The Clean Plate Club Session 3

Tod and I had the most fun hosting our supper club, The Clean Plate Club, this weekend. The Steens were kind enough to take the boys for the weekend and what fun they had at the Clemson-Maryland Football game (unfortunately, Clemson lost). Tod and I were left with a quiet and empty house! But it didn't stay quiet for long because the Clean Plate Club likes to have fun! Our supper club is made up of the nicest, sweetest people you could imagine. We all have kids and just get along so well. Lots of us see each other during the week but a few of us don't so it is great to get together, without the kids, and have some good food, good conversation, and good fun! We feasted on a lowcountry boil, thanks to Tod, and had a great time enjoying the weather (thank goodness the rain had all moved out) and some backyard ladderball. I believe Melissa Ervin and Ty Rabon were the declared champions! Unfortunately, I was having so much fun that I forgot to get my camera out so no pictures, ugh! Suffice it to say that a good time was had by all. Can't wait for next month!

School Days

Well, we haven't posted in a while mainly because we are settling into our school schedules and routines (you know how we love our routines!). Jackson is settling into second grade nicely and Austin just loves his kindergarten class. We are kept busy with daily homework, ugh, and plenty of afterschool activities. Jackson is continuing into the fall session of his running club. Austin is playing soccer and they will both begin weekly swim practices in October. Tod and Shayla are trudging along with their training plans to run the Battleship Half Marathon in November. In addition, we have found a new church home and we all LOVE it!

A hurricane, some cousins, and a crazy monkey!

Okay, from the title of this post you can probably tell how crazy our weekend was! As we made preparations for a possible hurricane, Clara and Bill were actually on their way to Wilmington with Hayley and Ella. Yes, most of us try to get out of the way of the hurricane. The Steens actually head toward the storm. They arrived Friday afternoon just in time for us to play a bit before dinner. After eating, we organized our sleeping arrangements so as to keep the kids on the ground floor. Hayley and Ella got the guest bedroom and Jackson and Austin camped out in our room on an air mattress. Clara and Bill were the only ones brave enough to sleep upstairs. They ended up in Austin's room. The storm turned out to be pretty mild (thankfully) and we all awoke the next morning to just a messy yard and residual rain and wind gusts.

Clara and Bill were pretty much on babysitting duty all day Saturday while Tod and I cleaned up the yard and put the outdoor furniture back where it belonged. The kids played well all day and were pretty much worn out when we went to Longhorn for dinner Saturday night. It was fun to see the look on everyone's faces as we walked in with 4 children ranging from 7 to 2 years old since they thought they all belonged to me and Tod. We even had some people come up and tell us how well behaved all of our children were! We just smiled and said, "Thank you!".

Then Sunday, we all headed to Monkey Joe's for Austin's final birthday celebration (and the reason for the visit from the Steens and Glenn girls). The kids all had a blast running and jumping and harassing Monkey Joe. I think Austin was a little sad that his final birthday party was over. We had celebrated with (1) just our family at Jungle Rapids, (2) with the Dursts, (3) at home on his actual birthday, (4) his celebration at school, and (5) his party with his friends at Monkey Joe's. Needless to say, after 5 parties, he was a little spoiled and it was time for him to come back to reality.

(Clara) Mimi reading princess stories to the kids.

The kids after dinner at Longhorn Steakhouse

The boys at Monkey Joe's before the party started.

Austin getting his surprise visit from Monkey Joe

Mimi and Hayley working on a craft project.

School, birthday, and a 5K to boot!

We have had a very busy week this last week in August. Jackson began second grade on Tuesday and we had Tod's parents come visit for the weekend. During the weekend we managed to celebrate Austin's 5th birthday (which is actually on September 2) and cheer Jackson on in his running club's end of summer 5K.

Jackson had a great first week in second grade and we got a fantastic end of the week report from his teacher. It seems he is settling in nicely and following all of the class rules (no big surprise there; Jackson LOVES rules). Here is a picture of him on the first day of school:

Then we had the Dursts come in Friday for a fun labor day weekend! Saturday night we all went out for some delicious Italian food and cannoli for dessert (or Obi-Wan Cannoli as Austin calls it! Can you tell how much of a Star Wars fan he is?) to celebrate Austin's birthday. We came home and opened presents. Austin was on top of the world and LOVED all of his presents from Grandma and Granddad!

Silly Brothers!

Scooby-Doo Card!

Grandma really does a good job wrapping her gifts. No one can ever get into them!

Star Wars!!

Austin and Grandma

Sunday late afternoon, we headed over to Halyburton Park for Jackson's running club's end of summer 5K. I think we were all a little anxious about how it would go. It was the longest distance any of the kids had ever run with the club and we were about to find out what they were made of! The temperature was in the high 80's but boy was it humid! We kind of expected their times to be in the 50-60 minute range so imagine our surprise when the first two runners came in at just over 27 minutes! Their parents hadn't even made their way to the finish line yet! With times like that (these are 7 year olds) we feel sure they have a bright future in track! Every few minutes another runner would cross the finish line. It was very exciting and the best part was that EVERY child finished within 45 mintues AND with a huge smile on their face. I think even some of the parents were inspired to try a little jog this week! Here are some pictures:

The start of the race

The finish line

The Awards Ceremony

Jackson getting his medal from his coach

One big surprise for Jackson was a special award given to him by his running coach for the most miles run throughout the summer season. Not including the 5k on Sunday, Jackson ran over 18 miles during July and August. His running coach likes to say,"That's a lot of miles on those little legs!"

We had a wonderful Labor Day Weekend and now we look forward to Austin beginning kindergarten this week. We'll keep you posted!!!

Santa Claus is coming in August?

Okay, well not exactly, but the kids think his Papa (Shayla's dad) is even better than Santa. And in some ways he probably is to them. Papa came down on Saturday morning for a very quick visit with the boys and a little babysitting duty (of course). The boys were so excited and were not disappointed as Papa told them as soon as he got here that they could choose the restaurant for lunch. Of course, it is always a tough decision between Burger King (yuck) or McDonald's (double yuck). They decided, probably based on the toy of the week in the kids meals, that it would be Burger King. After that, they all settled in for a fun afternoon of playing. Then while Shayla and Tod were off for a fun evening with their supper club, Papa took the boys to O'Charley's for bread, macaroni, and key lime pie. After some basketball and more playing Papa bathed them and tucked them into bed. Papa had to leave Sunday morning to go back to Greenville, SC but not before they went to Krispy Kreme for doughnuts (are you seeing a food trend here? Can you say junk?) The boys were sad to see Papa go but are already counting down the days until he comes back (this time with Mimi) for Austin's birthday party. In the meantime, I'll be loading them up on fruit and veggies to offset their next visit!

Now, this is living...

Well that's Jackson new favorite saying. He used it quite a bit yesterday on our trek down to Broadway at the Beach. We had a blast! We set out on our adventure around 9:00 am and were filled with anticipation at what our day would bring. The weather was beautiful after the rainy Wednesday we had. We arrived at Broadway around 10:20 and went straight to Magiquest (which I had heard could get very crowded). Luckily, I think everyone had spent their rainy Wednesday there because it wasn't crowded at all. Jackson picked out his magic wand and we waited for our training. The intial signing in and training took almost an hour but we were off for our quests. For those of you who aren't familiar with Magiquest, the kids (and some adults) run around a fantasy world on quests to find different objects and earn rumes. After each quest you are awarded different powers and abilities that will serve you later in your adventures. We managed to accomplish 7 quests in our 90 minutes of frantic running and searching. When we return to Magiquest, and we will definitely go back soon, our wand (which is ours to keep) will remember what we've done and we can pick up where we left off. That means only 5 more quests and we will be ready to begin our Master Magi Rune Quest, which apparently is a big deal to the elementary school age set (particularly boys).

Anyway, after nearly 3 hours in Magiquest, we were starving and headed right over to Margaritaville where we enjoyed fun music, a fake hurricane that rains tequila (try explaining that to a 7 year old), some yummy food and great weather (we ate outside on the patio).

After lunch, it was off to the Build a Bear Workshop. Tod thinks Jackson is a little old for this, but I kind of like that he still has a cuddly, affectionate side. I know that it won't last forever so I am enjoying it for now.

Lastly, we made our way to IMAX theatre for a 3D Dolphin and Whale movie which was great. Our whole family loves dolphins and whales so this show was right up our alley.

After the movie, Jackson really wanted to play miniature golf, but there was no way I could have managed. I was beat!!! So we headed back to Wilmington where we made some make your own pizzas for dinner (one of Jackson's favorites).

All in all, we had an awesome day. Jackson said the only thing that would have made it better is if we lived right next to Broadway at the Beach. He says, "Now, THAT would be living."

Getting ready to go

Are we there yet?
Picking out his wand

Waiting for training

My little parrothead at Margaritaville

Build a Bear Workshop

Cool 3D glasses at IMAX

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Even though we understand that most of our relatives in South Carolina would LOVE to have all this rain, Jackson and I have had enough! Since Austin is spending the week in Greenville with the Steens, we decided we would use this unfortunate weather as a chance to clean the house!! I am sure Jackson is thrilled (kidding) but he has been a great helper (he is the master of the swiffer vac!). Of course, you must start the morning off with some cinnamon rolls if you are going to have energy to clean all day! We have made our way through the downstairs already and only have the upstairs to go. After all of our hard work, we are going to treat ourselves to a day at Myrtle Beach tomorrow. On the itinerary are Magiquest, Imax, lunch at Margaritaville, and last but not least Build a Bear Workshop. We will definitely update with some pictures after our adventure tomorrow!