pool day

Today was a "get settled in and then go to the pool" day. I got up and went to the grocery store at 7 am. YES, that's right 7 am! No one was there. It started out fun - going up and down the aisles and not having to wait for other people to move but then I kept looking at the price signs. Scary!! MAN I MISS TRADER JOE'S! I can't believe how expensive food is here: $3.99 for a half gallon of milk at Sweet Bay. Oh, and I haven't had to purchase eggs in a long time. YIKES!!! I finished my shopping (I only left with 2 bags) then headed home for breakfast. We played at the house then went to Aunt Sarah's for some pool time. Carsyn got right in with her swimmies. She is doing fantastic. She will go all over the big pool alone. Swim lessons were good for her. It is naptime now. Reagan and Luke are fast asleep and Carsyn is learning how to ride a 2 wheeler (a man down the street let us borrow a bike- SO NICE!) Hope you are enjoying the start of your summer.....

fl

We made it! After 9 long hours of traveling we are here. We had to get to the airport 2 hours early so Dale could check his "piece" (yes dee you can have fun with that one). Then we headed to Atlanta (I HATE THAT AIRPORT!) We had a 3 hour layover then headed to the sunshine state. The kids were AWESOME! Reagan kept talking about seeing grandma when we got here. Poor girl was disappointed. Good thing Aunt Sarah's here- it's almost as good. We are excited to go to the beach, pool, aquarium, and play at grandma's. It's 90 (real feel of 97). We are headed to the pool...... Have a great day!

memorial day weekend

Friday morning I left Dale and the kids and went to Zion to spend the weekend at my sisters house (I rode with my parents). Saturday morning I went out to breakfast with 2 of my girlfriends that I grew up with. It is always fun to get together and discuss the past, the present and future plans. They are neat women- I wish I could spend more time in their company. Later that day we had a picnic at my cousin Lesley's house. She has a beautiful new baby, Macey Rose. Later that night everyone (except me) wanted to go to the movies so I went out with a friend from high school. Margaritas and reminiscing lifts the spirits! Sunday we had a picnic at Andrea's and celebrated Eli and Samuel's birthdays. We left Monday morning (I rode home with Adam). It was fun to spend time with everyone and have a much needed respite. Now I have 2 days until we go to Florida.....

My grandpa was a Navy man...



Amy, Becky (her little girl Lily) and Maryia...


Devan and Macey...


Jim, David, Sam and Eli...


Grandma and Devan...


Grandpa and Micah Vaughn (named after my Grandpa Farrington)...


playtime...


Uncle Dennis (mom's brother), Macey and Lesley...

Karen...


Eli (4) and Samuel (3)...

carsyn

Today Carsyn's kindergarten class went on their end of the year field trip to Grant's Farm. It was a beautiful day. We saw the clydesdale's, rode the tram, fed the goats, saw lots of animals, ate lunch and saw 2 shows. It was a fun day. Only 2 days of school left!! :)


36 kindergarteners!!






Mira Jane, Max, Carsyn and Cate...


Lauren, Monae and Carsyn feeding the goats...






Kami...




Hannah was chosen to participate in the rat race. A rat ran across her arm, neck and down the other arm. YIKES!!!


animal show...


elephant show...

luke

Today Luke's 3K class went to the park for the end of the year party. It was a beautiful day- lots of sunshine and a nice breeze. The kids played at the park for about an hour then we went on a treasure hunt. We walked through the park to collect nature's treasures. It was fun to see the kids personalities shining through. Luke's treasures consisted of some carefully picked flowers and 1 pine cone. One of the boys said, "Luke Beachy, you don't have very much! Look at my bucket (which was FULL)." Luke just smiled. He only chose things he thinks are very special. One of the MANY things I love about him. After the treasure hunt we headed back for pizza. He had so much fun! I am sad that there is only 1 day of 3K left. We think Mrs. Heinemann is the greatest. I am so glad Reagan will be in her class next year.

The class...

a writer

A few months ago Carsyn entered the Channel 9 Young Writers and Illustrators Contest. All on her own she wrote and illustrated an original story entitled The Jungle Adventure. She was very excited about the whole process- especially the idea of winning! A few weeks ago we received an invitation to the Magic House to celebrate all of the contest participants. So tonight we headed to the Magic House to celebrate Carsyn. Her story did not win but we think it is fantastic! We are SO PROUD of her!!!

(We will try to video her reading the story and post it on the blog)







Reagan LOVES the mirror hallway...




This is most likely the 1st and last time you will see Carsyn playing with a dollhouse...




They are sitting in a bubble...










Isn't he SO handsome!!!

low country boil

Yesterday we hosted our annual low country boil (well, annual except we skipped last year). We invited the 8th grade team plus other Westminster friends. It was so much fun. The weather was great too (FINALLY). We thought about making it more traditional but we didn't think this crowd could handle dumping the food out onto tables and standing around them eating. Maybe one day...

Dale and his dad cooked the seafood...






















Carsyn's favorite part was the crab (she LOVES it) and playing with Clayton.
Luke's favorite thing was playing basketball and in the bouncer.
Reagan said she loved the green popsicle best (note: she had a red one!)