Impromptu Hilton Head Vacay

This scrapbooking design created with Smilebox

While Ted had to work and monitor the big NASCAR race here in Charlotte, Katy and I took an impromptu road trip to Hilton Head Island over Memorial Day weekend. Last week, my friend, Stephanie emailed me to say that her sister wasn't able to join them, as originally planned- would Katy and I like to join her and her two children, Jackson (almost 3) and Macy (18 months), on part of their vacation? Why yes, yes we would!

So, I quickly packed our bags, did some grocery shopping and away we went! It took five hours to get there and all of the kids did GREAT! Only toward the last ten minutes did the kids start to get fussy.

Since we got there in the evening, we hit the beach first thing the next morning, Sunday. The kids had a blast digging around in the sand, writing their letters and numbers in the sand and dipping their toes in the water. We lasted about an hour before the windy conditions, compliments of Sub-tropical Storm Beryl got to the kids (winds were close to 25 mph and kept blowing sand all over).

We moved the party to the pool where the kids swam around in the pool. Katy was a little daredevil jumping into the big pool with her "poolies" (as she kept calling them) on her arms. She swam and swam until she was blue in the lips- she did NOT want to get out of the pool!

Rain put a damper on our beach adventure Monday morning. So, we took the kids to a nearby museum called, The Sandbox. While the place looked small from the outside, it had plenty to keep the kids occupied all morning. There were various play areas where the kids could create art, play in the kitchen, with sand, build, "drive" a plane, make music, etc. The place was PACKED as pretty much every parent with young children decided to also visit The Sandbox.

Monday night, Katy and I met up with Uncle Paul and the gang for dinner. The weather cleared up and we enjoyed a nice relaxing dinner al fresco. We listened to music, ate our dinner and Katy had a great time dancing with Uncle Paul and playing with Aunt Sue's sunglasses and comb.

We hit the beach one last time Tuesday morning before heading home. It was a whirlwind trip and totally unexpected but we had so much fun! Thanks, Drew family, for a fun Memorial Day Weekend!

Wordless Wednesday- Geese Crossing

Muffin Tin Mondays- Happy Memorial Day!

(Starting in the upper left corner, going around, clockwise) Apple slices, Cheddar Bunnies, more Apple Slices, Fruit Snacks, Carrot Sticks (which Lil' Miss actually ATE!!) and Fruity Mini Marshmallows.

As we are packing and getting ready for a fun-filled Memorial Day Holiday Weekend, today's tin is more of a snack, rather than a meal. I needed to keep Lil' Miss busy while I got some packing and general organizing done. Happy Memorial Day!

Sentence of the Day- Prayer

We've been teaching Katy to say "grace" before meals and "prayers" before bedtime. We had to start differentiating them because Katy started associating prayers with bedtime and she most definitely did NOT want to go to bed (when does she ever?!). We taught her the simple ones; "God is good, God is great...." and "Now I lay me down to sleep..." etc., etc.

Recently, however, Katy decided that she wanted to say her own prayers- none of this rote memorization for her! Her mealtime grace before lunch, today, went something like this;

"Dear God, Help me! Amen!"

Ha! Preach it, sister!

Wordless Wednesday- Sweet, Sleepy Baby

Muffin Tin Monday- Brought to You by the Color Orange

(Starting in the upper left corner, circling around clockwise) Oranges, Homemade Mac and Cheese (with mixed veggies and ham), Carrot Sticks, Sweet Potato and Carrot Casserole, more Mac and Cheese and the other half of Orange.

Today's MTM was unintentionally brought to you by the color orange. Part of the beauty of MTM is the fact that you can put a little of this and a little of that together and voila! (I've been reading WAAYYYY too much Fancy Nancy! Haha!) Lunch is served!

This lunch may not look like anything special but it is! Do you want to know why? See those four carrot sticks in the upper right hand corner? Katy ate them all!! Katy ate FOUR CARROT STICKS!! I know I shouldn't be this excited, but I am!

Greek Festival with the Keys Family

Two little angels, sitting in the church pew (can't you just imagine the crooked halo above Katy's head?) :-)

Monkey See, Monkey Do! Catch Me If You Can!!

Best Buds Forever!

Today, we joined the Keys Family on their annual visit to the Winston-Salem Greek Festival. We ate more than our fair share of spanakopita, baklava and gryos. We watched the school children perform some traditional Greek Dancing (Katy would have danced in the aisles if it weren't so crowded- she LOVED the dancing and music!). We also *quickly* looked through the marketplace but the girls were kind of antsy so we didn't get to see a whole lot of the arts and crafts.

The majority of our time at the festival was spent enjoying the playground. It was a constant game of the girls trying to find one another in the sea of children playing and swinging and sliding. Katy LOVED doing whatever Cecilia was doing and she only wanted to hold Cecilia's hand when we were walking. While the girls chased each other around the playground, Justin and Ted got to catch up and Karen and I got to catch up. The weather was warm and sunny and the girls played until they were both flush in the face and asking for water.



After the festival, we hung out at the Keys' house. Katy was thrilled to be playing with a whole new set of toys (other children's toys are WAY better than your own!)! After we said our good-byes, we made it down the road about a mile before Katy conked out and fell asleep- veggie chip in hand, mid-way to mouth. She was one tired puppy! Opa!