Wild Dunes with the Ways and Grits and Groceries

The kids and I made a day trip to Grits and Groceries. It has been reviewed in Southern Living and the local paper numerous times. We went to check out what the hype was all about. It was yummy! The owners, a husband and wife duo, moved back to the Carolinas from New Orleans to raise their son. Heidi owned and operated the well-loved New Orleans restaurant, Elizabeth's and Joe spent a decade as Emeril Lagasse's pastry chef at NOLA.

We had a great time at Isle of Palms with our good friends, the Ways. What could be better? We have children the same age and the adults have a great time together. We always enjoy this fun vacation.

Summer 2010

I have been really slow at updating the blog. Here is a snippet of our summer. Sydney had a great time with swim team and cheer camp. Mac enjoyed making a worm compost at The Children's Museum of the Upstate. Sydney really enjoyed the baseball game and her main goal was to catch a fly ball. More to come.

Snow Day

We've had a couple of good snow days this year. The kids love it!! Bart and I are pretty big fans, too. I love that Mac is wearing Sydney's purple scarf with his camouflage boots. When you live in South Carolina, you just have to make do with what warm clothes you have.

Christmas Program

The Christmas program at our school is such a special event. Since Sydney is a "big kid on campus" (the oldest group - K5) they have all the big parts in the program. They performed twice. The first day she was an angel and the second day she was a "big tree." The second day she had a few lines, and we could hear her loud and clear. Mac didn't get to participate this year, but we are anxiously awaiting his debut as a shepherd next year. This year he sported a Santa hat in the front row with his class. Mac enjoying his snowman sugar cookie.
Grace as Mary, Sydney as Big Tree and Sophia as an angel
The proud father of the Big Tree
Granny got to come watch Sydney as an angel.
My sweet little angel.

Granny and Sydney

Shaving with Daddy

Every morning, Mac sits on the counter and watches Bart shave. It is their special "guy" time. I bought Mac one of those kid shaving kits for his birthday and he tried it out with Bart.

Now, we have to really hide the real razors!

Happy Birthday Mac!

My sweet little boy is three years old. It is hard to believe my baby is three!! I am head over heels in love with him. I honestly love everything about him. Don't get me wrong, he knows the right buttons to push to send me over the edge, but I cannot get enough of him. I told someone the other day that I think he is the funniest, cutest, smartest little boy in the world and I love his morning breath. Can you tell I am his momma? Only a mother would say that about her little boy.

He has been so excited about his birthday and opening presents. I know Christmas will be very exciting this year.

Birthday bike!

Batman and Birthday Boy. Mac wore this "Birthday Boy" shirt three times before his actual birthday. He loved the attention he got out in public. I have no idea where he gets that!



Sydney greeted everyone as the American Girl, "Samantha." These kids love a party.

Alabama 2009

We spent the last week of summer in Alabama. We started out in Auburn for Fan Day and then headed close to Selma to stay one night in the RV with Granny and Papa. Sydney and Mac love the RV and all that goes with it. We then set out for Clanton. Granny and Papa have a huge yard and the kids just love to run and play all day. Sydney learned to ride her bike without training wheels and spent most of her time concentrating on that skill. Mac concentrated on running. We also spent an afternoon with my nephew and niece. Sydney and Mac love to play with their cousins. They have the best time with Granny and Papa and are always looking forward to visiting Alabama.

After Clanton, we went to Pulaski, TN to see the over 100 year old farmhouse my parents renovated. They did a great job and spent many, many hours on it themselves. I wish I had some pictures of the house to share. Pulaski is a really quaint town, with a good bit of unique activities. Mac and Sydney loved finding the turkeys downtown, having ice cream, sitting in the big chair, etc... And the hills of Tennessee are absolutely beautiful.

With one of the many turkeys in Pulaski, Tennessee. They loved finding them downtown.
Sydney and Mac enjoyed their $1 ice cream at the drug store in Pulaski. You can also get a nickel soft drink.

Our only girl cousin, Jenna. Sydney loved watching her practice cheerleading. It brought back a few childhood memories for me as well. There is something sweet about cheering for the local Pee Wee football team.
It is a good thing I got my new bike because Sydney learned to ride her bike without training wheels! We rode around our neighborhood trail (3 miles) last weekend, twice. I was huffing and puffing, but Sydney could have gone a few more laps.

Auburn Fan Day

My favorite picture of Mac and Sydney.

Bart and I took the kids down to Auburn to share a little piece of us with them. They had a blast! We saw cheerleaders, dancers, Aubie and football players. It truly is a wonderful place. I can only hope our children love their university as much as we love ours.

First Day of School!

This picture pretty much sums up Mac Street!



This is a little late, but I want you to know that the kids started school and are off to a fantastic start. Sydney is in kindergarten and Mac is in 2K. They are loving every minute of it. Sydney is learning so much and I am so thankful for her wonderful teacher. It really does take a special person to make learning fun and interesting. I hope she knows how immensely proud we are of her.

Mac goes three days a week, but tries with all of his might to get out of the carseat on the other two days. I miss Sydney while she is gone, but love my one-on-one time with my baby boy. We do fun "boy" playdates or just hang out at home and clean. He is very active, but seems to calm down a bit when he gets all of the attention. I am happy to do whatever he wants because I now understand how quickly it passes by.