Mothers Day 2011

Mothers Day 2011 after church with Mamoo

We met Mamoo at her church for the 11:00 service.  She was so happy and proud to be able to show off her grandson and two of her great grandchildren to all of her friends.  Afterwards, we took her to brunch at Forest Lake where she also saw some friends.

I didn't get any pictures of me with my family, but I love this picture so much.  It was a Mothers Day to remember.  Even though I ended up with a hoarse voice, I had a great day.  I was showered with gift from the children ... a Total Pillow from Olivia (bought with her own money), a portrait and sweet paragraph from McIver, and a Nook from the whole family (or maybe it's just from Will).  I spent part of the afternoon playing with my new toy, then took the kids over to a friend's house to swim and visit for an hour or so.

Still no voice today, but my heart is definitely full!

Darlington

Sometime around mid-week last week, Will asked McIver if he'd be interested in going to Darlington to see his first NASCAR race.  McIver jumped at the chance.  Will had tried to get some other dads/sons to go with them, but it was just too last minute.  So, they pressed on, bought their tickets and loaded up on Saturday after the baseball game.  (McIver's team won so they're still in the play-offs.)  I sent Will with the camera and am so proud of him for getting so many great shots.

In front of a 'real' race car on the way to the track.

Look!  Will even asked someone to take their picture because he knew I'd want one of the two of them.  That's pit road behind them... and McIver already has a new t-shirt on (Hendrick Motor Sports, if you must know).

Another shot of them together in the stands.  They were about 4 rows from the bottom.  Will sent a text telling me how loud it was and that Mac was on Sensory Overload.  I was worried that it was too loud for him, but Will wrote back and told me it was "sensory overload in a good way."

No worries ... he had his headphones and radio scanner so he could keep up with the action.

Playing Angry Birds and waiting for the race to begin.

Will's teaching our boy right ... #3 for Dale Earnhardt.

Will managed to get a shot with a car in the background.

Even though they didn't stay until the end of the race, they both had a great time.  McIver tried to tell us about it this morning, but finally threw his hands up and said 'there's just so much to tell.'  We've gotten bits and pieces out of him all day long.  They're already making plans to go back next year!

"Reading is a Treat"

I helped with the school book fair last week.  The money raised supports the library and the visiting authors that come to school each semester.  Our school librarians are the bomb and really take the time to help the children find books that interest them.  Our theme this year was "Reading is a Treat."

The 3rd grade art club made the sign for us. They drew candy wrappers all over the sign and even glued some (clean) wrappers to it, too.

How cute are those lollipops!?

I borrowed the cupcake idea from my college friend Hillary.  Her mom made them for her as Christmas decorations a few years ago and I remembered seeing the pictures on Facebook.  After several trips to Lowe's, we were quite pleased with the final product.  Too bad some of the students thought the gumballs (that were HOTglued to the insulation on the top of the cupcakes) were for them.  We ended up with lots of little white marks where the paint peeled off.  The 'candies' on the doors are frisbees wrapped in cellophane and tied with curling ribbon.

Johnston Family Reunion

The descendants of Mamoo's grandfather held their annual reunion (I think it was the 44th reunion!) last Sunday in St. George, South Carolina.  Will was on call, but I knew having us be there would mean so much to Mamoo so the children and I rode down with her Sunday morning.  When we arrived, we signed in under Mamoo's father's name along with many of Mamoo's nieces and nephews, Ginny, Jimmy and Jimmy's brother, Bobby and his wife, Faye. 

Mamoo found a seat by the fountain and 'held court.'  She loved being back in the town where she grew up and surrounded by her family.

McIver had a ball playing basketball, running around the yard and introducing the little boys (distant cousins) to Pokemon.  Olivia stuck pretty close to me, but everyone enjoyed the fried chicken and picnic lunch.

Mamoo with Ginny (Will's mom), a cousin whose name I can't recall, Mamoo's nephew Tommy, and Will's Uncle Bobby

Another Day at the Lake

We had a busy, busy morning on Saturday ... final baseball game of the regular season at 9am and Olivia's soccer game at noon.  On our way off the soccer field, Olivia invited a friend to come to the lake with us for the afternoon.  The Isemans also joined us.  Will put the pontoon boat back in the water and we headed for the Rusty Anchor for a late afternoon snack.

These precious baby ducks paddled over to the Rusty Anchor docks.  Some nice people on a boat near us shared their bread with the kids so they could feed the ducks.

Cool dude.

What a shot of Tex!!

The Isemans stopped on their way to the lake to pick up some crickets.  They were a huge hit with the fish and I think every child caught something.

One last jet ski ride before taking them out of the water.  So glad that Will is confident enough to wear my pink life vest!

Easter Weekend in Myrtle Beach

Olivia left a note for the Easter Bunny:

"Dear Easter bunny,

Can I have $50 or $100.  I want it for a electric scooter.

Love,

Olivia W Merritt

PS:  Please work your magic"

Even though I told her children don't typically write letters to the Easter Bunny like they do for Santa, she insisted it was okay.  I even pointed out that Santa gets letters much earlier so that he can plan accordingly.  She said that since she was just asking for money, it shouldn't be a problem.  Even though she didn't get the money that she had hoped for, she was pleased with her basket.  New PJs, a "Clemson Girls Love their Tigers" t-shirt, a t-shirt filled with peace signs, not to mention candy and a few eggs with some cash inside.

McIver was excited about his Cocky golf club cover.

Ginny invited several families over for a picnic lunch after church.  It was great to see everyone and have a chance to really visit with them.  And, to see their kids in action!  These girls climbed in, around and all over the golf cart.  Olivia and McIver each had a turn driving them in the golf cart, with adults riding, too.  We also saw the baby alligator who was hanging out in the pond on the 8th hold.

Easter Weekend in Myrtle Beach

On our way to the Easter Egg Hunt at the Dunes Club

They love to ride the golf cart any chance they get.

Waiting for the hunt to begin ... The kids were separated by age so they didn't actually get to hunt in the same place which was probably a good thing.  There were three prize eggs in each age group with ToysRUs gift cards.  Neither of our children found the prize eggs ... another good thing.

Even though he didn't find a prize egg, he was happy with his loot.

The Easter Bunny was a big hit with Eliza.  She's the only baby I know who laughs and giggles and reaches out for the Easter Bunny to hold her.

Olivia was so happy running around like the Pied Piper with JuliAnna and Amelia.  They posed for several pictures for me.

After lunch in the dining room, we hit the beach.  Jane and her mom were kind enough to offer to move their beach chairs to the swash so I could keep an eye on McIver.  McIver loves catching fish with his net and even made friends with someone who offered to let him use their kayak.  He paddled around the swash for hours!

Olivia loves her godmother, Aunt Jane.  They trudged through the pluff mud together.

Amelia came to hang out with us for a little while, too.

We joined the Hudsons on the beach late in the afternoon.  They had brought loaves of bread to feed the sea gulls.  I'm thinking we'll have to do that next time because McIver had a ball!  Tex was pretty happy, too.

Easter Weekend in Myrtle Beach

We survived the torrential rains and traffic heading into Myrtle Beach on Friday afternoon.  Kelli and Robert brought their girls over to have dinner with us. 

Eliza needed a little snack first.

Will checked out the bird houses to show the children the eggs inside.  

McIver got off the computer long enough to love on Eliza.

GranDaddy gave Eliza a few tiny tastes of his ice cream.  I'm not sure if this was her first taste of it or not, but she made some terribly cute faces before deciding that she liked it!

Easter 2011

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Easter basket from Nanoo & Pop

Getting a package in the mail is always fun.  This one was from Nanoo and Pop ... an Easter basket filled with treats!

Baseball

McIver's baseball team is doing pretty well this season.  They have lost one game and are having a great time.  During pre-game warm-ups this week, Mac was out in left field (literally, not figuratively this time!) and almost, allllllmost caught a pop fly.  He was so proud of himself for getting his glove on the ball and stopping it.  Several of his teammates, who didn't realize that I was there watching, yelled over to me later to tell me.  Apparently they were as surprised as McIver and I were!

A mom from his team shared some of that black stuff for under Mac's eyes so we had to take a picture of it when he got home.  He thought he was something else!

Check out that mop-top!  It's kind of hard to tell in this picture because this is post-game.  Mac doesn't want to get his hair cut until after baseball season.  (The season could last all the way through mid-May since his team is having such a good season.  It's a double-elimination tournament which doesn't even start until the beginning of May.)  I'm kind of digging the long-ish hair, so we may end up just getting it shaped up and trimmed rather than a 'summer cut.'  

McIver's Poster Project

McIver's teachers have had each student in the class do a Special Assignment each week since the start of school.  McIver comes home on Monday with his SA binder, a new book and a list of questions to answer about the book.  There is also a rubric which the students use to be sure the work is done well each week ... Did I use my best handwriting?  Did I use correct punctuation and complete sentences?  Did I write my name and date on my paper?  It has been a great way to teach Mac how to use his time wisely and spread the work out over the course of the week rather than waiting to do it all on Thursday night.  I have loved seeing his progress.

The last few Special Assignments have had a new element.  One week they had to do a biography and dress up as their subject while presenting their reports to the class.  They have also done a project in-class with notecards and posters.  For the at-home poster project this time around, Mac chose a book called Tricks with Bikes.

Hard at work on the title of his book with 'bold/block print letters.'

I walked away and came back to find him in this position.

All dressed for baseball, but using his time wisely until it's time to leave for the game.

Gratuitous picture of Tex with his ear flipped back.

The final poster:

So proud of his hard work!