May

Wow, May has come and gone and what a busy month it was.

First off, the family went to Isle of Palms/Charleston with daddy for a business trip. Whenever dad has a trip Charleston, we make sure we are in the car ready to go. I mean, who doesn't love the beach.




















Before leaving, Wesley gave us quite a surprise. I had cooked corn on the cob for dinner which, by the way, is Wesley's favorite. The entire time he was trying to eat, he kept saying he did not know how to eat it. So we said, " Just bite into it and pull." We tried to use the analogy of a typewriter and then marveled at the fact that our children will never know what a typewriter is. Eventually, we just cut the corn off the cob and he ate it. Later that night, I was flossing his teeth and he said he had hit his tooth on this knee and it hurt. I did what every good mom does and said, "Nothing is wrong, you will be fine Wesley." So the next morning he woke up and told Daddy he had a loose tooth. Well, I was in denial and did not believe him. After confirming with dad, I had discovered our little guy was growing up. Then we went to Charleston where I promptly gave him an apple for a snack. Oops, bad choice. Everyone knows, you cannot eat an apple with a loose tooth. So after all the trauma from the momma, Wes lost his first tooth the next day. Surprise, surprise, he has also lost a second tooth since then.



After that David and I set off to climb the highest mountain east of the Mississippi on our road bikes (The 104 mile Assault on Mt. Mitchell). It was quite a feeling to conquer 10,000 + feet.


Then Wesley Little Bear Black graduated from preschool. That's right, the little guy will be going to school next year. It will be quite a change for mommy when he goes to school. He the one that shares his desserts with me. Lauren helps me watch my figure by not sharing.




Lauren had her gymnastics recital and got a medal. I have to brag and say she was one of the best behaved girls. She did everything the instructors said. The other girls ran around, or worse, ran to mommy. Go Lauren. I think she may be a natural performer.


We just got back from Asheville (Daddy had another business trip to the Grove Park Inn). The kids had a blast playing at a huge park, and looking for jewels in the rocks in the magic tunnel. Mommy had a nice time at the spa. We also went to a nature zoo that had regional animals such as grey wolves, red wolves, bobcats, cougars, black bears and lots of other creatures.



This month we are off to Charleston with the cousins, Murrell's Inlet with friends, and back to the beach with daddy. Stay tuned for our action packed summer.

Happy Birthday Lauren

Lauren is 3. Wow, that was quick. It is amazing how fast 3 years can go by. I was just thinking to myself the other day that Wesley will be 5 1/2 in a couple of months. Goodness, I guess I am just getting old.

Lauren had her birthday party at a place called Teddy Mountain. It is a version of Build a Bear. All the kids got to make the animal of their choice so this was fun. She had a Strawberry Shortcake cake because Strawberry Shortcake is her hero. Hmm, at one time she was my favorite too. Strange how things run in cycles.









For her birthday the "Princess" got a new bike, a radio so she can sing, dress up clothes, and lots and lots of shoes. Hopefully, one day her foot will be the same size as mine. :)

Ski Week

We just returned from a fun-filled vacation in Park City, Utah. David planned the family vacation around my birthday so it was extra special. He hooked us up with a mack-daddy condo at The Canyons Resort. It had double bunk beds for the kids and a Wolf range for myself. Too bad we did not get to spend a lot of time there. The days were spent out on the slopes of The Canyons, Deer Valley and of course, Atla.



Mommy and Daddy spent the day on the slopes. I was still perfecting my wonderful form while David was having a great time babysitting grandma. Ha, speaking of grandma, we also got to see Grandma Black. Wesley was in ski school pretty much all day and really loved it. In fact, the one day we were going to leave him out of ski school, he begged us to take him. So, away to The Canyons ski school he went, again. Just like all sports so far, Wesley was able to conquer this one too. He loves speeding down the mountain and is quite good at it. Mommy would like him to go A LOT slower though.



Lauren skiied for 1-2 hours each day. Alta could not believe she could manage as well as she did. She also had a lot of fun. She was always asking when she could go back once we picked her up.




After arriving at home, David got me a yummy chocolate cake and we finished celebrating my birthday.

Happy Birthday Wes!

So the little boy has turned 5. It is amazing how fast kids grow up. I am currently filling out registration forms for Kindergarten. Can you believe it?

Wesley had a great birthday party. It was at an indoor Soccer Facility called The Plex. He had a great time playing soccer with his friends and then jumping in the bounce houses. Why do kids love those so much?

Wes requested a Star Wars cake for his birthday and after unsuccessfully trying to find a store bought cake, I had no choice but to make him one. Let's just say for something so simple, I almost bit off more than I could chew. Literally! After cooking the first 2 cakes for layering, I noticed my oven did not cook them properly. One side was about 1/4 of an inch thick and the other side was about 2 inches thick. I tried to multitask by cooking the cakes with the cupcakes, so I put the cakes in length wise and the cupcakes on the bottom. Big mistake. Although, the cakes looked riduculous, I decided to layer them anyway. Ha. This is when the top cake split open. It would have made a nice crater except for the fact that by the next day the top part would have fallen off. So, I got so angry and I threw it away. While I was at the store buying more supplies, David promptly took a picture of my distruction and put it on Facebook. (Thanks sweetie). Then he and the kids started eating the remains. Turns out I could of shared the destruction with the entire neighborhood. They were upset that I threw it away. I don't need calories like that. David should be proud, I turned down cake.




So, on with number two. I will not bore you with the details of that one, I will just let you see the finished product.






Other pictures.






Other news:

Newsflash: South Carolina had a snow day. Recipe: a little cold weather, a power washer, kids, mittens, coats, gloves and sleds. Look at how much fun you can have.



























Real Snow day. I guess the snow gods were listening.







We look forward to updating you on our ski trip to Park City, Utah next month.

Christmas- oh a lovely day.

Christmas time was wonderful. With the minor exception of Wesley getting mad on Christmas Eve. He did not like the idea of getting PJ's for his Christmas Eve present. He announced that he did not want PJ's ever, ever again. I guess next year we will have to do something a little more exciting, like two pair of PJ's. At least Lauren was happy with hers. If she had her choice she would wear PJ's all the time. Maybe she gets this from her cousin who only likes his underwear. For that matter, who would not want to wear their PJ's all day every day. She has a million pair. Definitely a PJ fetish.

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After waking up to a pleasant morning the kids were anxious to see what Santa brought. First things first, Wesley said, "I better not have clothes under the tree." Guess I will have to get some next year just to see his face. Papa is in agreement. Apparently, the apple does not fall far from the tree because David remembers being upset about this very same thing. Well, after that was out of the way, the kids noticed Santa brought them almost everything. Wesley got Star Wars spaceships and a rocket just to name a few things.



Lauren got lots of Ariel stuff, a camera and two dolls. So everyone was happy.




Daddy got a new IPOD and mommy got a Garmin and a Nintendo DS.



That is a funny story.

Turns out Wesley wanted one too. These pictures are quite funny. It's like he is saying, "Hey isn't that mine?"


Alright, so I gave you a hug and told you Merry Christmas. Now that is mine, right?



C'mon mom, hand it over, why does and adult need a DS?

In the end, we decided it was ours. I only need it for Brain Age. Ever heard of that game? It is supposed to make you smarter. We will see. Hmm. Where are my sunglasses. Oh, Thanks for pointing out that they are on my head Wes. I'll keep everyone posted on this experiment.

Anyway, we ended our peaceful, stress free morning with a nice time out. Lauren was stealing pieces of Wesley's game so he went after her with his brand new Light Saber. This is what happened.




Happy New Year. Up next, Wesley and the big 5-o.

November and December

First of all, I have to post this photo because for once in our life we would like to one up Amanda's blog. Bet you can't top this photo, Amanda. Upon first looking at it, you wonder how our wonderful boy could look so goofy and second of all, why would they pick this photo as a team photo when he looks like that. Then you look at all the other kids and realize that not a single child was ready for the photo. I can only imagine what the other photos looked like. . . .



For Thanksgiving we went to the Collier's house in Greenville. For the past few years they have been nice enough to invite us to their house. This time the kids got to jump in a very large leaf pile. At least 4 feet. Fun.




This month has been a busy one as everyone can agree. We have been decorating, shopping, decorating and shopping. I have also discovered that the smile in the picture above was not just an accident. It seems to be Wesley's new phase. As you can see in the slideshow, I cannot get a good picture of both the children for Christmas. Why does everyone have to be so goofy. Now Amanda and I will have a lot to compare. Does this look like a familiar smile?



At least David and I have figured out how to smile at the same time.



David and I did start the month off running our 1st half marathon. We ran in the Kiawah Island 1/2 marathon. David finished in 1:59 and I finished in 2:02. Not bad for barely training. It took a week for my legs to start working. David is going to do a marathon this year. I am just going to
watch.





We look forward to posting Christmas updates. Hopefully, we will have a better family photo than this one.

October

This has been a fun month. I love October. It is the month when the weather finally gets cooler and the leaves start changing. Plus, it is pumpkin patch time and my personal favorite, Halloween. This year was especially wonderful because Grandma came to visit us. We picked her up in Asheville and spent some time with Aunt Amanda and cousins Ian and Gage. We had a blast playing games and golf.



Then, mommy and daddy went to the Bahamas for a much needed childless vacation. Oh, what a trip. Unfortunately, it was too short but fun just the same. Next year, we are planning to go away for a little longer.


While we were in the Bahamas the kids had some fun with Grandma. They went to Chick-Fil-A, made some cookies, played games, colored and lots of other fun things.




This year for Halloween, Wesley was a storm trooper and Lauren was Princess Aurora. For once, the weather was cold so it actually felt like Halloween.






























Then mom and dad topped off the night with their very own adult Halloween party. See what guests showed up in the slide show. Scary.

Then Wes finished up soccer and received a very nice trophy. We are now looking forward to the Holidays.