Just so I can remember

Elle and I were doing school work this afternoon and she commented on a big pink marker line on her arm: "I'm never going to wash my arm." And I immediately thought, uh-oh.

me: "Why?"
elle: "Well, I kind of don't want to tell you because it's my secret."
me: "Did someone make that mark on your arm?"
elle: "Yes, Gabriel."
me: "Who's Gabriel?"
elle: "He's just my best friend in CBS."

Family Vacation

It's been awhile, but we had a wonderful family vacation at the beach. The water and weather were beautifully perfect and although the purple "dangerous sea creature" flag was flying the entire time, we only saw two jellyfish. We did see an amazing amount of crab, live sand dollars, dolphins and the tiniest hermit crabs ever. This was the first time the kids enjoyed the beach more than the pool. I think maybe because it wasn't the kind of hot where you can't breathe.

The kids did a lot of drawing in the sand. What a great place to work on your letters. They were having so much fun and so proud, they didn't even know they were learning! Grady has been especially proud of working on his name. Can't you tell?

One of our favorite things to do when we are there is to eat at the Donut Hole. Steven insisted we go the very first morning and no one objected. They have the most amazing donuts as well as what I like to call the "clog your arteries" kind of breakfast: biscuits, gravy, eggs, sausage, hasbrowns, bacon, etc. I commented on how I liked their coffee mugs and Steven went to pay our bill and came out with a mug for me. I'm a little ashamed to admit it, but I went back a second morning and brought back a dozen donuts. It was vacation after all.

We love September at the beach. It really does feel like you have the whole beach to yourselves. We joked that it just might be enough reason to keep homeschooling a few more years:).

Another great check up

I took Grady to his 4 year old check up this past Friday. The doctor said he looked great, even after Grady asked him why he didn't have any hair. I was a bit surprised that he is a little above average in height and weight (64th percentile). I'd been thinking he was on the small side, but maybe not so much after all. Or it could be that I compare him to Reese, who's almost 2 years younger but about the same size. I've never thought Reese was on the "small" size.

We waited a pretty long time in the exam room. Of course, in an 8 x 8 room with three children, 5 minutes seems like 30. And you can only play "I Spy" for so long, since there was nothing but the biohazard sign on the wall. And the goldfish lasted about 3 mintues. Anyway, Grady said, "Mom can we go yet? I'm kinda finished." I was kinda finished too, but we had to wait for the doctor to tell us when we were finished. The boys got the flu mist vaccine {Elle can't have the mist} and that was enough to set Grady off. I opted to put off the rest of the shots until next summer and hope Steven can take him then:).

I have not yet mentioned that I have a new part-time job. I am glad to be helping out a friend, earning some extra money, and doing something new and different with my brain. Now you  know that when you buy shirts from Darby, you are not only helping support her business but me as well:). That's in addition to getting some really cool kids tshirts.

We are off the the beach tomorrow!!

Super heroes

We took a trip to Greenville to see Steven's parents.

Grammy had gotten some gifts for the kids. The super hero capes were a huge hit!

Reese fought the bad guys on his own for a while. But then reinforcements showed up. Don't be fooled by the flowered parasol. She is a super hero who means business.

There was to be a super game of hide-and-seek, but first, Flash had to get the rules straight with dad.

You were obviously allowed to shoot your pursuer.

We had a fun day there with them and enjoyed lots of good food and time outside playing and exploring. My mom also celebrated a birthday milestone {she might not want me to say which milestone!} over the weekend and we are looking forward to celebrating with her in Atlanta in a couple weeks. 

But first, we are going to do a little fall clothes shopping over the weekend. My friend's post about this made me laugh this week. I hope we'll find some suitable things that aren't diva-fied or skull and crossbone-ified! Hope you all have been enjoying this beautiful, cooler weather!