The Merritts (are back) in South Carolina!

Vail 2012 - Day 5

2012-02-01T08:37:00.000-05:00

SNOWMOBILING DAY!!!

We piled in the rental car (all nine of us!) to head to Copper Mountain for breakfast before going to the snow mobile tour. We had a great breakfast at Jacks - it was cafeteria-style so everyone could get whatever they wanted, and every left happy. We stopped by the giant red chair for some quick pictures.

More pics in front of Endo's Andrenaline Cafe where we ate the last time we went snowmobiling.

David found these hilarious sunglasses in the 'extras' bin at the house. Olivia and Andrew had a good time being silly with them.

Mac rode on the back of Will's snow mobile.

Nanoo and I rode together. She didn't want anything to do with driving that thing. We had a good time ... even if she tried to be a back-seat driver, I couldn't have heard her over the engine. :)

We stopped at a giant field so people could drive on the 'track' and go a little faster.

This was also where the children had a chance to drive mini-snowmobiles. We were a little disappointed that their 'track' wasn't bigger but they seemed to enjoy themselves.

Will and David

Vail 2012 - Day 4

2012-01-31T08:20:00.000-05:00

Photographic evidence that Andrew and McIver got along pretty well during this trip. Once they were all dressed and ready to go skiing, they could play on the computer. I caught them together after breakfast Wednesday morning.

The obligatory photo opp in the chairs made out of skis.

Andrew joins the shot.

After a full day of skiing, we met Pop down at the gondola so we could head up to Eagles Nest for Tubing Tuesday. Nanoo chickened out and stayed home reading The Hunger Games. I'm pretty sure she decided not to go the second she heard one of the children mention getting the guys to spin the tubes on the way down the hill. Anyway, Pop went with us and we had a blast!

So glad everyone's tall enough to tube!

Hopping on the snow mobile for a picture. We might have to try out the snow mobiling at Eagles Nest next year.

Olivia was all smiles until we started bugging her about how pink/red her little cheeks were getting. We think she got a touch of frost bite because they were just so pink even though she said they weren't bothering her.

More hot tub fun ... they put together some kind of 'potion' using snow, lemonade and whatever else they could find.

VAIL 2012 - Day 3

2012-01-30T08:20:00.000-05:00

We woke up to snow on Monday morning! Will took McIver to his second day of ski school while the rest of us got ready. Andrew and Olivia were looking forward to skiing together and with the grown-ups. We spent most of the day together, then Big Pa took Andrew and Olivia to the little general store (read: candy!) in Vail Village on their way home.

Dawn and I vowed to get our picture made every time we saw an EpicMix photographer!

Olivia and Andrew in front of the polar bear ice sculpture.

Lunch break at Two Elk Lodge (best salad bar ever!).

So sad that the back bowls weren't open.

Another stop in the transportation center. This time Nanoo and Pop joined us after their day of exploring Beaver Creek.

The boys.

We got a sitter for Monday night so the grown-ups could go to dinner at Mirabelle in Beaver Creek. It was DELICIOUS!!

Vail 2012 - Day 2

2012-01-24T20:12:00.000-05:00

We met Nanoo and Pop at the airport in Eagle for our first day in Vail. Thankfully, we arrived soon after them and had a rental car so that we could all ride into Vail together. After unloading and unpacking, we went into Lionshead Village to get fitted for ski boots (for Will and me) and getting boots, poles, skis for the children. We ordered pizza to eat at the house while we waited for the Pumpellys to arrive. We were pretty exhausted from our early wake-up time (3am) on Saturday morning, though, so we stayed up just long enough to say hello and goodnight in the same breath when they walked in the door.

Will took the kids to ski school on Sunday morning then we headed to the bus stop to hit the slopes. Of course, waiting at the bus stop involves lots of checking emails/texts and weather reports on our smart phones.

Will, Dawn, David, Andrew and I skied together all morning and had lunch at one of our favorite spots ... Wildwood ... they have the best chicken and wild rice soup ever! I was determined to get at least a few pictures of our family and Will and I together during this trip. Dawn was kind enough to help me out...

David and Will took off with Andrew while Dawn and I stopped at Eagles Nest. I ran into Olivia who was thrilled to leave her ski instructor and ski down to the village with us.

We sort of missed the intown bus because Will and I had to get our new boots checked out. (We didn't actually miss the bus, but only half of the Merritts were there when it came and I'm not sure even half of us could have fit on it because it was so crowded.) Soooo, we caught the next bus and stopped for margaritas and chips at La Cantina in the transportation center. It had to be done!

McIver loved his first day of ski school. He really liked Adam, his instructor, and didn't take long to get back his ski legs. He also shared a few jokes he picked up from Adam. ("What did the green grape say to the purple grape? ... Breathe man, breathe!")

Olivia and Will were all smiles!

The Carabettas came to have dinner with us.

Charlie, their 2 year old little boy, borrowed Dawn's 'pone' and entertained himself all night long! He kept taking the 'pone' to Pop. Jen and Matt said that Hop on Pop is one of his favorite books so maybe he thought Pop looks like Pop - they DO both have a beard, after all.

Peggy Pa whipped up chocolate fondue for the kids ... they dipped apples, bananas, fruit snacks (yuck!) and pound cake. BIG hit, HUGE!!

Pillow attack on Pig Pa!

Scooter Ride

2012-01-09T08:36:00.000-05:00

Olivia and McIver have been asking for an electric scooter for at least a year. They finally decided to combine their own funds and purchase one last week. We took it up to the lake over the weekend and they had a blast riding up and down the road.

I know they would love to have a scooter for each of them rather than having to share one, but they made it work. We took Olivia's scooter, too, so they could still ride together. I was so proud that they made it work ... there wasn't a cross word between them the whole time we were there. Proof that they can work it out themselves!

What a Year It's Been!

2012-01-06T17:44:00.000-05:00

Just had to share this reflection that McIver finished at school this week...

What a Year It's Been!

A little about me:
Name: McIver
Age: 8
Favorite Color: Red
Favorite Food: Pizza
Favorite Activity: Science
Favorite Book: Geronimo Stilton

Highlights from 2011:
Greatest Lesson Learned: Ocean
Hardest thing of the year: Sobtrachan (subtraction - which he's actually pretty good at)
What I loved most about 2011: Christmas brace (break) is over

Looking forward to 2012:
I want to learn: about volcanoes
I want to improve: Sobtrachan
My biggest goal for 2012: read a lot more

2nd Annual New Years Day Party

2012-01-03T10:10:00.000-05:00

For the second year in a row, we invited some friends over on New Years Day for barbecue, black-eyed peas and collard greens ... not to mention football. The weather was absolutely gorgeous! The children ran from our backyard to the neighbors' new trampoline in their backyard.

Just some of the girls on the trampoline.

Waiting their turn.

And ... that's it for my pictures... I was too busy visiting and enjoying myself along with everyone else.

Happy New Year!!!

2012-01-01T10:21:00.000-05:00

Will and I went to dinner last night to celebrate a friend's birthday. When we got home, the children and I stayed up just long enough to watch the ball drop in Times Square, then run outside to listen to a few fireworks and snap a quick picture.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Now, everybody go get in bed because we've got a houseful of people coming tomorrow to celebrate with barbecue, collard greens and black-eyed peas!

A Bit More Christmas & The Sweetest Puppy

2011-12-31T22:10:00.000-05:00

One last favorite gift (of the many favorites he received this year!) ... night vision binoculars that REALLY work from GranGran and GranDaddy.

Olivia holding Buster ... the sweet addition to my friend Kim's family.

Our neighbors got a trampoline for Christmas!

Uncle Sammy's Farm

2011-12-31T15:43:00.000-05:00

After the Winter Games, we headed over to Will's Uncle Sammy's farm. We had heard for years how wonderful it is, but this was our first chance to go. We unloaded the cars and then had a tour of the farm.

The outdoor kitchen has a HUGE grill ... perfect for cooking a pig.

We loaded up in the Rhino/golf carts to go see all of the land. We spotted two deer, lots of animal tracks, the deer stands and the swamp. Will asked Sammy to take our picture. (This is the first photographic evidence that I existed during the Christmas holiday - but isn't that how it is for the mamas?!)

As promised, more pictures with the grands. The porch at the farm has a huge fireplace with plenty of wood to keep it going and rocking chairs to enjoy. GranGran and GranDaddy stopped by on their way home from the Winter Games for a quick visit. GranGran finished knitting a scarf for Olivia rocking in front of the fireplace while we were on our tour.

Saying good-bye to GranDaddy before he heads back to the beach.

One last picture with Will and McIver.

McIver caught a fish!! Will said it was about a 5-lb. crappy. It was all McIver could do to wait for Will and Sammy to get back from the barn to take it off the hook. I certainly would not have been any help!

Harry Potter Hogwarts Castle Legos

2011-12-30T17:36:00.002-05:00

McIver COULD NOT WAIT to get started on the Hogwarts Castle Lego set. He studied the box the whole way home from Macon and got right to work when we got home.

First, he got organized. When I asked if I could help, he told me no.

He ran in to get me when he completed each step. He worked for three hours straight with only food and potty breaks.

Getting there...

First thing Christmas Eve morning, he headed back to the 'lego room.'

Done!

And, a shot from the other side.

He's so proud that he did the whole, entire thing without one ounce of help!

Winter Games 2011

2011-12-30T12:25:00.001-05:00

Will's mom's mom's side of the family gets together each day-after-Christmas for the Winter Games in Effingham. This was our second year to be able to go (Will was on call last year), and once again, we had perfect weather and a wonderful time. Olivia took a friend with us ... I think Mattie's mom thought I was kidding when I told her there would be chicken-chasing!

There were all kinds of fun activities for the children (of which there were MANY!). The first was Tug-of-War.

McIver got in on the action, too.

They also have a corn shucker with giant bags of dried corn just waiting for the children to run through the grinder (or whatever it's called!). (That building in the background is an old train depot that was moved to the property years ago. They throw open the doors and set up the food tables inside. And, there's a giant fireplace at one end to keep it nice and cozy inside.)

Will showed Olivia and Mattie how to shoot skeet.

Told you ... there's chicken-chasing! And, after that ... pig-chasing! None of my city children were all that interested in actually catching up to the animals, thank goodness.

Tex was in Heaven all day ... so many smells, so little time.

McIver thought this old truck was pretty cool.

McIver in the haystack tunnels in the top of the barn ... where the rat-killing occurs. (If they actually do that, we have never been a part of it. I'm not sure if they're kidding or not when they mention that there will be 'rat-killing and bring your own stick' on the invitation.)

One of the best parts of the day is easily the giant old trees with swings, a zip line, slides and ropes all over them.

Christmas Eve 2011

2011-12-29T13:05:00.000-05:00

Olivia wearing the necklace that Mamoo gave her. She was so excited to wear it and show Mamoo, but was equally happy to take it off when we got home 'because it's so special, I don't want anything to happen to it.'

On our way into Mamoo's church for the Christmas Eve service.

A few pictures with Mamoo after the service.

Leaving cookies and milk for Santa, cheese for Santa Mouse and a few carrots for Santa's reindeer.

Sprinkling a mixture of oatmeal and glitter to get Santa's reindeer to stop at our house.

Olivia's turn - she made sure it was spread ALL OVER the yard so they couldn't miss it!

Saying our Good-Byes in Macon

2011-12-29T09:59:00.000-05:00

I made Grandma Janet a Shutterfly calendar for Christmas and realized that I don't take enough pictures of Olivia and McIver with their grands. So, I made sure to remedy that this visit (and on our next visit with Will's parents, for that matter).

(If you look by Nanoo's elbow, you can also see Marley and Tex saying good-bye.)

Christmas in Macon

2011-12-28T09:58:00.000-05:00

Olivia and Cacoo just before we headed out to dinner.

Yummy dinner at Margaritas in Macon.

Quick picture before opening gifts.

McIver loving on Pop.

The Harry Potter/Hogwarts Castle lego set made for one happy boy. It was all we could do to keep him from opening it and getting started right then and there.

Santa Sunday

2011-12-27T13:30:00.000-05:00

After church on Sunday, we met the cousins, aunts and uncles for Santa Sunday at the Dunes Club. Everything was wonderful ... egg nog, beautiful decorations everywhere, a balloon artist/face painter, delicious food and great company, including Santa and Mrs. Claus.

Thanks to GranGran for taking a picture of our family.

Olivia and McIver waiting to have a picture with all the cousins.

All six grands with Santa and Mrs. Claus ... and no tears!

Olivia and McIver with Santa ... McIver asked for a spy watch, Olivia asked for a karaoke machine.

It took some doing, but we managed to get everyone on the sofa for a photo with GranGran.

Christmas in Macon

2011-12-23T17:40:00.001-05:00

We started our visit to Macon with a trip to Cacoo's ChicFilA to see the Santa Cow. Cacoo has some serious connections now that she works at ChicFilA!

We had lunch on Thursday with Grandma Myrtle and Grandma Janet at the Bears Den near the Mercer campus. I had never been there before, but it was delicious .. meat-and-three kind of place. I went with the vegetarian plate (in my case, 'vegetarian' does not equal healthy!) ... squash casserole, friend green tomatoes, collard greens and macaroni and cheese.

After lunch, we went to Grandma Myrtle's new home. She loves living by the lake and the kids had a ball exploring around her complex.

Nance's with the Spann Family

2011-12-18T09:34:00.000-05:00

Saturday afternoon, we met up with Will's brothers and their families to see the new creekhouse that is being built. It was getting dark so I wasn't able to take any pictures, but it's going to be beautiful! I'm sure we'll make lots of family memories there. Afterwards, we headed to Nance's Creekfront Restaurant for dinner. Turns out that we had a table for 24! Ginny is one of four Spanns and each of those families was represented. It was a great time, relatively relaxed even though we had 7 children, with delicious oysters. (I realize it's easy for me to say it was 'relatively relaxed' since my children are old enough to order their own food and go to the bathroom by themselves. The abundance of iPads, iPhones and iTouches helped as well.) Anyway, here's our crew ...

Wonder Works in Myrtle Beach

2011-12-18T09:24:00.000-05:00

GranGran treated us to a trip to Wonder Works on Saturday morning when we were in Myrtle Beach while Will and GranDaddy played golf. We weren't sure what to expect, but it was a GREAT time. Olivia and McIver were the perfect age for all of the activities. I'm sure we'll be going back ... just not during peak tourist season!

We started off in the Hurricane Chamber ...

86 mph winds ... and that's only a Category 1 wind-strength.

McIver beat out Olivia in the mind-game ... he was so relaxed he moved the ball to her end first. Don't ask me how it worked, but it pretty much made his day that he beat his big sister at something.

We all took turns laying (lying?) on a bed of nails.

They had a WAY COOL ropes course that was built above the fourth floor. The kids were tethered to the bars along the top and were able to go through as many 'challenges' as they could. That alone would get McIver back there.

Dear Santa

2011-12-15T17:32:00.001-05:00

Dear Santa,
For Christmas this year...

I want ... A new DSi XL
I need ... 20$$$$
I'll wear ... Onder ormer (Under Armor)
I'll read ... A Geronimo Stilton books

... And I'd really love you to bring me...
Soper Mario Galaxy for wii.

Love, McIver

Well, let's just say that Santa sometimes knows what children want even before they know they want it. This wish list may not come true, but Mac is going to have a fantastic Christmas.

Pirates Voyage

2011-12-15T14:25:00.002-05:00

We took the children to the Pirates Voyage dinner show last Friday night in Myrtle Beach. We started out with the pre-show learning some pirate vocabulary and singing songs with three singing pirates. We all got a kick out if that. Then, we headed into the theatre for the show. I was able to snap one quick picture before the show started.

More Houston Mischief

2011-12-08T10:06:00.000-05:00

Houston has been busy ...

He pulled the gold ribbon from our Christmas Card tree and tied it from the chandelier in the dining room all the way over to the light in our entry way.

Then, he hid in our tree ... guess he was glad we finally got it up and decorated. He also brought Olivia and McIver a fun Christmas word search.

Little stinker! He drew silly faces all over our family pictures...

That got a BIG laugh from the kids.

This was on our bathroom door downstairs.

Aaahhh...

This morning, I came into the kitchen to find ALL of our cabinet doors and drawers open. It made unloading the dishwasher and packing lunches a bit of a pain.

Houston has built a tervis tumbler pyramid and was perched at the top. Thank goodness the kids finally woke up and closed everything back up for me while I got breakfast ready.

RHNJ Comes to Columbia

2011-12-08T09:46:00.000-05:00

Teresa Guidice, one of the stars of the Real Housewives of New Jersey came to Columbia last week. Susan, a tennis friend, and I used to rehash each Real Housewives episode while we waited for our turn during tennis clinics last fall. She saw that the Friends of the Library was bringing Teresa to town and invited me to join her. (The fact that the FOL hosted the event classes it up a bit, don't you think!?)

After an hour or so Q&A session, along with some squeals from some college-aged girls wearing lots of sequins and faux fur, we stood in line to have her sign our cookbooks and take a picture.

It was TOTALLY worth the wait!

Fun Surprise

2011-12-04T21:31:00.002-05:00

Ramelle, my neighbor, and I saw these PJs in a catalog and thought the kids would love them.

Houston the Elf is Back!

2011-12-04T21:29:00.002-05:00

A few of Houston's antics... Olivia got her wish for mischief!

Trimming the Tree

2011-12-04T21:25:00.001-05:00

Will and the children bought our Christmas tree yesterday while I played in the cities tennis tournament. (For the record, my partner, Kim, and I won both of our matches, but our team came in second place overall.) We spent tonight decorating.

I love our tree. We have so much fun going through our ornaments. We make a point to buy an ornament when we go on trips and we've been given so many beautiful ornaments. It's so fun to walk down memory lane with the children. They really do remember so much.

Belated birthday/ early Christmas

2011-12-04T12:57:00.001-05:00

Mac was so excited to receive a belated birthday/ early Christmas gift from one if his godfathers. The Lego City Advent calendar. It sure makes getting up easier... He races downstairs every morning to open the next window and put together the next piece.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-29T08:54:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving Day started off for Olivia and McIver with a trip to Dunkin Donuts with Pop.

McIver is LOVING Cub Scouts. When we went to Lowe's a few weeks ago to buy supplies for the bird house project, he was given a science lab kit to build at home. He tried to build it himself on Wednesday when I told him he couldn't turn on the television ... but he really needed an extra set of hands and almost threw the hammer across the yard. So, he was happy when Pop finally arrived!

They immediately got to work on the first experiment ... Dancing Raisins. It didn't work out quite like they had hoped (possibly due to the fact that our raisins were probably over a year old), but they had fun.

Olivia got in on the action with Scaredy Pepper... that was a good one!

Sweet Little Eliza was not the least bit concerned about Marley, even though he outweighs her by 100 pounds.

Sam was more her size, though.

Mamoo and Grandma Janet enjoyed their visit. Our children know how fortunate they are to know, really know, three of their great grandmothers.

The fellas manned the turkey fryer out in the driveway.

Half of our crew preparing to say grace.

The other half ...

I'm sick that I didn't get a picture of our Thanksgiving table. Pop suggested that we move our breakfast table into the dining room so everyone could have some elbow room. It was a great idea and everyone was way more comfortable that way, I'm sure. Olivia had helped me with a centerpiece for the table, too. I'll have to add a picture of that later.

Cacoo with McIver and Sam

Post Thanksgiving Dinner walk with Amelia, Olivia and Aunt Kelli was just what the doctor ordered. It felt good to move around and stretch our legs.

Watching Elf Thanksgiving night was the perfect ending to a fantastic day spent with family.

Thanksgiving Prep 2011

2011-11-29T08:13:00.003-05:00

We hosted Thanksgiving 2011 at our house this year. We had 11 adults, including two great grandmothers, and four children, as well as three dogs from Macon and Skittles. It was a blast, but I needed some help getting things ready. While Nanoo was busy chopping, slicing and dicing in Macon, GranGran was making biscuits and oyster pie in Myrtle Beach with Aunt Kelli just a few miles away making two delicious desserts. Olivia and McIver worked on the outside, while I straightened up the house and prepared for our guests.

Olivia working on our driveway.

Our neighbors were kind enough to let Aunt Kelli and Uncle Robert spend the night next door so McIver decided he would clear their driveway.

Nanoo, Pop, Cacoo and Grandma Janet arrived Wednesday evening. They brought Pepper (their average-sized seven-year old Australian Shepherd mix), Marley (their 18 month old Great Dane-Lab mix who weighs in at a whopping 120+ pounds) and Sam (Cacoo's newest find ... a Beagle-Basset Hound mix who is hilarious!). My house was a dog pound!

Dear Houston...

2011-11-28T21:12:00.001-05:00

Olivia's letter to Houston last week...

Dear Houston,
This year I was wondering if maybe you could get into a little more mistyfe!, to see what you can come up with. One thing that I think you could do is make the whole house a MAZE! don't you think that would be so cool!?!

love,
Olivia

Circle yes or no
Make the whole house a maze ---- yes or no

a little more mistyfe (at least she's consistent!) --- yes or no

PS: here are some milk and cookies for you.

YaYa Weekend in Atlanta

2011-11-24T08:51:00.000-05:00

Thanks to a Living Social coupon from way back during the summer, the YaYas had another fall get-away to Atlanta last weekend. I left home Friday morning and stopped in Augusta to pick up Ashley. We chatted nonstop for the two-hour drive to Atlanta and met Sarah at the hotel downtown.

The comedy of errors started when the lady at the desk told us to go to room 1208, but our key card didn't work. Instead of going back downstairs, we asked the housekeeper working down the hall if she would please just let us in. Just as she swiped her card, the door opened from the inside. This poor man who looked like he had just woken up found three women loaded down with luggage, hanging bags and coolers just staring at him. Clearly, we were in the wrong room. We finally made it to our room (just across the hall from 1208) and got settled in while we waited for Dawn to arrive.

Cafe Intermezzo was just around the corner from the hotel so we headed there to have a late lunch and catch up.

Ash and Sadie

Dawn and me

We might also have enjoyed a champagne cocktail.

Afterwards, we walked back to the hotel to freshen up and made it back in time for the Wine Down (get it? Wind Down! I want to have a bunch of girls over to our house one night and call it a Wine Down ... so clever!). We made lots of friends in the bar, including a bride-to-be who was in town from the west coast somewhere to go wedding dress shopping. We were not invited to go along!

We spent Saturday morning visiting the St. Philips Cathedral Bookstore and Farmers Market which has become a bit of a tradition. The bookstore is huge and has some many fun ideas for Christmas gifts. This weekend also happened to be an artists' market with lots of artwork, pottery, handmade jewelry and more. We also hit Atlantic Station to shop because we needed to be sure we were close to the movie theater in time to see the latest Twilight movie. Believe it or not, we were not the oldest people in the theater ... I don't think. Afterwards ... more shopping at Phipps Plaza.

Then dinner at Truva, a meditarranean restaurant within walking distance of the hotel. Our server was kind enough to take a picture for us.

This elementary school music teacher moonlights as a belly dancer. We promised we wouldn't tell her secret! (I feel like I need to tell you that we confirmed that she has not had children yet!)

A little while into dinner (which consisted of a delicious assortment of appetizers), Liz came to join us. (Hi, Liz!!) Dawn and Liz used to work together in Atlanta (correct me if I'm wrong, girls) and became fast friends. We loved having Liz come hang out with us. It's so great to be able to just pick up where we left off with everyone no matter how much time has passed since our last visit.

Sarah decided to call it a night, but the rest of us weren't finished with the fun yet. So, back to Cafe Intermezzo we went for coffee and dessert. Of course we made friends with the waiter who was kind enough to take our picture.

We tried to go to the Corner Bakery for breakfast Sunday morning, but the downtown restaurant was closed to we went to the Atlanta Grill in the Ritz Carlton. It was delicious and filled us all up. Sarah headed home while Dawn, Ashley and I made our game plan for more shopping ... Nordstrom Rack, DSW, Ulta, and more. We had a quick lunch at the midtown Corner Bakery and then headed home. What a great, fun weekend! I love my girls!!

Krispy Kreme Date with Mac

2011-11-21T12:26:00.000-05:00

Olivia had a field trip to Cypress Gardens last Thursday with her fourth grade class. She had to be at school "no later than 7am, Mama, or Mr. Shirley will be really upset with us." So, we picked up her friend Kit at 6:45 and made it into the front circle in plenty of time. Mr. Shirley was not upset, I think he was just a little tired because, like I said, it was early!

Anyway, Will had to round early that morning so he wasn't available to stay with McIver and get him up and fed. So, I bribed McIver with a trip to Krispy Kreme after we dropped off the girls. He obliged and was as happy and pleasant as can be. For the record, the pumpkin spice doughnut (only available for a limited time) was delicious!

(His smile might look forced, and it was. I had to beg him to stop eating long enough to smile for me. He might also have been a touch displeased with me because I wouldn't let him order a 'diet coke so it will wake me up for the whole day.')

Last Soccer Game

2011-11-12T17:52:00.002-05:00

McIver's last soccer game was yesterday. Even though it was a tough loss, they had a fun season. Mac has decided to play soccer again this spring. We're convinced he's better suited to a game with a bit more action. We managed to get a quick team photo before the coaches handed out the trophies.

Like I said, it was a tough loss. The opponent was pretty aggressive and several of our players were injured (whether knowingly and on purpose or not is unclear). Also, during the high-fiving and 'good-gaming' that goes on after the game, the other team was a bit obnoxious from what I've heard. Anyway, I managed to get this shot of McIver patting his buddy Hugh on the back as he received his trophy. Hugh was one of the ones who was hurt during the game.

Fall Festival

2011-11-12T17:47:00.002-05:00

McIver had a ball at the Fall Festival last week. The climbing wall was no trouble for him. He. Has. No. Fear.

He slid down the entire tower upside down.

Then he and a buddy jousted. McIver held his own for a good while but ultimately lost his balance first.

They also had some folks from Mad Science doing cool experiments with the children. McIver loved the dry ice bubble concoctions.

More Sewanee

2011-11-12T17:29:00.037-05:00

Will managed to get a shot of the YSR banner as we drive through campus on Friday.

Kellam and Suzanne, Will and I went to the indoor tennis courts at the Fowler Center on Friday morning to play tennis... Suzanne and me vs. Kellam and Will. Suzanne and I won three straight sets! It was a total smackdown.

After dinner Friday night at our house in the Assembly, we made our way back to campus to Convocation Hall where Will's class was gathering for a social. It was great to see everyone and have the chance to catch up. Molly was in my sorority and is a prolific Facebooker. It was great to see her again in person.

We also went to the current alumni house which used to be the Phi house. It's a good thing these walls CAN'T talk.

On Saturday morning, the guys wanted to get their turn to beat us, and we let them ... enough said. (Except that Will figured out that his best strategy would be to just tell Kellam to duck and he'd take care of the rest.... which he did. Kellam had some good shots, too, in all fairness.)

We had lunch at Shenanigan's... one of the very few restaurants in Sewanee. YUM!

Went to the football game, then to a friend's house to see lots more people and headed back to the house to watch football. Sunday morning came EARLY with the time change, so we were all up and at 'em before 7am. It was a long drive home, but we were glad to see our kiddos!

The Cross

2011-11-08T08:53:00.001-05:00

After Will returned from golf, we drove in to campus ... Tapping the roof of the car to free our Sewanee angels, because when you're in Sewanee, you're as close to Heaven as you can be. Our angels have been working overtime since our last visit to the Mountain five years ago! We stopped by the bookstore and drove out to The Cross.

Yea Sewanee's Right!

2011-11-03T12:48:00.002-04:00

Will and I left yesterday for his 15th Sewanee reunion. We have rented a house in the Monteagle Assembly with some friends who will arrive later today.

Will went down to Chattanooga to play golf this morning and I happily stayed at the house (in my PJs) reading magazines, my book and watching TV. Then the rain moved in! This is the Sewanee we know and love.

Here's the view from our porch...

Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T09:00:00.000-04:00

We were the very last customers to buy pumpkins from the Pumpkin Patch at Mamoo's church on Sunday afternoon. Will was on call and getting some work done at the office, so the children and I decided to go ahead and get carving.

Olivia was way more helpful than McIver this year. She loved getting her hands all gooey in the pumpkin seeds.

Olivia with our pumpkin masterpieces.

Mac was busy practicing for Minute to Win It.

Olivia as Purplicious and Kit as Pinkalicious during their school Halloween parade.

McIver on his way to our street party ... Harry Potter, again.

Showing off her loot while waiting for carpool.

Mine ... ALLLLLL mine!

Let the sorting and trading of candy begin!

SC State Fair

2011-10-29T17:36:00.000-04:00

I got a text from Will last Thursday night while I was at the tennis tournament that said, "Daddy Rocks!"

He also sent this picture ... hard to see, but you can imagine how happy the children were to be going to the fair and on a THURSDAY night! (And I was equally happy NOT to be going. I love a fair and fair food as much as the next guy, but the thought of spending all that money and fighting the crowds just didn't appeal to me this time around.)

In hindsight, this picture was the beginning of the end. Apparently, the crowds had died down by this point in the night so the guy controlling the swing let the ride go on and on and on... which did not sit well with Olivia's stomach. She ended up getting sick a few times, but still remembers the fair as a great time with her dad and McIver.

GOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!! x3

2011-10-29T17:16:00.000-04:00

McIver scored not one or two, but THREE goals in his soccer game this morning. He was OVER THE MOON!!

After the first goal, the team was re-grouping around the center of the field and everyone heard McIver slap his buddy Beau on the back and say, "Thanks, Beau" because Beau was the one who passed McIver the ball. It was adorable!

The second goal was a bit more of an accident. The ball pretty much rolled through the legs of two of the opponents and would have been easy saves for just about any other team. Still, a goal is a goal and he was excited.

The third goal was something out of World Cup soccer on a 2nd grade level. McIver kicked the ball up over the heads of the defenders and it sailed into the top of the goal. It was beautiful!!

Several other players scored, too, so it was a great, great game!

Auction Project

2011-10-29T17:13:00.000-04:00

Every fall our school hosts a Fall Festival and Auction. Each class makes a project of some sort to be auctioned. Thanks to a very creative mom from McIver's class, the Spectacular Starfish are making a WAY COOL piece of art. I went to school two afternoons last week to help them get started. First, they painted a beach scene. Each student really has a part in every step of the process. On Friday, they each made a paper mache starfish which will be glued to the canvas. The children are all so excited about the project.

I can't wait to see the finished product!

Cute girls

2011-10-28T08:32:00.000-04:00

Olivia and Maggie rode home with Katherine and play with Ellie while Katherine put their almost-2-year-old down for a nap. Katherine texted me this picture and I thought it was so sweet ... may these girls love to play dress up for a long, long time. (On a side note, Olivia and a friend have decided to be Pinkalicious and Purplicious for Halloween - that's much more preferable than the trashy cowgirl costume that Olivia tried to put together with Cacoo's old dance costumes!)

State Tennis Tournament @ Daniel Island

2011-10-27T08:38:00.000-04:00

Sets in the City, my 5.0 combos team (two 2.5-ranked players play together), made it to the State tennis tournament in Daniel Island last weekend. We were the second place team in Columbia so we just barely made it by the skin of our teeth as a 'wildcard.'

I generally play with two different girls who (whom?) I wouldn't know if I didn't play tennis. (I'm SO thankful for all the girls on my team - of course, I love all my friends, but there's something to be said for having friends that know me for me - not because our children go to the same school, or because their husband plays golf with Will, or works with Will, etc.)

ANYWAY, this is Kim ... We drove down to Charleston early Thursday so we could get checked into the house we rented and have lunch before going to the captains' meeting at the Family Circle tennis center. We had a long and delicious lunch at High Thymes on Sullivan's Island which is 'next door' to Isle of Palms where we rented a house.

After getting the car unloaded, we headed to Daniel Island for the captains' meeting. Some husbands of players were kind enough to take our picture ... so glad you can see his shadow in the picture, but we were using my phone so you get what you get.

Our first match was Friday morning at 11. Kim and I played Doubles #1 together and beat the team from Charleston (7-5, 6-1). Our Doubles #2 also won and since the Charleston team forfeited their Doubles #3 court, we won all three courts.

The weather in Charleston could not have been more perfect. We hit the beach after a quick lunch on Daniel Island and stayed until sunset.

Here we are after our Saturday match against the other team from Columbia. Kim and I played Doubles #1 again, but lost this time (6-1, 3-6, 0-1 - lost in the tiebreak), but since both Doubles #2 and #3 won, our team won the match. We went into Sunday tied for first place with the team from Spartanburg.

Saturday afternoon we had a great time drinking celebratory champagne on the beach which was given to us by a former teammate. We had snacks and just had a good time visiting on the beach.

Our match on Sunday was a heart-breaker. I played Doubles #1 with Margaret (front row, far left) and we lost 7-5, 6-4. The team from Spartanburg was ON FIRE!! We had a great time playing and really felt like we played our absolute best. It was just tough to be so close to winning, and then end up losing all three courts. Congratulations to the Spartanburg team, though ... now they're off to Mobile, AL for the Division Tournament.

Another camping trip pic

2011-10-26T08:38:00.000-04:00

Can you tell I've been cleaning out my cell phone picture album!?

Will sent this picture of McIver and Morgan from their boat ride to the island where they camped a few weeks ago. A perfect moment in time!

Rain, rain, go away!

2011-10-26T08:32:00.000-04:00

We have had so much rain lately it's not even funny. Olivia was waiting for her ride to soccer a week or so ago and we just wondered, again, if practice was going to be rained out. This particular time, they were able to have practice. However, we have had an extra-crazy schedule the last few weeks because of make-up soccer games during the week. Thankfully, we've had some beautiful "Chamber of Commerce" days lately which have reminded me why we love Columbia so much in the fall!

One day not too long ago (it was probably raining), I went into Olivia's room to put laundry away and found Tex all curled up on O's body pillow. It was just too cute not to take a picture. She's got her blinds pulled up just so, so that he can look out the window during the day and bark at other dogs walking on our street.

Fall Break: DeBordieu

2011-10-20T19:47:00.000-04:00

Sunday was McIver's 8th birthday ... I can't believe my baby is eight years old!

What better way to start they day than with PRESENTS!!

We met another friend from Columbia at the playground and had a picnic lunch.

More beach time...

Pizza for dinner and COOKIE CAKE for the birthday boy!

Fall Break: DeBordieu

2011-10-19T19:46:00.000-04:00

Saturday could not have been more beautiful! We woke up to clear, blue skies and spent a little while on the beach first thing in the morning.

Looking for more treasure (I gave them quarters to bury for each other - I think someone with a more powerful metal detector might find them someday :)

Those crazy boys just went right into the water ... it was fuh-reeeeezing!

Then we got everyone dressed and headed to Georgetown for the Wooden Boat Show. Olivia was excited to show off GranGran and GranDaddy's boat, Real Escape, to everyone.

The Mamas found the best seat on the front of the boat.

On our way to the boat show...

Will's cousin John built a sailboat and sailed it from Mt. Pleasant to Georgetown. He's been working on it ever since I can remember ... so cool to see his hard work pay off. And, boy did it!? He won first place! The boy with the hat on is Will's cousin David's youngest boy, Aidan. The other guy is John's buddy who sailed with him from Mt. Pleasant.

There was a tent set up where the children could build their own boats.

Hard at work.

About to set sail. We also ran into GranGran, but the children were so into their boat building that I didn't even get a picture with her.

It didn't take long to hit the beach once we'd had our fill of the boat show. The girls loved boogie boarding.

The Mamas loved watching!

Some friends who were at Litchfield for the long weekend joined us for dinner. We had almost 25 people in the house ... they brought seven girls with them to add to our 4, plus our three boys for a grand total of 11 girls and three boys.

Most of the evening was spent in front of the television watching Clemson fight their way to a win over Maryland. We did enjoy a great meal with shrimp fresh from the docks in Georgetown!

Fall Break: DeBordieu

2011-10-18T17:58:00.000-04:00

The Draffins invited our family and the Harrisons to spend Fall Break with them at the beach. I had never been to DeBordieu which is on the South Carolina coast near Georgetown, SC, so that made the trip all the more exciting. We had a great, great weekend full of beautiful weather, beach time, hanging out and relaxing.

The girls shared a room...

And the boys shared a room ... As they say, "Boys will be boys."

McIver loved checking out the beach and searching for treasure (quarters!) with his metal detector. I took this picture from the porch of the house, so you can see how close we were to the beach!

Happy Birthday, GranDaddy!

2011-10-14T08:41:00.000-04:00

We celebrated GranDaddy's birthday at the lake a few weekends ago. Thought this picture was worth sharing. GranGran's birthday is today and we hope to see her this weekend to celebrate.

Spotlight on McIver

2011-10-12T10:14:00.000-04:00

McIver came home from school a month or so ago with a Spotlight On Me! paper. I wanted to write them down before I throw the page out (trying to clear out some clutter from my desk!). All spelling is his.

A List of My Favorites

Book: Herry Poter

Character: Dathy Duck

Subject: Math (makes Will so happy)

Pet: dog

Animal: tiger

Food: tocos

Hobby: shack fishing

Place: my houes

Song or Group: black id pes

TV Show: pawer rangers

Movie: Herry Potter

Sport: socker

I'm good at: The wii

When I grow up I want to be: A astrnot

Father/Son Lake Murray Camp Out

2011-10-11T12:32:00.000-04:00

I mentioned a day or so ago that McIver and Will are going to miss the Cub Scout campout this weekend because we're going to the beach for Fall Break. So, Will took the bull by the horns and planned his own campout. Will took McIver out to the lake last weekend to scope out some islands and chose one for the campout. They invited four other fathers/sons to join them Saturday afternoon for a camp out. I sent the camera with Will and BEGGED him to please try to remember to take some pictures.

The first shot is a bit blurry, but apparently the boys found a fallen tree and spent an hour trying to break it apart to build a dam.

The boys - Walker, Hugh, McIver, Burch & Morgan.

What a beautiful sunset!

The dads - James, Will, Stephen, Hugh & Tupp

Apparently, there was dancing after the burgers and s'mores.

Will managed to get a picture of each father/son group and I'm so glad he thought to get one of him and McIver.

Sunday morning they all went back to the lakehouse to have pancakes and bacon for breakfast. Will and McIver got home about 10:30 Sunday morning and were dead-dog tired. McIver went straight to the shower and Will went straight to bed. I keep picking up little tidbits here and there from McIver about what fun they had ... tearing apart the tree, skipping rocks, building the dam, hitting rocks against each other to make sparks and telling ghost stories. Good times and good memories, for sure!

LuLu's HotDogs

2011-10-11T12:24:00.000-04:00

After Olivia's soccer game on Saturday morning, we met some friends at LuLu's Hot Dogs for lunch. Olivia and Maggie spied a hot dog costume hanging in the corner and asked if they could try it on.

Hilarity ensued...

Maggie in the hot dog suit.

Homecoming

2011-10-10T12:19:00.000-04:00

McIver was in the right place at the right time Friday night during Heathwood's Homecoming game. He was able to run one of the letters of "Highlanders" onto the field following the football team.

USC Women's Soccer game

2011-10-10T12:01:00.000-04:00

Last weekend, USC held a special soccer weekend to encourage the SC United Football Club/YMCA soccer teams to come to their games. Olivia's soccer team went to the Women's game on Sunday afternoon.

McIver took Walker, a friend from school who is also on his soccer team.

Everyone was into the game for a little while, but mostly just enjoyed the beautiful weather. The game was televised (they played Vanderbilt ... and won) so everyone hammed it up when the camera man was nearby. I'm not sure how much 'inspiration' our team got from the USC team, but they did notice how hard the women played ALL the time.

Once the sun started to go down behind the bleachers, I took the boys over to the grassy area where they could run around and play soccer and jump in the Cocky bounce house. It didn't take long for the girls to follow us over there.

Olivia and Kit enjoyed themselves at the game.

Motivated!

2011-10-09T18:39:00.000-04:00

Thanks to the wonders of technology, Olivia is able to send emails to her teacher without having to have her own email account. I am copied on any email she sends to him and got this in my in-box this afternoon.

Dear Mr. Shirley i think i am going to be able to get ribbit this week but i'm not sure yet but i am still studying really hard!!! REALLY WANT TO GET RIBBIT!!!!

I'm excited just to know that she's this motivated this early in the year ... she was the second to the last person, I think, in 2nd grade to get RIBBIT, and didn't get it until early spring of 3rd grade. This time around, she will be quizzed on division facts up to 12. (Yikes... I'm pretty sure I couldn't do it!)

My Cub Scout

2011-10-09T12:01:00.000-04:00

McIver loves being a Cub Scout. Even though our Wednesdays are crazy hectic, he stays for PEAK most Wednesdays and sometimes doesn't get home until 6:15, he is always eager to put on his scout shirt and head out the door with Will to go to his den meeting. We're going to be out of town next weekend when the den goes on their camping trip, so Will organized an overnight campout on an island at the lake. I'll post pictures of that soon.

Baby Cake Pops

2011-10-04T09:50:00.000-04:00

We spent part of Saturday afternoon making our first batch of Baby Cake Pops ... red velvet ... yum!! Kate's family was at the Carolina game so she came to hang out with us for a little while.

Kate's cousin also came to help out.

The cake pops were a hit. We just need to have something/someone to make them for next time because the recipe makes 3 dozen cake pops!

Camp Meeting

2011-10-02T08:47:00.000-04:00

Will's grandmother's family has been attending Camp Meeting at Indian Fields Methodist Campground in St. George, SC for years and years. There are 99 'tents' which are really more like log cabins in a giant circle around a field with an open-air tabernacle in the middle. Each family owns their own cabin and spends the week (or whatever part of the week they are able) at their cabin and it's a family reunion of sorts.

Will took Mamoo last year but for some reason the children and I were not able to make it. We made it a priority this year because we knew how important it was to Mamoo that we attend. It took a little while, but in the end I think both Olivia and McIver had a good time.

Will took the kids upstairs in the 'tent.' I didn't get a picture, but there's an open-air kitchen in the back. It's amazing more of these cabins haven't burned down with all the children, fires and cooking going on.

The children heard through the grapevine that there was a candy store somewhere. Olivia had been pretty bored up until this point. (Note to self: Let Olivia bring a friend next year!) But things perked up once she got her own cup of boiled peanuts.

Olivia and McIver showed me around the upstairs of the tent. There are two rooms with wooden platforms for blow-up mattresses and sleeping bags. (There was also a handicap toilet seat with a plastic bucket underneath. That's pretty much when Olivia and I decided not to drink anything all night long!)

Will, GranGran, GranDaddy and Olivia - you can kind of see all of the tents in the background.

Olivia and Will kicked the soccer ball around for a little while.

Mamoo loved visiting with her family and seeing so many of them all in one place. It really does her heart good to be surrounded by her people. Here she is having dessert with McIver and a cousin, Foster.

A sweet, old man was walking around blowing a horn to get everyone to come to the tabernacle for the church service. A few people were taking turns blowing the horn. I was SHOCKED when Olivia said she wanted to give it a try. It was harder to make a noise than she thought it would be. When the man told her that 'you really want to kind of spit into the hole' we were totally grossed out and kindly thanked the man for sharing the horn with us. Blech!

Baby Cake Pops

2011-10-01T08:41:00.000-04:00

Olivia raced to the door when she heard the UPS man ring the bell last week. She was expecting a birthday package from Nanoo ... the size of the box made her very curious!

Oh, no ... peanuts ... Please don't let them get all over the floor! (Check out the look on McIver's face.)

I love that Olivia always reads the card first.

Baby Cake Pops!!

We have flipped through the Babycakes recipe book several times already and decided to make red velvet and chocolate cake pops today. Thanks, Nanoo!!

SC Ovarian Cancer Foundation Butterfly Release

2011-09-28T17:55:00.000-04:00

The Butterfly Release was cancelled last night because of the weather. Luckily, a foundation board member was joining us for dinner and brought a few butterflies along for Olivia and McIver to release. We had dinner at Bonefish Grill and the kids thought it was great to still be able to release the butterflies.

Test

2011-09-26T08:08:00.001-04:00

This is a test... I'm trying to post from my iPhone. How cool is that?!

McIver's Soccer Game

2011-09-26T04:45:00.000-04:00

Olivia's soccer game was cancelled on Saturday morning because of the MONSOON that was happening at 9am. McIver kept his hopes high that his team would still play at 1:00 and they did. This was my first time seeing him play this season since I was out of town with Olivia last weekend.

He had a good time warming up and seemed to be focused on the game rather than goofing off with his buddies.

Check out that concentration.

Focus...

He even got to play goalie.

Olivia is glad to know several big sisters of McIver's teammates ... and to know that the snow cone truck will be at Owens Field on Saturdays this fall!

Happy Birthday, Tex!!

2011-09-25T16:44:00.000-04:00

September is a busy birthday month for our family. Tex turned 2 on Friday!

He just knew the new monkey was for him and wagged his tail oh-so-patiently waiting for Olivia to get the tags off.

But then he just couldn't stand it any longer ...

HAND OVER THAT MONKEY, Lady!

Will's Birthday

2011-09-23T09:00:00.000-04:00

The children and I were SO excited about the gifts we put together for Will's birthday this year. He's on call this week so we had planned to just wait and celebrate sometime next week. Plus, our Tuesdays are usually full of tennis and soccer practice. Thanks to the rain, blessed rain!, soccer practice was cancelled and we were able to celebrate on Tuesday, his actual birthday.

We started with presents ...

four collage frames filled with pictures from the lake. We also made a Shutterfly book to keep up at the lake with pictures from the last two years ... it is filled with photos of all the different people we've had up there with us, raking leaves, making s'mores, fishing and just enjoying being there.

Dinner at Harpers

Olivia's First Girls Weekend - Saturday

2011-09-22T08:18:00.000-04:00

I was lucky enough to wake up pretty early on Saturday morning and enjoyed an hour or so to myself. I flipped through some magazines, relished the cool mountain air and the peace and quiet.

Then the girls woke up ... they were ready for pancakes and bacon ... and presents!

I loved that they sat around gabbing in their pajamas most of the morning.

Then, another turn in the hot tub with goggles from the treasure chest.

Sadie and her children were coming for the night so the girls got busy decorating the driveway to welcome them.

Showing off their handiwork.

Once Sadie and her crew unloaded, we headed to the playground. The girls had a blast climbing the giant hill to the lake on the other side.

What a shot!

On the way back down the hill, they spotted a deer. (We saw more deer on this trip than I've ever seen at Big Canoe!) They really thought they were going to be able to get close enough to pet it.

Sweet friends!

After running around on the field playing soccer with Julia and James.

We loaded up in Sadie's minivan and went to Forno's Pizza for dinner. The big girls had 42 popsicles each while they relaxed in the hot tub (as if they were ever stressed!). Sadie and I brought our pizza home so we could enjoy a glass of wine and visit without having to ride herd on our crowd.

Even though I ended up missing my 20th high school reunion, I think it was a great weekend. Olivia was so excited to be able to celebrate her birthday on her actual day with some good friends. She loved being able to bring them to the mountains and they all had a blast. There wasn't a cross word between any of them. May she always treasure her friends and enjoy special times like these with them.

Olivia's First Girls Weekend

2011-09-21T13:22:00.000-04:00

Olivia decided that she would like to invite some friends to the mountains to celebrate her 10th (DOUBLE DIGITS!!) birthday. I decided that she could bring four friends and everyone she invited was able to make it. I picked them up from school on Friday and we hit the road.

On our way in to Big Canoe, we stopped for dinner at Fuego's. The girls had all changed clothes and were excited to have me take their picture together on the way in.

Fuego's was packed so we were in the back room. The girls ordered Jarritos to drink ... an orange-flavored mexican soft drink.

Once we got to the house and got the car unloaded, we started the treasure hunt that Pop had put together for Olivia the prior weekend when we was up there. The girls had a BALL running from room to room trying to find the clues.

Olivia reading the first clue.

Pop was pretty clever ... he even put some dummy clues around the house to throw them off the trail

We almost gave up on the final clue ... even though the note said they might need MY help, we just couldn't figure it out. After a late-night phone call to Nanoo & Pop (who were in Orlando for a conference), Pop gave us the extra clue we needed. Olivia did the honors of climbing into the attic in the garage to bring down the treasure chest.

It was FILLED with goodies for the girls ... stuffed animals, puzzles, leis, candy/cookies and more.

The girls had a great time going through the loot and then decided to watch a movie and go to bed. (I went straight to bed - it was well past midnight by this point!)

O's 10th Birthday

2011-09-19T09:33:00.003-04:00

Olivia's birthday celebration started with dinner and birthday cake with the Mashburns on Thursday night. She had hoped to have them spend an entire weekend at the lake with us, but that just wasn't feasible because of football, soccer, fall baseball and work schedules. She was perfectly happy to have them join us for hamburgers and ice cream cake!

The Birthday Girl with McIver, Kate and Harry

She woke up Friday morning to decorations all over her room. This has become a little bit of a tradition around the Merritt house and both children look forward to it every year. The only problem is finding time to do the decorating when they're still asleep.

Can't believe my baby is 10!!

New York - Friday with Will

2011-09-19T08:34:00.001-04:00

Will had a short conference day on Friday so we were able to have lunch and spend the day together. We didn't plan it, but we were in New York during the few days before the tenth anniversary of 9/11 so we knew we needed to go to Ground Zero.

As we approached the former site of the World Trade Center, we saw thousands and thousands of white ribbons tied to fences, trees, gates, bushes and sign posts. Some of them had notes written to the victims of that day and their families. Others had general prayers for peace.

St. Paul's Chapel is right across the street from where the twin towers stood. Being in that space was pretty emotional; I can't imagine the fear and confusion they all must have felt when those planes hit and the towers eventually fell.

NY Firehouse 10 is also across the street from the site. This is the firehouse that lost 343 firefighters that day. On the right hand side of this picture, you can see the start of the Memorial Wall ...

Will and I had lunch a a pizza place right around the corner from Firehouse 10. As we ate, we overheard a couple of guys come in talking about how one of them was trapped in the pizza joint that day as the planes hit and towers fell.

One World Trade Center (I think they're also calling this Freedom Tower) is still under construction. We were not able to see the Memorial and Museum because they were not open to the public yet. It was just so powerful to be in that space.

After lunch, we walked all the way around the WTC site and found the riverwalk along the Hudson River. We caught a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty as we made our way toward the Meatpacking District.

We finally made it to Times Square and the TKTS line to see what our options for a night on Broadway might be. We were lucky enough to be there in time for the Broadway on Broadway tribute to 9/11. Apparently, on September 9, 2001, just two days before 9/11, Broadway actors took to Times Square to kick-off the start of the Broadway season.

Daniel Rodriguez, the Singing Policeman, sang God Bless America ... and brought me to tears right in the middle of Times Square!

We ended up getting tickets to Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark. We had hoped to see Wicked, but apparently, it's still popular enough that the tickets sell out on their own. Spiderman was good, but I kept thinking how much McIver would have loved it. We walked through Times Square on our way back to the hotel... I thought it was past Elmo's bedtime, but he seemed to be going strong!

New York Trip - US Open

2011-09-16T05:25:00.000-04:00

US Open: check!

On Thursday, I hopped on the subway and took the 7 train to Flushing Meadows for a day at the US Open. All matches were cancelled on Tuesday and Wednesday because of the rain, so I totally lucked out and was able to see way more tennis than I bargained for. Several of the men's and women's quarterfinals matches were supposed to have finished up on those days so I got to see them on Thursday. It was AWESOME!!

Arthur Ashe Stadium - tennis mecca!

My neighbor in Columbia has been to the Open twice. She told me I HAD to start my day with a Honey Deuce, the unofficial drink of the US Open. It came in a collector cup, so it seemed pretty official to me ... and it was tasty!

After I did my shopping (had to buy new sunglasses because I forgot to switch them over when I changed bags), I headed straight for the Grandstand to see the Murray v. Young match. Donald Young was the up-and-comer from Atlanta. He had a great first two rounds, but kind of caved once he met up with Murray. Even still, he kept his cool and made the US proud. Murray, on the other hand, ended up showing himself later on in the tournament. I'm just not a big fan of his. Check out how close I was ... first row!

There he is ... Donald Young. See how empty the stadium was at the start of the match? It did end up filling up some, but this was the first match of the day and I guess some folks just weren't as up and at 'em as I was.

There I am ... front row seat! How do you like my shades? (Most expensive pair of sunglasses I've ever owned!)

Once I realized Murray was going to win the match in the Grandstand, I headed over to Court #17 to watch John Isner. He's the American who had the longest tennis match ever at Wimbledon in 2010. The last set alone lasted 8 hours! He was fun to watch and it was amazing to see him in person. He's HUGE - his wingspan must have taken up 3/4 of the court.

Per instructions from my neighbor who was texting me from home, I booked it over to Court #13 to try to see the Roddick v. Ferrer match. It was supposed to be at Louis Armstrong Stadium, but there was a crack in the court and water was bubbling up right at the baseline so it wasn't safe to play. That stadium holds just over 10,000 while Court #13 only seats about 500. There were some really unhappy campers. I managed to get a few good shots of Roddick through all of the people in front of me but then decided to move on since I knew I wasn't going to get any closer.

I went over to check out my seats at Arthur Ashe Stadium. You have to be a ticket holder to get into Ashe. That place is HUGE! But, I thought I had a great seat. I was up in the corner on the top row of the section just above the boxes and the sun was behind me. I saw the quarterfinal matches between Serena Williams and Pavlyuchenkova and Djokovic (the ultimate winner) and Tipsaravic.

Serena warming up. (This was before she lost her cool with the umpire so the crowd was still on her side.)

Djokovic was playing a fellow Serb. It was a great match because both guys kept coming up to play the net. It made for a lot of fun points.

Will and I met up back at the hotel and walked to dinner at Keen's Steakhouse. They have the largest collection of clay pipes in the world. It was a really cool place and the steaks were great.

We walked home through Rockefeller Plaza and Will let me take a quick picture.

New York Trip

2011-09-12T05:17:00.003-04:00

The whole purpose of our trip was for Will to attend a robotics conference at Memorial Sloan-Kettering. So, we had a quick breakfast together on Wednesday morning at the Morningside Cafe just around the corner from our hotel and then parted ways.

It was a pretty nasty day, but I managed to walk a few miles and take in some sights and window-shopping.

Radio City

McIver would LOVE the Lego store ... this is a Lego replica of the ice skating rink in Rockefeller Plaza.

Crazy rainy in Times Square

Grand Central - had to make sure I knew where I was going on Thursday when it was time to head to Flushing Meadows for the US Open. I had a delicious seafood salad at Pearl's Oyster Bar in Grand Central (another suggestion from our new BFF from the airplane).

Will and I met up back at the hotel and got ready for dinner at La Scalinatella. I had been put in charge of dinner reservations for the evening for the two of us, two GynOncs from Charlotte and a robot rep from Columbia. I made three different reservations and posted on Facebook asking which one to keep. Scalinatella was the the winner by far!

And, they were all right! Our dinner was delicious. The menu only listed about five entree options, but our waiter spouted off, in a thick Italian accent, the evening's specials. He pretty much lost me at antipasti. He started calling me "Bella" (score two points for him!) and told me "not to worry, he will take care of me." Bottom line, I don't know what I ate, but it was WONDERFUL!!

New York Trip

2011-09-11T17:15:00.001-04:00

We were supposed to have a direct flight to New York last Tuesday, but the rain in New York made travel difficult. Our original flight was cancelled (thank goodness Will checked his email!), so Will jumped through the hoops of getting us rescheduled. It was a beautiful day in Columbia so it seemed crazy that we weren't flying due to weather.

After almost missing our connection in Charlotte, we made it to the very last row of seats. We sat with a very nice guy who was on his way from Savannah back to New York. We chatted for a bit and when he realized we were going to be tourists, he gave us some suggestions of his own. We parted ways once the plane landed and went to baggage claim and then the taxi line, which looked to be about two hours long. After about 10 minutes in line, and not moving very far, all of a sudden, a black Land Rover pulled up in between two buses and offered a ride to anyone going to the Kimberly Hotel. Will and I were shocked (and delighted!) when we realized it was the man from the plane and he was offering to drive us into the city! We immediately hopped in his car and thanked him profusely. He told us he just couldn't leave the airport in good conscience after seeing that taxi line ... and people say New Yorkers aren't nice!

Per the suggestion of our new BFF, we went straight to PJ Clarke's after checking in and dropping off our bags. It wasn't until we sat down that Will and I decided we should be thankful this guy wasn't an ax murderer!

Dinner was great and we got a few more suggestions for must-see places to go/see/eat from our waitress (whose mother lives in Myrtle Beach). Even though she said it would be very 'touristy' of me, she didn't give me too hard a time when I asked her to take our picture. (In my defense, I waited to ask until most of the other diners had left!)

Labor Day Weekend 2011

2011-09-05T17:09:00.000-04:00

Olivia invited her friend Kit to spend Labor Day weekend at the lake with us.

Mac and Dad went out for a cruise in the kayaks.

Preparing for a ride behind the jet ski. They were very particular about what kind of waves I took them on, how fast I went and who I was supposed to be trying to knock off. For the record, I got them both!

Mac had a friend join us for the day on Sunday. They spent most of the time fishing, but we also went for a boat ride out to Bomb Island. It was too early for the purple martins but the girls enjoyed a quick swim. Then, Will took the boys back into the cove for some more serious fishing.

Will and McIver left out lines on Saturday and Sunday night. Sunday morning, they woke to find one bent hook and a line with no hook. So, Dad bought stronger line figuring whatever got the hook and bait was just too strong for the line they were using. When they checked the lines this morning, they found the same thing ...

Pulling in the second line this morning ... no hook and chewed up line.

Mac was so disgusted he wouldn't even look at me! Better luck next time, boys!

Carpool Conversation

2011-09-02T08:48:00.000-04:00

On the way home from school yesterday:

Me: Charles (5 years old), your mom asked me to tell you that you're going to have a playdate with Robert after school today. He's going to meet you at your house when we get there.

Charles: Yea!!!!!

All the other kids: Blah, blah, homework, yada, yada, homework, silly songs and bad (not funny) jokes.

Me: Charles, we're almost there. Do you think we beat Robert or that he'll already be there?

Charles: I hope we beat him. I have to change my shirt so he doesn't know I go to Heathwood.

Me: What? Why? It's okay to be friends with children from all different schools.

McIver: Yeah, I mean... the Mashburns (our neighbors) go to Hammond and we're in love with them!

I'm not sure 'in love' is the right way to phrase it, but we do feel blessed to have them living next door!

Super Fun Lake Weekend

2011-09-01T10:24:00.000-04:00

Our Supper Club decided to host an end-of-summer bash at the lake last weekend. The organizing got a little mixed-up and I ended up also signing up to play in the InterClub Tennis Tournament (in my defense, the last email I saw suggested that we postpone the party until the fall and turn it into an oyster roast). Anyway, we had the Mashburns and the Isemans spend the night at the lake with us Friday night.

Night swimming was super fun.

Tex didn't know what to think when he couldn't see the tennis ball in the lake.

The Mashburns brought their dog, Skittles, to spend the weekend with us. He's a German short-haired pointer and he liked to flop his paws in the water and eat the bubbles. They swear that he has webbed feet and is meant to be a swimmer, but I've never seen a dog swim like that in my life. He had a one-track mind when he was swimming ... eat the bubbles. So, he just swam and swam, following the bubbles that he was making. He had to be rescued several times by boat and jet ski. It didn't help that we had white-cap-type waves thanks to the remains for Hurricane Irene.

We finally got some kayaks that are perfect for cruising around our cove... much easier to do on a calm day. Check out those waves behind the dock. It looked more like an ocean than a lake on Saturday.

Ford has been in Olivia's class for the last two years, but they are not in the same 4th grade class. We have invited his family to the lake several times but the stars just weren't aligned. We were so glad they could make it this time. This is actually the last picture I took before leaving to go play tennis.

I returned from tennis at 5:00 to find a yard FULL of cars and everyone having a great time. We had about 30 families for a total of about 65 people. Tupp and Ramelle pretty much ran the show, manned the grill and handled the food/serving while I was gone. Will was (still) on the jetski taking kids for a ride on the tube. That's where he was when I left. So, once I changed out of my tennis clothes and said hello to everyone, I took over driving the jet ski. By then, the water had calmed down a little bit.

It was a whole lot easier to paddle around in the kayaks once the wind was gone... and easier for Tex to swim.

Most everyone cleared out by dark so the rest of us who were spending the night (the Mashburns, the McKains, half of the Cannon family and the Browns) sat on the deck re-hashing the day. We woke up to beautiful weather on Sunday and took our time having breakfast (after rescuing Skittles once again), cleaning up and taking in one last jet ski ride.

Brag Note from Mac's Teacher

2011-08-30T13:37:00.000-04:00

According to McIver's first grade teachers, he 'has a lot to say' but needs to work on knowing when it's okay for him to speak and when he needs to wait and let other children have their turn. This note came home last week from his second grade teacher. Forward progress is a good thing!

Doughnuts with Dad (and a Shout-Out!)

2011-08-22T11:25:00.000-04:00

Dad was off last Friday so he offered to take Olivia and McIver to school. Of course, they stopped by the new Krispy Kreme on the way. It's so unusual for him to be home in the morning, much less able to drive them to school, that we had to document with a picture. He was able to walk them into the school and even met McIver's teacher. (Apparently, Olivia didn't need him to go all the way to her classroom.)

Shout Out to our dear friend, Gay! She's starting school today as a lead teacher and I'm so excited for and proud of her. She's been working hard to earn her teacher certification and land a job in a new field and she did it. Love you, Gay ... go get 'em today!

And this is why we love the lake...

2011-08-18T10:14:00.000-04:00

Will took McIver out fishing Sunday night in the back part of our cove. I stopped cleaning and straightening the house long enough to go out and try to get a picture of them. They were too far away and the sun was going down. I couldn't help just sitting on the deck and enjoying this view.

McIver's 1st Day of 2nd Grade

2011-08-17T21:09:00.000-04:00

Even though McIver didn't exactly 'jump up' out of bed on the first day of school, he was happy when he did finally wake up. He ate his breakfast and chatted about what his class must be like with nine (9!) boys and only five girls. He got dressed, packed his snack and reading log for the summer in his backpack and happily posed for a few pictures.

(He was most definitely NOT posing for this picture!)

Since Dad was home, Mom made it into a first day of school picture.

He's in Mrs. McElveen's class. She is the long-term sub for Mrs. Daniel who is out on maternity leave and will be back after Christmas. Mrs. McElveen has two boys of her own which may explain the plethora of boys in her classroom.

McIver failed to return Mrs. SuSu's (his first grade teacher) copy of The Cat in the Hat last Spring so he was anxious to get it back to her today. She welcomed him into her classroom and gave him a GIANT hug and a HUGE smile. The day he found out who his teacher would be for 2nd grade, he told me he was excited, but that he would miss being a Marvelous Mallard.

How cute are his teachers!? After school today (and after patiently waiting for Olivia to finish telling me all about how great her first day was), McIver told me that his teacher 'has the biggest smile at Heathwood!' That's Mrs. McElveen on the right. Mrs. Campbell is the associate teacher and will be with the Spectacular Starfish all year long. When I mentioned to Mrs. McElveen the NINE boys in her class, she raised her eyebrows and said she had heard they were 'all pretty spunky, too.' She assured me that she would be pretty tough on them all the first few weeks of school until they earn the right to some chatting in class.

McIver turned in his supply check and summer reading log (almost 1200 pages!), found his desk and got to work.

We're looking forward to a great second grade year. It's a little bittersweet, though, because Olivia started second grade when we moved back to Columbia. It's hard to believe that McIver is that old now!

Olivia's 1st Day of 4th Grade

2011-08-17T15:58:00.000-04:00

Olivia had a great first day of school. The teacher postcard came last week so she had a chance to get excited about being in Mr. Shirley's class and find out some of the friends who would be in there with her.

I played tennis Tuesday night and wasn't home to get everyone settled in for bed the night before the first day. I was not at all surprised to see that Olivia had picked out her clothes for the big day and laid them out on the sofa in her room.

Will was actually at home this morning so we were able to snap a picture with Dad on the first day of school. I thought that this was the first time he's been part of the first day of school photo shoot, but thanks to my trusty little blog (!), I was able to go back and see that the last time Will was in one of these pictures was Olivia's first day of first grade. (She looks so little then!)

My sweet girl is almost as tall as I am!

Olivia with one of her teachers, Mr. Shirley. Mrs. King is her associate teacher but she was busy with carline so I didn't get a picture of her.

There are so many sweet girls in Olivia's class ... lots of friends whose class she has never been in.

Fourth grade is going to be a great year.

Lake with Friends

2011-08-15T07:37:00.000-04:00

At the very last minute, we invited two families to meet us at the lake for an afternoon/evening of jet skiing, fishing, boat-riding and floating. They brought their children so we had a full house - four boys, three girls and three sets of parents. The mamas, Katherine, Kim and I, play tennis together. Kim and Katherine's sons were on the same baseball team last spring and McIver and Katherine's son are in the same class at school this year. That's a convoluted way of saying some thought was put into who we invited (also serving as a lesson for Olivia who is entering a grade where I have heard girl-drama becomes an issue).

Little Ellie was in one of the classes that I subbed in a lot last year. She's such a cutie ... and an adrenaline junkie. She wanted the jetski to go faster and faster!

Who's having fun!?!?

Getting four boys to pose for a picture is IMPOSSIBLE!

Another attempt at a boys only picture ... on our way to see the purple martins.

My guy - can't believe he's going into second grade.

My sweet girl was a trooper. We just flat out didn't have room for her to invite a friend her age to play with. She spent her time with a riding 1st grader and an almost two year old little girl. And, she loved it! They thought Olivia hung the moon, which she was perfectly OK with, and she gave the parents a chance to take a deep breath and actually relax.

Yea! The mamas managed to make it into a picture. Doesn't happen often and may not be the best picture ever (see: windblown hair and no makeup), but we were having a blast and making memories!

We woke up to sunny skies and hit the dock for some fishing.

I didn't know that McIver knew how to take a fish off the hook.

Olivia took advantage of the opportunity to 'drive' the jetski. (I usually won't let her sit in front of me because I can't really see around her.)

The Osbornes had to pack up and head to Aiken for their son's birthday celebration with family. But, the Draffins were able to hang out into the afternoon. We rode over to the Rusty Anchor to get lunch. McIver and Walker took turns driving the boat. (That would be Will's finger pointing McIver to go AROUND the buoy!)

Olivia and Ellie

Finally, a picture of Tex ... just because.

Let them eat cake!

2011-08-12T18:49:00.000-04:00

McIver went to Macon with Nanoo and Pop for a few nights after our beach trip. Olivia took full advantage of having the house to herself by inviting a friend over to spend the night. They had the run of the house, including the kitchen.

Nanoo sent home a mini cake decorating kit with us so the girls gave it a whirl. Decorating was the best part, of course!

Olivia is quite the baker/decorator, except for when she gets super silly and starts using her fingers to ice the cake.

The girls with their creations.

Believe it or not, she has actually eaten it over the course of the last few days.

Snug as a bug in a rug ... with lots of stuffed animal friends.

St. Simons 2011

2011-08-09T06:20:00.000-04:00

Last Day at the Beach:

Everyone else was still taking it easy so I got dressed and packed up a cooler, my book and a chair and headed to my new favorite spot on St. Simons ... the veeeeeery end of East Beach. There are only a few parking spots so there's plenty of beach to go around. It's also pretty rocky so there aren't too many families with young children down at this end, especially at high tide when it's too rocky to play. I pretty much had it all to myself.

Then, Will and the kids came to find me. Like I said, it was too rocky to play where I was so we moved down to the 6th street beach access closer to the house. The waves were great for boogie boarding.

And building drip castles with huge bunkers around it to keep the tide from knocking it down.

Pop and Cacoo came to join us for a while.

Then, per our typical afternoon, once we were done on the beach, we hit the pool for a little while. Catherine's sweet puppy, Sam, loves to swim almost as much as Tex.

Then, after dinner, Olivia decorated the basement room so that we could surprise Cacoo and Pop with a little birthday celebration (late for Cacoo and early for Pop).

Tex was sad that his time in St. Simons had to come to an end ... but I think he's glad not to have to share the attention of three other dogs, too.

St. Simons 2011

2011-08-08T09:20:00.000-04:00

Day: I can't even remember because it has been so relaxing and wonderful!

Will started his days with coffee and the Vegas, Baby! puzzle. Believe it or not, I didn't, it was actually finished by the end of the week. (Well, all except for one piece that may or may not have ended up stuck to Marley's drool.)

Here's Olivia working on the 'kid puzzle' with some help from Marley.

We spent Thursday at Summer Waves on Jekyll Island. The kids had been looking forward to taking Will there ever since we went to the beach without him last year.

McIver loved having Will dump him out of the inner tube in the "Frantic Atlantic" wave pool.

We had dinner at one of Pop's favorite places ... Frederica House, then took the dogs (some of them!) to the beach. Olivia and McIver humored me with one more shot.

St. Simons 2011

2011-08-04T07:18:00.000-04:00

Day Four: Our very own Shark Week

We met our captain, Jaybird, at one of the small docks near the marina on St. Simons Tuesday morning. First, we headed out to catch some bait fish.

Olivia didn't actually drive the boat but she probably could have done a fine job.

No one else jumped at the chance to reel in the first bite, so I did. Unfortunately, mine was the first one to get away. According to Jaybird, my shark was probably the biggest (maybe based on the fact that it put up the biggest fight, I don't really know)... 7 1/2 feet long and 200 pounds. We'll never know so that's my story and I'm sticking to it! (Plus, this is the only picture we have of me during the entire shark fishing expedition so I had to post it!)

Will and McIver reeled in the next two sharks at the same time. It was quite busy on the boat for a little while.

Jaybird estimated that Will's shark was almost 5 feet long and weighted about 90 pounds.

Jaybird was busy helping McIver with his catch while Will fought his shark.

Pop got in on the action with Mac so that Jaybird could get Will's shark close enough to the boat for a picture.

Those are some proud fishermen!

Olivia finally got the courage to put on the 'butt guard' to reel in her own shark. (McIver loved having an excuse to say 'butt.') Olivia actually had a bit of bad luck to begin with (her first two attempts got away) before she caught the biggest shark of the day.

Check this guy (or girl) out! Jaybird's guess was that this one measured 5 feet, 100+ pounds. He was flailing all around and banging into the side of the boat so we didn't get any closer than this ... and this was plenty close!

My sweet boy loved our fishing trip.

Olivia was WIPED OUT from the heat of the middle of the day and she was a bit disappointed that our last three bites got away.

McIver had had just about enough of shark fishing ... good thing we were headed back to the dock.

Wait! Jaybird asked the kids to empty the bait tank ... that perked them up a little bit.

Love this shot of Pop, Will and Mac.

St. Simons 2011

2011-08-04T03:12:00.001-04:00

Day Three:

Nanoo and McIver broke out the magic science experiment kit.

The children and I bought a puzzle to bring to the beach to work on all week long. Turns out, Nanoo and Will finished it within the first 24 hours we were here. So, Will bought a grown-up puzzle ( - 200 pieces, Vegas, Baby!) and a 550 piece puzzle for the kids. Olivia helped Will get the Vegas puzzle organized.

And, she got in on the magic action (disappearing ink).

We took a golf cart ride down to the pier. McIver, of course, made friends and even was able to lift out someone's crab net.

The pelican was a bit spooky.

His eyes followed us wherever we went.

Our 13th anniversary was July 25, but we waited to celebrate at the beach. The kids spent the evening with Nanoo and Pop while we enjoyed a fantastic dinner at Halyard's.

St. Simons 2011

2011-08-03T11:11:00.001-04:00

Day Two:
Will managed to push Marley (all 105 pounds of him) into the pool. We think he's part Great Dane, part lab, so it seemed like he would love it...

...but he wanted OUT, ASAP. Will had to drag him around the entire edge of the pool to get him to the steps. It looked like he could have just stepped out, though, since he's so darn big.

(Sorry for the fuzzy pictures - my camera fogged up when I went outside.)

We found a much less crowded spot to park it on the beach on Sunday.

Can you say, "low tide?" They had to hike 400 yards to get the boogie boards to the ocean.

Just hanging on the beach with Nanoo and Pop.

They buried me in the sand and turned me into a mermaid (those are supposed to be sea shells).

Mac takes a turn in the sand.

Dinner (and a video game) at The Shak. Apparently, this place has been around for years, but I had never noticed it. It's just off the island and looks like a great place to eat oysters and watch some football.

Pop, and Olivia humored me with a picture.

St. Simons 2011

2011-08-02T10:57:00.001-04:00

Day One:

Olivia has decided she's ready for a two-piece bathing suit. (Lord, please help Will!)

Mac giving the skim board the old college try. He took a few spills, but had a good time trying, too.

Will and Olivia took Tex down the beach to throw the ball because it was so crowded where we were. Mac was glad to have a chance to ride in the front of the golf cart with Pop and then have a chance to drive once we got off the main road.

We met up with Will and Olivia walking back to the house. What a view!?

A few late July pics

2011-08-01T10:57:00.000-04:00

My family went to High Hampton and all I got was this t-shirt.

McIver had to explain the fun of the High Hampton balloons to Will.

We had to get Olivia a new bike before our beach trip. This one is much more her size.

Can you see Tex and Skittles hanging out in the neighbor's window!?

McIver loves to ride his bike, too.

Day #3 at High Hampton Inn

2011-07-29T06:28:00.000-04:00

The grounds all around High Hampton are gorgeous. The Campiones, Jane's sister's family, showed us the herb and dahlia gardens. The front desk gave us a pair of scissors and a mason jar to go and cut flowers to bring home.

Olivia cutting dahlias.

Here's our bouquet.

We had hoped to go to Sliding Rock after lunch, but it sprinkled off and on while we were in the gardens so we tabled the idea for a little while. Then, the bottom really dropped out. I was glad we were already tucked away in our cabin. I read my magazines on the porch for a little until the rain started coming at me sideways.

McIver enjoyed his DS for the first time in days.

Olivia took some time to read a bit.

Olivia was a big help with the children all weekend, but Eliza really kept her busy. She's on the move now, so we took her for a walk up and down the hallway while we waited for everyone else for dinner.

The last picture of our trip ... after a delicious dinner and lots of laughs!

Day #3 at High Hampton Inn

2011-07-28T14:23:00.002-04:00

High Hampton is super dog-friendly. Some cabins are allowed to have dogs and there is a self-serve kennel for guests who are staying in a pet-free cabin. McIver met these precious pups while we were waiting for everyone to gather for a morning excursion.

Then, we made our way to Whitewater Falls.

Whitewater Falls is 411 feet tall and is the highest waterfall in the Eastern United States.

Off to the right of the viewing area, McIver spotted the stairs that led down to another viewing platform and off he went. Robert offered to go with him and sweet little JuliAnna was holding my hand and asking if we could go, too, but I wasn't so sure since there were so many stairs. Jennifer said she would go so the three of us headed down, too. We met up with Robert and McIver on one of the landings for a quick picture.

JuliAnna and Jennifer at the next platform... the view was totally worth the hike back up all of those steps.

On our way back down to the parking lot.

McIver saw the deposit box for making a 'donation' to the park. He was happy to leave my money, but flinched when I suggested that he use his BINGO winnings (tee hee!).

Our next stop was Silver Run Falls. It didn't take long to get our shoes off so we could cool off in the cold water.

A nice man with children too small to climb to the top of the falls offered to go up with McIver. Check out how excited he was to get there! (This was about 10 seconds before he took one step closer to the edge and the nice man, and my hero, grabbed him and they headed back down!)

Jay and his family.

Robert and his family.

I think Olivia sat by Eliza for every single meal. Look at Eliza's face ... she did not see what was so darn funny ... she wanted a sip of that lemonade!

This post was getting pretty long with LOTS of pictures, so you'll just have to wait until tomorrow to see what we did after lunch.

Day #2 at High Hampton Inn

2011-07-27T13:32:00.003-04:00

Breakfast at High Hampton is the BOMB!! Every meal is a buffet but you just can't go wrong with breakfast - bacon, sausage patties and link sausage, eggs, grits, tons of fresh fruit, biscuits with homemade jellies, pancakes and more. There's just no way anyone could leave breakfast without a full tummy.

McIver found the best climbing tree of all after breakfast. Then, he met up with GranDaddy, Olivia, Catherine and Catherine's Papa for a long morning hike.

Jane, Robert and I went to a tennis clinic and played in the round robin on Saturday morning. The tennis pro was great and we had fun meeting some other folks who were visiting for the weekend. After tennis, Jane and I stopped at the market for a beer and a chance to visit uninterrupted.

These balloons were a hit all weekend long. They took forever to blow up and then the kids let them go to see how far they would fly. They made a terrible screeching noise that the kids loved.

Playing in the lake after lunch.

Everybody loved the paddle buoys. They're like an early version of a paddle board. We've got to get one for the lake. The kids all loved to climb on the board, stand up and let Uncle Jay wiggle the board until they fell off.

The waterfall near our cabin was the back side of the dam at one end of the lake. I loved being able to sit on our porch and listen to the water.

GranDaddy with all of his grands.

(McIver had just discovered the 'library' in the main part of the Inn... it was home to the first television he had seen in two days. Anytime he went missing from Saturday night on, I knew where to find him. So, it was all he could do to sit still and smile for the camera. Let's just say that is one painful "cheese!")

Me and my sweet girl.

Mamoo joined us for two nights. She loved seeing all of us together and enjoying each other's company. The little girls kept her in stitches during most of the meals.

GrandDaddy with Amelia and Olivia.

High Hampton Inn with the Merritts

2011-07-26T08:00:00.001-04:00

What a treat! The children and I just returned from four glorious days at High Hampton Inn in Cashiers, NC with (almost) all of the Merritts. (Will wasn't able to change his call schedule so he held down the fort for us in Columbia.) Many, many thanks to Will's parents for treating us to such a fantastic trip.

Arrival on Friday.

The view from our cabin ... overlooks a lake and we could even hear the waterfall from inside our room.

View of the mountain from one of the lawn areas.

High Hampton has 'afternoon tea' every day at 4:00. McIver found the Game of Skittles while we waited for the staff to set up the cookies and tea. The game was a hit with guests of all ages. You wind a string around a top and spin it with the goal of knocking down as many high-value pins as possible. I think Olivia got the most of our family with a whopping 380 points in one spin.

Visiting with Mamoo on the lawn.

Swimming in the lake.

Mamoo with six of her eight great grandchildren.

After a delicious dinner in the dining room, anyone who wants to participate meets in the lobby for the evening entertainment. Our first night was Bingo. McIver managed quite a few cards.

Olivia and Catherine were glad to see each other again after their last visit in Myrtle Beach. Catherine has been to High Hampton before so she showed Olivia the ropes. They came 'soooo close' to winning Bingo.

But, McIver was the only winner of our crew that night. He won $15 (had to split a $30 pot with another winner) on the 'picture frame' Bingo.

Catherine knows all the great climbing trees in High Hampton.

Tennis Clinic

2011-07-25T16:40:00.000-04:00

Olivia and five friends spent their mornings with Brad, the tennis pro at Forest Lake. I'm hoping that Olivia's interest in tennis will stick and that it will be something else we can do together.

All smiles before clinic on Friday morning.

Not too bad-looking for an 'after' shot after two hours of playing tennis in the heat of Columbia on a summer day.

Happy Birthday to Me!

2011-07-22T21:38:00.000-04:00

I have seen several bloggers talk about having their blogs printed in book form. Originally, this blog was created to help our family and friends in Georgia and South Carolina keep up with our goings-on when we lived in Houston. It was easier to do this because I didn't have to worry about loading pictures to Shutterfly and figuring out who to send them to (and whether or not they actually wanted to look at all of our pictures). I also loved that I could write and give the story behind the pictures. Anyway, once I heard about being able to have the blog printed in book form, I knew that's what I eventually wanted to do.

I finally took the time to order the first year and a half of the blog for myself as a birthday gift. I was so excited to check the mail and open up my books (there will be a different book for each year). The most fun thing, though, has been going back through the book with Olivia and McIver. They have loved reading about themselves and hearing stories about when we lived in Texas. They remember some of the stories, but many they do not. I hope these books will help them remember their childhood and know how much they mean to me to continue to tell their stories.

Harry Potter Legos

2011-07-21T21:12:00.000-04:00

Olivia and Will headed to Allendale, SC to celebrate a friend's 10th birthday with a Daddy/Daughter night at Maggie's grandfather's house. There were four girls and four dads and they left about 10am on Saturday. Will took the jetskis for riding on the Savannah River and not-quite-enough-bacon and pancakes for breakfast.

McIver and I had an entire day to fill. We read some Harry Potter (book 5), went to Target and bought (and completed) a Harry Potter Lego set and rented the fourth Harry Potter movie. We had a great time putting together The Burrow and talking about whatever was on his sweet little mind.

I was also able to snap a few pictures... working hard and concentrating.

Big smile for Mama ... still a long way to go.

The Burrow - home of the Weasley family.

McIver insisted that I take a picture of just The Burrow so I could get a close-up.

McIver doesn't know it, and I feel safe telling on the blog because he doesn't read it, but he's going to be the lucky recipient of the Hogwarts Castle Lego set for his birthday. He mentioned to me while we were putting The Burrow together that he would love to have Hogwarts Castle. I reminded him that we saw it at Barnes and Noble the other day and it was pretty expensive so maybe he should think about asking for it for his birthday. He said that he would 'love whoever gives me that for the rest of my life!' So, I texted Nanoo and gave her the hint. Can't wait to see his face when he opens it!

Quick Trip to Macon

2011-07-20T21:12:00.001-04:00

The kids and I (well, to be honest, I!) decided to make a quick trip to Macon last week. I knew we were going to be spending some time with Nanoo and Pop in St. Simons in August, but we didn't have any plans that involved visits with the great-grands any time soon. So, we packed up last Wednesday and headed to Macon.

Our first stop was at Grandma Myrtle's house. She's selling her house - the only one I've ever known - and moving to a smaller apartment in August so she was unloading some things. McIver was THRILLED to receive Bob's (my grandfather) old metal detector. What fun he had figuring out the knobs and searching for treasure! She also gave me this portrait of my dad.

Wasn't he handsome? I think this was when he was in high school because there was also a portrait of my aunt and she was wearing the drape like we wore for our senior pictures. Anyway, it was a fun visit - we walked around reminiscing and figuring out where she's going to be able to put furniture in her new home. Unfortunately, I didn't take a single picture.

On Thursday, we went to see Cacoo's new house which was the house that Nanoo and I moved into when I was in 4th grade. Then, after Nanoo and Pop got married, we moved to Pop's house and Grandma Janet and Pappa moved to Macon and lived in that house. Grandma Janet moved to a smaller apartment after a fall and subsequent knee replacement surgery. The house has been empty for a while, but now Cacoo and a friend are living there. The house looks great; they've got some furniture moved in and are still working on getting settled. The two new puppies they rescued Wednesday night out to make it look lived in really quickly! But, I can understand how hard it was to leave this sweet face on the side of the road.

The kids and I took Cacoo to lunch at Moe's to celebrate her birthday a few days early. Then, Cacoo took the kids to the recycling center on Thursday while Nanoo and I went to a fabric store. My (and their) understanding was that the proceeds would be split between the three of them. Cacoo had other plans which, to my surprise, Olivia and McIver let slide pretty easily.

I went to see Grandma Janet and meet her sweet Mama Kitty.

Grandma Janet rode back to Nanoo and Pop's house with me and I was able to get a few pictures.

Stricklin Visit - Day 4

2011-07-16T14:44:00.000-04:00

This is pretty much what Tex spent the entire weekend doing.

The girls relaxing and showing off their newly created yoga moves.