Garrett's 5th Birthday

We celebrated Garrett's very important 5th Birthday on February 25, 2011. It is very exciting because next fall he will start his Kindergarten year and he gets to go to school with his big brother. He had to get all of his Kindergarten shots on his birthday and that wasn't fun but he was very brave. The theme for Garrett's birthday was monkeys. I saw a Monkey head cake and designed the theme around that.



The guests for the party included a couple of Garrett's friends Nathan and Vicki plus the usual Bonnie, Memaw and Pop.

Keira's Second Birthday

Keira's second birthday was on January 21, 2011. We celebrated with a snowflake themed party which was only appropriate since we have received so much snow lately. The guests included Memaw, Pop, and Bonnie. Some of the gifts she received were a little kitchen, a bath toy, a little mailbox and a little purse full of accessories.

Vacation in St. Maarten

Mike and I just got back from our early Anniversary trip to St. Maarten. It was a wonderful time of relaxation and time to regroup and get to spend time together. It was also the first time that I had been on a plane or to a foreign country (except Canada and Mexico).

Here is a picture of my second plane (we had a connecting flight).





We checked into the hotel/resort and had a nice dinner that first day. We had been up since 4:00am to catch our 7 something flight so we didn't stay up late. We were a little disappointed that we could not watch netflix on our laptop over there because netflix will not stream out of the US. Bummer! We were looking forward to watching some more "Lost".




On Sunday we rented a car for the week and drove around the island to explore. There were many, many beautiful beaches to choose from. We choose to see Le Galion beach and Mullet Bay. We spent most of this day on the beaches and in the ocean. As you might have guessed, I am not one to lay out in the sun with my fair skin.










On Monday, we took the "Man of the island" tour which was a tour of the island in a van given by our guide Curtis. We made a stop to go shopping in Margot, the capitol of the french side of the island. There were little vendors in the street where we bought some souvenirs for the kids and us.





On Tuesday we took the Rhino Safari ride out to a little rock where we went snorkeling. I found out that I like snorkeling. Mike wasn't so fond of it. He did like driving the boat out in the ocean though. I was mostly hanging on for dear life. I definitely got points for being his recreational companion right then. Here is a picture that I took of some other people on the trip. It's the little yellow boats not the big boat.








That was all the excitement for the week. The rest of the time we just went to the beach, ate one main meal a day at the local restaurants and hung out reading by the pool or beach. We also walked on the boardwalk in Philipsburg, the capitol of the Dutch side. We could always tell when a cruise ship was in port because the town got really bustling at that time. Otherwise, it was pretty dead. Lots of little shops to see but most of them jewelry which Mike and I weren't interested in although through our resort we did win a sapphire pendant which is pretty cool because that is my birthstone and our anniversary month.




On one of the days we went to Fort Louis. I can't remember which day because they all ran together. It is a very small island so there is not a whole lot to do that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Our last fun thing we were going to do was a Sunset cruise on a small yacht but that was canceled due to engine problems. It's a good thing because it rained all Friday anyway.



Saturday it was time to come back home. We were both ready to come home to our kids and get back in the United States. Unfortunately, our flight was delayed and we had missed our connecting flight back home. It ended up being a special blessing in disguise though because we were able to spend the night in Charlotte, NC in the Renaissance hotel courtesy of the airline with a dinner and breakfast to boot. That was the cherry on top of the trip. It was most certainly much nicer than the hotel we stayed at on the island and we couldn't have ever stayed there on our own due to the fact that it cost $350.00 a night for one person. On Sunday morning we finally made it home and saw our beautiful, wonderful, children. Thanks Memaw and Pop for watching them all week!!!!

Happy 6th Birthday Cameron!!!

On Mother's Day, May 9th, Cameron turned 6 years old. His actual birthday was on Mother's day so it is a very special day for me. We started out the day by going to church to worship Our Lord and then we came home to Cameron's big present. Memaw and Pop bought Cameron a trampoline. Cameron, Garrett and Daddy spent about an hour and a half on it while I was making the birthday cakes, one for us and one for him to take to school the next day. When Memaw and Pop arrived Cameron was able to open his other presents that the rest of us gave to him. He received a game of Connect 4 and a video game G-Force from us. Grandma and Grandpa gave him a Monster's vs. Aliens puzzle to put together, and Memaw and Pop gave him a human body model in addition to the trampoline. After presents Mike grilled up some steaks and we had that and corn on the cob and other yummy food. It was a wonderful day! Oh, Mike (the kids) gave me a tomatoe plant full of tomatoes and a TomTom for Mother's day.

P.S. The cake may not look that fancy compared to the others that I have made but it was super yummy. It is a white chocolate fudge cake. Delicious!

Pictures From Our Good Friday Trip

On Good Friday Mike took off so that we could take the family on a day trip for family time. I actually had an Etsy order to deliver in Arnold so we thought we would check out some sights in that area. The first stop after dropping off the order was at Mastadon State Park. That is where the above picture was taken. There was a nice little museum there with some walking trails. There were no digs going on at this time. But the weather was beautiful and we were outside.



The next stop on our journey was Kimmswick and lunch at the famous "Blue Owl Restaurant". Lunch was delicious. Afterward we were so full that we took a walk around town to walk it off. It is just a sleepy little burg with plenty of old time charm. I went in several shops but didn't end up purchasing anything. Then we went down to the river where the boys and Daddy walked around a little. Keira was so worn out that she finally fell asleep.

It's Official

It's official! Keira is a full fledged walker. She has been practicing walking everywhere for a full week. It is so exciting!

Cameron goes tomorrow to have another x-ray to check on his ankle but we think that everything will come back fine because he has been running and playing on it for a week now. He still has his air cast on but it is not stopping him.

Garrett is my little helper. He loves to sit on my lap while I am sewing and he also helped me vacuum today. We are looking forward to spring and planting some flowers. They are already shipping them. Aghh!

I have been busy with Disney outfits for someone from church. She and her family are leaving this week so I spent all week last week with my embroidery machine. This week I have a shower curtain and diaper bag to work on for some etsy clients.

Mike has been gone a lot with all kinds of different meetings and such. Tomorrow he has his writer's meeting. He has also been helping out with the upcoming auction for Cameron's school. On the weekends he has been fixing the upstairs toilets which decided to go out at the same time.

Update On Cameron

For those who do not know, last Saturday night Cameron went out the back door and fell down one step and twisted his ankle. We told him to rest and put some ice on it so the swelling would go down. By Sunday his ankle was not any better so we were advised by Memaw to take him to the Urgent Care Center to have it x-rayed. They took a look at it and did the x-rays and told us it was a small fracture. He was sent home in a 3 sided hard splint and we were told he would get a cast when he went to the doctor. He was looking at 6-8 weeks in a cast.

Monday and Tuesday he went to school with his crutches, which he loved. He also loved all of the attention that he was getting. Mrs. Foreman found a wheelchair and Cameron used that for when they left the classroom. All of his classmates wanted their turn at pushing Cameron around in the wheelchair.

Tuesday after school was Cameron's Doctor appt. with the orthopedic specialist. Cameron was all excited about his new cast and he already decided that he wanted red and all his friends were going to sign it and everything. Well, it turns out that the Doctor didn't think his ankle needed all that so he gave Cameron a plastic air cast that he has to wear for two weeks and then we go back for another x-ray to see if he is all healed. What a blessing that he only has to wear a cast for two weeks. It's getting so nice outside that he was just starting to get outside to play.

I'll let you know the outcome in a couple of weeks.