laundry while relaxing and watching tv).

Having fun?

Pizza Ring and Family Fun Night

Mark made this all by himself, and he was so proud that he took a picture.
Our Family Fun Night...We had dinner at Andy's, with our favorite waitress, who split a milkshake between Zack and me.

Xander likes the custard, but when he got an especially big bite, it was too cold for him. He was quite in pain! (Oh, and no, he's not picking his nose, this was the better pic because he was looking at me)

Next it was on to the Skate Ranch! Mark practically lived here when he was a teenager, but it was quite different from what either of us remember. It's the first time that either of the boys have really been skating. Xander lasted for a little while on the skates but wasn't too interested.

Lots of kids try to pick up their feet when they first get skates on (I know, because I'm pretty sure I was one of them), but Zack figured out the scooching, cross-country type movement pretty easily.

Mark tried to teach him how to glide on one foot, but he'll need more practice. Even though he fell down lots of times and only went on the skating floor a few times, he said he had lots of fun and that he wanted to do this everyday!

I wish I could have gotten a picture of Xander skating with Daddy. It was just so funny! So even though the boys kind of struggled, we all had lots of fun and we'll probably go back sometime!

Why we don't make our bed...