anniversary weekend

this is what greeted us upon our arrival at the tides inn.  ice cold lemonade and a plate of cookies!  i took full advantage of this while john david checked us in.  when no one was looking i went back for a second cookie ~ shhhh!

 

after settling in, we explored on the grounds on bikes, then relaxed in rocking chairs over looking the water.  what is it about a rocking chair and water that is refreshing?

 

this was the view from the rocking chair and below is the view from our room.  loved the plantation blinds!  it was cloudy and rainy, but that was just fine.  they usually have s'mores on the patio at 8:00 each evening.  due to the weather, we had to settle for milk and cookies in the view room which was a large room with a grand piano in the center, and plenty of seating for reading and chatting. 

golf while it was misting... not heading to the lpga anytime soon!  but we did have fun. 

sunday night we ate at this place ~ merroir ~ obviously a hole in the wall. but so delicious! the crab cakes were the best we have ever eaten! we went back by on our way home to snap a picture and the owner and another guy were out on a crab/oyster shanty working on that evening's meal.  talk about fresh seafood!  they have also been featured on the food network several times.  seriously. good. eats!

the second night we dined at the tides inn.  it was pricey but delicious.  i had shrimp and grits which was amazing.  john david had salmon.  they had gluten free biscuits too!  (jd is gluten free, most people do not know that though.)  happy anniversary to us!  it's been a wonderful 14 years so far and here's to many more!

what i wore wednesday... county fair

the third grade hosted the county fair (after reading charlotte's web) so i pulled out my over-alls and cowgirl hat... m1 had on a plaid shirt and a pink cowgirl hat.  most wiww posts have product details so if you are wondering: both shirts and over-alls old navy (over alls at least 15+ years old and not in my current rotation of everyday wear :-) my hat: target, girls hat: consignment sale. 

 the girls behind the idea... they cut a few fabric strips, before the mom's took over.   

 the object was to throw spiders (made from black socks) and lady bugs (from a bean bag toss game we already had) through the web.  some of the other groups did face painting, nerf bullet target games, putt putt golf, ring tosses and some others i don't recall right now.  each class in the school gets to come through the fair and win candy for participating in the games. 

fine, i'll admit it... i color my hair

of course if you really know me, i don't color my hair!  this is what happens when ceiling paint splatters while painting... so, unless your salon carries sherwin williams colors you are out of luck.  oh, it's sw refuge at 50%.   

 john david left for a quick trip... the children and i were still in bed.  15 minutes later we were dressed and headed out the door.  that's how i decide things get done.  hey guys, let's paint today; it wont take mommy long.  famous famous words! 

 and, anytime the camera is put down, this girly picks it up and starts snapping away.   

 little man helping put the room back together. 

 daddy called about an hour before we were expecting him to let us know he was about 15 minutes away.  oh, boy... this was all the stuff in the hallway.  the children hustled to get this stuff back in place so it would be all nice when he walked in.  later in the week while the children were at school, the builder beige was painted over with sherwin williams pure white.  seriously, white paint is, well, white.  one last look at the remaining inch of beige.   

p.s.  your arms will be sore the day after painting your ceiling.  so will your legs from many, many trips up the ladder to paint a small section, then down the ladder to move it over. 

charlotte's web

the third grade just finished reading "charlotte's web" so we are getting ready to host the 3rd grade county fair.  each group of children had to come up with a game concept, create the game and rules and then host the game the day of the fair.  m1 and her two friends wanted to do a web toss.  so we made spiders and had bean bag lady bugs from another game that are going to be tossed through the web.   the girls also cut strips of left over fabric from other projects which i sewed together to create a girly web.  hopefully, the object will be to toss the spiders and ladybugs through the web.  if that does not happen we might have to change the rules for them to be tossed into the web.  it will be a county fair game day decision.  ps ~ you can be certain that i am holding onto this and m2 will be politely coerced into the same type of game when she reaches 3rd grade. 

school's out... well, for the day

we packed a picnic lunch, picked up ms. lisa and went for a bike ride.  parking at 43rd street we hit the boardwalk for a long bike ride.  the older two were able to ride ahead since lisa was with them while i stayed back with m2.  we played for a while on the beach play set and then continued down to dairy queen.  after eating our packed lunch, we got sweet treats.  yummy!  lisa, little man and m1 rode all the way down to the end of the boardwalk.  m2 and i turned back and played while waiting for them to return.  super fun day! 

helping daddy move

jd moved from his old office into a newer more professional space over the weekend.  a few friends helped but so did the family.  m2 was given the task of scrapping tape off the old wall.  little man and m1 were supposed to help moving boxes, but found it more fun to move each other instead. 

the new space...  

this is not a super great pic of m1, but i love the action of m2 jumping in the background.  she was actually enthusiastically helpful.  she wanted to carry the printer, but accepted the work bag instead. 

oops, you can guarantee at some point m1 will find the camera and start shooting pictures.  daddy's head got chopped off.  measuring the wall so we can get pictures and the white board hung up. 

hmmmm, what is this going to be?

so this is where her socks are

my sweet m1... it's a truly great thing you are so cute!   

how i do things

after asking my husband (for three weeks) to help move a bench down two flights of stairs, i decided to just do it myself.  creating padding out of a pillow and wrapping the pillow with a sheet held tightly together with zip ties, i pulled/bounced the bench right down to the front porch.  it's been out there for two weeks now and he hasn't noticed. 

homework outside

papers, homework, art projects, things to be signed and returned, notices to be read... this is NOT my favorite time of day.  but any day we can get outside (and get the mess outside too) is a great day in my opinion.  m1 is working hard on her spelling homework.  little man is pondering mathematical equations.  m2 (not pictured) runs back and forth with snack options and full water cups.  such a helper.