Saturday at the Pond

Saturday Drew had the great idea of packing a picnic dinner and going up to a park and do a little fishing with the Dustin Petrey's. We went up to one of the local parks in Ashe County and had a wonderful evening!

An arrival shot. They're excited!!!
Evie said I couldn't be left out

After a delicious meal we got ready to head down to the pond when a group of ducks came a waddlin' up to see if we had any scraps for them. Daphne obliged and the kids had a great time seeing them eat!

Shank of the eveningHow could we not have a good time with this kind of scenery?

Wouldn't you know that Mary Fran was the first to get a bite?!? She helped reel him in, well, sort of.

MF wasn't too keen on standing next to the fish at this point so Daddy got his picture with him.

Ruthie was sure proud of hers (her Daddy was, too!).

Wardy got the next nibble and was holdin' her steady while Daddy got the line untangled from some brush.

He was fascinated...and proud.

I think LeeAnne jumped in and caught this one with her teeth. If you know LeeAnne, you know this could have been a possibility. :)

Evie had gotten a tug on her line earlier but that one got away while she was reeling it in. This one didn't!

I think this was one of Ruthie's. I'm not sure because Ward, Cade, and I had gone to the car before this shot. Ward's lungs had decided to start closing up again, so I took him to the car to get PJ's on and rest while they finished up. Bless his heart, the last couple of times he's had a flare up he hasn't shown cold signs until AFTER he starts with the tight cough. Before, we could see his nose running and try to get on top of it. He's doing much better now, praise the Lord. Plan of action now: beef up his immune system to try to keep colds at bay. Anywho...

You know we can't go without the "Evie Self Portrait," now can we?

I have to say that I LOVE the lazy summer evenings!

Chilly Willy!

Last week we had a couple of chilly mornings (started out in the upper 40's). The kids wanted to play on the playground and so I told them to put on a jacket. This was Ward's idea of how to keep warm. Classic

We Have a Crawler!

I took this a week ago today but haven't gotten around to posting until now. I call him "Bright Eyes." Appropriate, don't you think?

Blessings Abound!

Last summer, my father-in-law told us that a couple in their church asked them if either of their children would like a playset. Since Dustin and Daphne had one, he said he'd ask us. We, of course, said yes but it was right around the time Cade was due so we didn't get it then. As Spring came around up here, we inquired whether or not the offer was still open and were informed it was. Naturally, we were very excited and grateful and while we were at the beach, Drew picked up all the pieces and put it together.

Now, let me just say that the Starkey's, the generous couple who gave us the playset, had several pictures of the set assembled but did not have the instructions to assemble it. The pieces are all numbered but my husband put it together like an expert. He had some help from his dad, brother, and sister when more than one person was needed but otherwise, assembled it by himself. Yes, I'm bragging. Wouldn't you be?!?

The kids are proud, too. :)

Here they are having a great time. This was taken a couple days after we arrived home from the beach and the night before it had become too dark for Drew to put the slide up so we waited until Drew got home the night this was taken. We also need to get a covering to go over the top as this was absent when the Starkey's received it from their neighbors but that's no big deal.

I told Drew that I had "half prayed" for this playset and look what He blessed us with! This small action has encouraged our children in their prayer life as well as myself. We are so grateful to the Starkey's for being the conduit for blessing us. Thank you, Starkey's, once again!

Exploring Edisto

Monday morning we headed back out onto the beach for some more sun. Well, I have to be honest and say we really got a lot of sun on Sunday. I kept the kids good and "sunscreened" but forgot that I don't get a good base tan while running anymore and only put sunscreen on my face. Yep, that's right, my shoulders got fried. When will I learn? The girls also got a little more sun on their shoulders than one would like as the three of us went back on the beach Sunday during naptime for the boys and I didn't reapply very well on them. Aloe Vera seemed to do the trick and we all got protected again on Monday.

As you can see below, Mary Fran had a major breakthrough and waded into the receding tide holding tightly to Pa Pa's hand. She was so excited and really learned to like it. Ward ventured into the water as well, holding my hand, and was stomping on the waves in no time. Didn't get any pictures of that for obvious reasons. Evie is thumb wrestling with Uncle Grayson on the side. She won the series.

Up on the porch Mary Fran found a new trick. She's pretty inventive!
Tuesday we decided to give our skin a break from the sun and go to Botany Bay Plantation and ride through. Well, we get there and find out it is closed on Tuesdays. I'll remember that next time. We were on our way to a "museum" down there when we came past the Edisto Island Serpentarium. Yes, it's what you think. They built it about 10 years ago and I remember thinking, "That'll never last." Shows you what I know!

We decided to give the Serpentarium a try and are glad we did. It's a little pricey but after going through it all, I'd say it's worth it. We arrived at just the right time to look through the snakes indoors before the "Snake Class" at 11.

We also got to look at the turtles and tortoises as well as 2 of the 3 areas where the alligators are housed (all of this is outside, of course). There are probably a total of 25-30 alligators there. Yes, there big as you can see.

Glad for the fence, I must say.

It was then time for the Snake Class and we settled down into the little "auditorium" if you will. Our instructor showed us the non-venomous snakes first. It was really neat and she had some great facts for us to learn. I'm trying to remember all the different snakes we were shown, so if I mess up naming some, please forgive me. I think the one above is a garter snake because I remember being quite surprised it was so big!

Here we have a king snake. Remember, "Red touches black, friend of Jack. Red touches yellow, not a nice fellow." Found out this guy gets his name because he can eat things that are 2-3 times his size!

These would be two different rat snakes. Great to have around barns.

And now onto the guys you don't want to meet in a dark alley. The first venomous snake we were introduced to was a water moccasin. Yep, goose bumps for me.

Next guy was a diamond back rattler. Yep, he rattled.

She got us all pretty good when she put her stick up and pretended to handle this one with her bare hands. That's right, he's plastic. See the red touching yellow? That would be a coral snake. Definitely don't want to meet one of those without several inches of plexi glass separating us.

Yes, Evie is holding a snake. She's the only one of our brood wanting to do that on Tuesday. This would be "Wilson," the Burmese python. Say hello...

After the show was over, we looked at the other outdoor areas we had missed and then went to the alligator feeding. Chicken was on the menu. They were huge and sinister. Again, thankful for the fence.

We had a great time at the Serpentarium and spent the rest of the day resting and hanging out at the house. Wednesday we played on the beach again and Mary Fran and Ward enjoyed the water. Mary Fran even got to the point that she would stand and play in it without holding anyone's hand! She also had a first in that she found a shark's tooth all by herself! Woohoo!! She, Evie, and myself made a beautiful drip castle while the boys slept and then we cleaned up and waited for my good friend, Lauren, to arrive. She was my maid of honor and I hate to say the last time we saw each other Evie was 2 months old. We had a great visit and you can always tell your good friends because after a long absence you just pick right up where you left off.

We did have some drama when Ward's nose started running that afternoon (signaling a cold coming on) and he began with a tight cough. I had brought all his inhalers down and we upped some doses but by 11 pm he was running a 101 temp and at one point coughed so much he gagged and threw up. He made it through the night OK but our plan of spending the night in Columbia on Thursday night to break up the trip was nixed. Thankfully, I had done a rotation with a PA in Hollywood (30 minutes away and on our way home) who met me at her office Thursday morning to check out our boy. His lungs sounded awful but a little Albuterol in the nebulizer opened him up a good bit. After that, we hit the road and made the straight 6+ hour trip home stopping once for lunch. Did I say my children are troopers? Ward was doing much better by then and I talked with our pediatrician to set up a game plan. He was up a couple of times Thursday night but by early Friday morning was sounding almost normal. Praise the Lord!!! I didn't even have to start him on the oral steroids and that is more of a blessing than I can write here. To say we were exhausted would be an understatement but much rest has revitalized us and it's been soooo good to be with Drew again.

With all that said, we did have a wonderful time at Edisto and are so appreciative of Dad and Brenda inviting us down. Now, if we can just get Mary Fran to hold the snake next time...

Edisto On My Mind

That's right, Edisto's been on my mind since we left in December. Thanks to Dad and Brenda, we had a chance to go back and visit when it was a little warmer. We left last Friday for Columbia, spent the night, and headed to the beach Saturday midday. To say we've been anticipating this would be an understatement. Drew thought he'd be able to go but, alas, work picked up (good news) and he couldn't get away (bad news). So, the kids and I went on down to the beautiful Lowcountry of South Carolina to the one place that never really seems to change.

We arrived on Saturday afternoon to a full high tide. That kind of scared Ward and Mary Fran a little bit and we'll get to the effects of that later, ahem. Having said that, the tides were wonderful for us with high tide being around 6 or 7 in the morning so it was going out when we were on the beach in the mid-morning.

Here are all the young 'uns getting ready to hit the beach for the first time Sunday morning. They were all excited...except Cade...as you can see. He just wanted to be held by momma. :)

As you can see, Cade warmed up to it all.
Ward and Mary Fran were content to stay up on the "dry sand" and play while...

...Evie wanted to sit in the water and solve the world's problems with Uncle Grayson.


The house where we stayed was on the "front beach" and we could probably have thrown a fishing line out at high tide from the deck. The big dune you see is what we went down to get to the beach. This provided ample entertainment for Ward, as you can see, as well as a "safe haven" for he and MF. Yes, the mote was filled with "shark's teeth and alligators" as Mary Fran says.

Mary Fran decided she needed a break from the building so she and Pa Pa walked down to the jetty.

Evie frolicked in the ocean with Uncle Grayson and Aunt Jessica and...

...Knight Ward guarded their second castle.

Sittin' pretty

Cade was having fun but it was naptime, you know.

On a side note, one of the ladies at our church let me borrow this water sling and it was WONDERFUL!!! If you have a little one that isn't walking yet and you're going to the beach, this is a must have. The Cadester and I both thoroughly enjoyed it.

This was the scene after lunch at around 12:15. He goes down for a nap at 1. He didn't budge when I picked him up. Sweet times...

Back in the Saddle Again

Two Thursdays ago was Evie's last riding lesson from Pa Pa. It has taken me a week to get it up here because the day after her lesson we left for almost a week at Edisto Beach with Pa Pa and B. More on that later...

Mary Fran and Serenity got on well again.

The big news this time was not only did Evie get to trot but she got to trot all by herself! To say she was excited and proud would be an understatement. Doesn't she look great?!?

Mary Fran got in on the action again...

...as did Ward. Aunt Molly would be very proud of his posing. :)

Here they all are with Lauren and Romeo and... ...Evie with her favorite riding instructor, Lauren.

She has done so well and we are so proud. Evie wants to go and work there so when the law says she can at 16 we think that will be a good idea. Until then, Lauren said she was welcome to come and help her groom the animals for a half or full day anytime. Drew and I think that will be great as we want her to know that while horses are great, they do take a lot of work and responsibility and you need to take the fun with the not so fun. We'll keep you posted.

Tune in again for pictures and stories from the beach!