Visit with Mamoo

Will played golf Wednesday afternoon so the kids and I were on our own for the afternoon and evening.  Once homework was complete and Tex was sufficiently worn out, we got Olivia's hair cut and had dinner at Moe's.  At the last minute, we called to see if Mamoo was home and up for a visit.  She was so we headed on over...

She was enjoying perfect Spring weather on her porch.  McIver was eager to explain ALL ABOUT Pokemon cards to her.  Sweet Mamoo was as patient as can be even though she had no idea what he was saying!  

Our kids are so fortunate to be able to know three of their great grandmothers!

The Lake

We took McIver's tennis racquet to the lake last weekend to see if we could hit the ball further into the lake to wear Tex out more quickly.  Turns out that it was pretty windy so that was enough to make it harder for him to swim.  We really could only throw it a few times before he needed a rest.

He is one happy pup when he's in the water.

Olivia and her buddy thought they were going to go for a swim.  Check out that wind!  I was standing on the dock and getting wet from the waves splashing up on me ... is that what they mean by 'lake effect winds?'

They dipped their feet in the water, but ultimately decided against a swim.

Tex wants to be wherever Will is just in case he decides to throw the ball for him.

Sweet Cousins

Robert and Kelli came to Columbia last weekend to take their girls to Disney on Ice.  We had a quick visit with them and I got some really cute pictures of everyone.

Miss Amelia is a ham!

Olivia loved being able to feed Eliza.

Smile!!

Look!  I can stand up!

Good -bye hugs

Please play with me!!

Right in the middle of the craziness that is our mornings, Tex dropped his tennis ball in the dishwasher.  I don't even know where he found the ball.  We usually take the ball away from him after we play with him outside because he's just so darn insistent whenever he has the ball in the house.  He will follow us around the house dropping the ball at our feet in an attempt to get some attention.  And, it's awfully hard for the kids (and Will) to resist throwing or rolling the ball for him inside.  (Drives me nuts!)

"Do I have your attention now?!  NOW will you stop what you're doing and play with me?"

More Pokemon

I told McIver I'm not taking him to buy (with his money or mine!) more Pokemon cards until he has drawn a picture of each and every card (over 100) that he already has.  He has taken me at my word and spends much of his free time with his kindergarten 'tool kit' and his Pokemon notebook.

Mamoo is giving him a Target gift card for Easter so he will be thrilled to get to buy whichever pack of cards his little heart desires next week.

The Masters *new picture*

Will and I left the kids at the beach with Nanoo (Pop had already gone back to Macon on Tuesday to get back to work) on Thursday morning.  Some friends from Houston, the Butlers, were on their way to Columbia to stay with us and go to the Masters.  We took them to dinner at Mr. Friendly's on Thursday night and introduce them to the deliciousness that is their filet topped with pimento cheese.

Cameras are not allowed on the course, which just SLAYED me, because we were able to go inside the clubhouse, pro shop and some other behind-the-scenes areas with the Butlers.  So, these are the only pictures we have ...

In the parking lot heading into the tournament on Friday morning.

We spent a good part of the afternoon on Friday on the 4th hole and were able to see a bunch of the more interesting players come through.  There weren't a whole lot of exciting putts until we were back in the same spot on Saturday.  We actually ended up seeing Freddie Couples birdie #4, 15 and 16.

After the tournament on both days, we went to Ashley and Mark's house for a visit.  I didn't get to see Helen Randall, but we had a great time catching up with Ashley and Mark.  Ashley was a great hostess and had the perfect table set up with some delicious post-Masters snacks for us.

Stacey, Scott and Will went back to the tournament on Sunday with Mark.  I was back on child-duty and met Nanoo just outside of Augusta to pick up the kids.  Olivia and Mattie seem to have had a great time together during Spring Break.  We dropped Mattie off and then headed home to get the kids unpacked.

I watched the Masters from the comfort of my new living room sofa and wondered where Will was watching.  I hoped he was in the stands on the 15th hole because a lot of the great shots of the day could be seen from there.  Turns out, they had all been on #10 when Rory started to crash.  Then they headed inside and watched the rest of the tournament from the air-conditioned comfort of the clubhouse.

Will wanted to keep all of these goodies from this year's Masters, but I convinced him to let me take a picture and then toss them.  The pairings sheet, tournament book, breakfast menu from the clubhouse (where we ate Saturday morning) and swizzle sticks from our Azalea (a drink you can only get from the clubhouse bar - yes!  we were something else!).

Spring Break 2011 at St. Simons

Preparing tacos for the kids ... easy, quick and a hit for everyone.

After dinner, McIver and Morgan headed to their downstairs room to talk Pokemon.

So, the moms and dads took off with Tex for the beach.

We had such a great time hanging out with Tupp and Elizabeth.  This is our second year to spend Spring Break with them.

Words cannot express how much Tex loves the beach.

Nanoo had to have she-crab soup from The Crab Trap so we each had just a small taste before our dinner of Beaufort Stew on our last night.

Sitting down to our feast of Beaufort Stew.

After dinner, we broke out Elizabeth's new game of Taboo.  The grown-ups had a great time playing until almost 12:30 at night.  Then, these two girls came stomping down their stairs begging to play.  I took this picture at 12:30 AM!

Spring Break 2011 at St. Simons

The Target hula hoops were a big hit!  Olivia and Mattie were showing off their skills on the beach to throngs of admirers.

Check them out!

Olivia and Mattie tagged along with the big kids to the beach on Sunday while I stayed home with McIver who was desperate to swim in the pool even though it was fuh-reezing.  I was able to snap a quick (and cute!) picture of Olivia and Cacoo before Cacoo left to head back to Macon.

We went to the beach on Monday morning trying to kill time until the rest of our crew's arrival.  We FINALLY got the text that Dad and the Isemans had arrived so we raced home, helped them unload and headed back to the beach.  McIver was SO glad Morgan (another boy!) was finally there.

Once we got back to the house, all they could do was talk Pokemon.  I've never been so glad to see Morgan in my life.  He's the one who introduced McIver to the Pokemon craze and he's just as into it as Mac.  

Tex was in his Happy Place in the pool, but beware the cold water when he got out to shake!

Ready... set...

Cannonbaaaaaaaaall!

The boys took their Pokemon cards to dinner at Mullet Bay just in case we had to wait for a little while.

The kid end of the table.

Spring Break 2011 at St. Simons

We had an awesome (and busy) spring break.  I took Olivia, her friend Mattie and McIver down to St. Simons on Friday after school to meet up with Nanoo, Pop, Cacoo and a slew of her friends.  Had an easy night Friday just getting settled.  It didn't take Olivia and Mattie long to get comfortable in the king-sized bed they shared until the Isemans' arrival on Monday.  McIver loved sleeping with me (and Tex) for a few nights.

First stop Saturday morning:  Target.  It was a bit chilly for the beach Saturday morning so we thought we needed some other form of entertainment ... hula hoops for the girls and (more) Pokemon cards for Mac.

We went back to the house to pick up Nanoo and ride the golf cart to the Village to have lunch at Brogens.

We had a little wait, so Nanoo and Pop took Mac down to the pier to check out the fishermen while Olivia, Mattie and I wandered around the shops.

The temperature finally rose so we packed up for the beach.  Check out those blue skies!!

Everyone immediately got busy digging and hunting for jellyfish.  Cacoo's friend told the kids that it's OK to touch the jelly-part of the jellyfish, so they took off collecting them before I had a chance to freak out and warn them not to.  Turns out she was right and we ended up with a giant pile of jellyfish bodies that went from three or four...  

... to a few more...

... and finally a huge pile of 45 or so jellyfish.  I can assure you that no one was stung AND that I was deemed worst mom on the beach even though ALL the kids wanted to hang out with us!

Mattie might not look like she's having all that much fun, but she was actually the first one to pick up the jelly body.

Mac also found a 'teeny, tiny, little crab.'

Visit with the Grands

Nanoo came to town to see Olivia's biography report.  She had hoped to get to Mac's baseball game, but it was rained out.  Instead, she listened to him prepare for his biography report on Matthew Henson.  (He and Robert Peary, with the help of Inuit people and sled dogs, were the first people to get to the North Pole.)

GranGran and GranDaddy also came to town for a quick visit with Mamoo.  We all had dinner together at Cantina 76 - yum!

Poor Mamoo sat at the end next to McIver and got an earful about Pokemon cards.  (Sorry for the blurry shot - had to snap the picture quickly before Mac went back to his seat.)

Lots of Merritts

A server was kind enough to offer to take a picture so Nanoo could jump in, too.

Nanoo left from our house to go to the beach so she brought Pepper and Marley.  She had warned me that Marley had gotten big, but I had no idea that he was SOOOOOO big!!  Olivia got everyone's attention by holding up treats for them.  Keep in mind that Marley is only 8 months old in this picture, compared to Tex who is over 1 and Pepper who is 7.