New York Trip

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

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

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

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

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

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!)

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...

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

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

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

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!

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.