Elf on the Shelf

Frosty returned last night and so far is being much more mischevious than I remember.  Last night all my couch cushions were piled high on the coffee table and tonight he buried himself in the bucket of candy canes!  The kids adore him...although I can't say that he really improves their behavior all that much!  :-P

Preschool Thanksgiving

Dinner Night at the K & W With Great Nana

Beautiful Molly

Fairytale Ball

Molly got to partake in the first grade tradition that is the Fairytale Ball!  She went as Red Riding Hood and was such a doll.  They performed a circle dance, watched a juggler, painted a lady's skirt, and had yummy snacks.  She had a great time and I'll get to go to one more in 2 years with the twins!

Beaufort Shrimp Festival

Since the kids had a day off on Friday, we headed back down to Beaufort for the weekend.  It is truly a place we can all relax and unwind.  Grammy and Grampy joined us this trip and we spent the time on the dock and Downtown at the Beaufort Shrimp Festival.  There was great music, TONS of people, a great playground for the kids, and lunch at my favorite restaurant, Luther's!  The Brewsky Burger with blue cheese, bacon, and grilled onions is beyond yummy.  It has been a great weekend and we are all sad to go back to the "real world" tomorrow!

Just A Wee Bit Tired

Shrimp, Shrimp and More Shrimp

We took a quick trip to the Beaufort house for Labor Day weekend and while the girls of the house read, watched movies and played video games the boys caught their weight in shrimp.  John taught my Dad and Jack how to throw a cast net which they both picked up right away and the rest is history.  John was able to get Sophie and Macy to pop a few heads but not this Mama and Molly! :-)

The Cornelius Hillbillies

Molly lost her 4th and highest profile tooth tonight.  She is so tickled...I'm a bit sad though...she has a big girl smile now instead of her sweet baby smile.  Love her sweet face!! 

Giddy Up

We got home from school today and our neighbors had family in town who brought their SUPER SWEET horse Scooter.  They were so great to let the kids take him for a walk up and down the street and even trot.  He brought HUGE smiles to the kids faces  It was certainly an unexpected treat.  I tell John that someday when we are rich and famous :) I want a house with lots of land and I want 2 horses.  They are so beautiful and smart...love them!!

Whoo Hoo!!! First Day of School 2011

Jack- 3rd grade,  Molly-1st grade,  Sophie & Macy-PreK

Yea I know!  I think I'm too young to have a 3rd grader too!!  That is what you were thinking right?  :)  I'm SO behind on posts so I think I'm making a fresh start right now!  Hope you all have happy 1st days too!

The Brat Pack :)

My 4 and Taylor and Brooke on a lunch date in Kiawah.

10 Year Anniversary Trip To St. Croix

It was a tremendously long day of traveling.  Our flight from Ft. Lauderdale was delayed so we missed the last ferry from St. Thomas to St. Croix.  So instead we hopped on this cute little bugger.  They had to know how much we weighed before we could check in...yikes it's little!

Springtime 2011

The past 3 months have been quite busy around here.  With vacations, tennis tournaments, and end of school festivities I have fallen quite behind on my blogging.  I apologize in advance for the gazillion of pictures (and some of them are sideways) but I like to cram everything into 1 post!  :)

Very soon after the big birthday carnival in April, Jack participated in his first tennis tournament.  He played well and his whole team came home with trophies.  Jack's was for Doubles Finalist.

Literally the second the tournament was over, we loaded up the camper and headed off to Stone Mountain, GA for a Spring Break camping trip.  We decided to try out a new location and it ended up being WONDERFUL.  There was so much to do with the kids and everyone had a great time.  We actually booked our site for next spring break before we left!  Our trip consisted of MANY campfires, a trip to Six Flags, fishing, games, a sky lift ride up to the top of the mountain, ropes courses, rock wall climbing, tour of a plantation house, petting LOTS of animals, and a laser light show with a bit of a "southern" theme!  ;)

Even Bob the Cat got to go camping!  :)

I have to explain these next 3 pictures.  Out of all 4 of my children, surprisingly Molly has emerged as the "dare-devil."  On our day trip to Six Flags, this little stinker rode the "American Scream Machine" with me and LOVED it.  It was one of the cutest things I've ever witnessed.  She screamed the whole time and was so proud to tease Jack afterwards (because he wouldn't try it)! 



A couple weekends later we all headed up to the DC area to visit John's sister and her family.  We had a GREAT time playing with cousins Thomas and Daniel, going to the park, riding the Metro, and visiting 3 museums and a few monuments.  We even got a quick tour of Downtown DC lead by Uncle John.  Jack was very impressed to see where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.  It was really fun to see all of these things with the kids and the Kirsch clan were fabulous hosts.  Aunt Christina even sent the kids home with souvenir t-shirts! 

The weekend after that fun trip was a special one for Jack.  My sweet Bubby made his First Communion.  He did such a great job and we were so proud of him.  Of course, in normal fashion, I balled my eyes out.  I am quickly learning that I am not going to do well in the milestone department.  I'm that Mom sitting in the crowd who is having an "ugly" cry!  :)



The last couple of weeks in May consisted of many school parties and performances.  Neither Jack or Molly would choose performing as their top choices, but they both have done so great.  CSD is a magical school that they just keep blossoming in!

Finally, last weekend, my two babies who DO love to perform got their first chance at their dance recital.  I was absolutely convinced that they would balk and not go through with it but my little girls KILLED it!  :)  They had so much fun and wanted to dance again and again!  They were a little bummed that they only got to do their dances once on performance day.  Daddy gave them flowers when they finished and you would have thought they were made of gold...so sweet and special!!  I'll try to post the video soon!



So that's it for now, but coming soon...The Bradford Beach Blast 2011, Kid-free 10th anniversary trip to St. Croix, Kiawah Island, and the Beaufort House!  Stay tuned...

XOXOXOXOXO,