Memorial Day Weekend

We had the most wonderful Memorial Day weekend! I took about a thousand pictures and will be adding more once I get the cord from my good camera...

We left on Wednesday after naps.  I packed and loaded the car while the boys rested and then Eddie got home, Andy woke up and we were off! We hit a little bit of traffic, but not too bad at all.  The boys still sit in the way back, so Hank had some room to ride...

 For dinner, we stopped at Smithfields for some BBQ.  Their kids meals are to die for, for all you NC people...

Of course, I ended up in the back for the majority of the trip-- at least there's room for me in between the boys' seats.  Hank was happy to have me near too.

My dad decided to build a sandbox for the boys so Thursday morning, dad took Eddie and the boys to Lowes to get some of the materials.  Mom and I went swimsuit shopping!

 The clouds were moving out a little and the sun was coming through so dad got to work making a really cool sandbox!

We stayed at the new house down there and we had a boat over at the old house.... Eddie and Cal went over to get it-- Cal kept his lifejacket on in the car.  Safety first!

Hankers had a BIG time at the beach.  BIG.  Bless his heart, he played so hard the first day and then was limping the rest of the time.  We thought he was just sore from playing so hard, and then we realized it was more than just soreness.  After a visit to the vet, it turns out he broke his toe (a few times).... more on that in a minute...

Andy's favorite thing to do in the mornings was get Grandma's phone to look at her pictures.  He was happy as can be scrolling through her friends.  

His other favorite thing to do was to take golf cart rides around the neighborhood! 

It was a beautiful day so we loaded up our family and headed over to the beach.  Eddie wanted to surf so we threw that on the cart too.  It's hard to see Andy, but his little head is peeking out too...

 Watching Eddie surf...

 Andy wasn't too sure of the beach.  He didn't love it.  He was a little whiny, and then would be fine and laughing and then whining again.  I still got some good pictures while we were there...

 (and I am all about the matching bathing suits right now....I think they are so cute!)

After some time on the beach, we headed over the the neighborhood pool.   The boys had a blast swimming and Andy must have jumped in 100 times. 

We took everyone back to the house for lunch and a rest and then Eddie and I went back to the beach for a stroll... it was heavenly!

Whatever morning this was (they are all running together), we woke up and it was a little chilly up on the deck.  I got out my usual go to entertainment: bowls filled with water and ice and handed out two slotted spoons.  Bam.  

It was super warm down in the yard so we set up the kiddie pool and the sprinkler and had fun!

 (see what I mean about the matching suits?)

 Might be hard to get a tan this summer....

Then, our friends came over and Anna Claire and Cal played so hard together! You can see Hank in this picture, not feeling great :(

 Dad offered to take Cal and Anna Claire on a boat ride-- they insisted on holding hands the entire time.  TOO cute

poor pup...

One morning, dad took Andy on a golf cart ride and he came back quickly and told everyone to get in the cart; they had something to show us.... we had no clue what to expect, but we hadn't brushed our hair/teeth and there was not a stitch of make up on our faces.

Well.... best surprise ever....

Our neighbors are golden retriever breeders!!!!

 (ignore the makeup-less-ness and the ratty hair-ness)

 I mean.... come on! How crazy cute is this?!?!?!?!

 Forget BABY fever! I got me some PUPPY fever!!!! hahaha

We headed back over to the beach, this time Eddie wanted to try paddle boarding on the beach.  He did great and then the boys wanted to "surf" too...

 Hank kept watch over at the house (can't you tell he doesn't feel well?? He never stays still this long)

 Another golf cart ride...

On Sunday, it was Anna Claire's birthday so we headed over there for a little cookout.  How funny are these pictures?

 She said, "CalBoy, dip me way far back and kiss me!" and her dad screamed NOOOOO! hahahahaha So funny!

After the party, mom and I walked over to watch the sunset over the sound...

On Monday morning, we woke up and took the boat over to Beaufort for breakfast.  Andy nestled into my dad and Eddie and passed out cold.  He looks so uncomfortable, but he was happy as could be!

After brunch, the boys rode up front so they could see all the boats and of course wave to them all

Monday night we had Eddie's grandma over and we celebrated her birthday.  She loved getting to blow out the candles with both of her great grandsons on her lap. 

We decided to try to avoid traffic by leaving Tuesday morning really early.  The boys did great on the way home! We did have to make three stops in the first hour (breakfast, gas and Cal had "poopoo coming right this minute!"), but once we got through all that, we were smooth sailing home.  I handed out the iPads about halfway through the trip and both kids were happy!

On our way home, I called the vet and asked if I could bring Hank in.  I had the pleasure of taking both kids and a 100 pound dog to the vet-- not easy! At least Hank wasn't at 100%...made it a little more manageable.

They did an x-ray and said that he did break his toe...and it was looking pretty nasty.  She said that, just like a human, when a toe breaks, there isn't much you can do for it.  She gave us some pain medication to help him and we were on our way.  I have a picture of Andy from a long time ago playing under this exact table... funny. 

Despite the hurt doggy, it was SUCH a fun weekend (well, really it was almost a week...).  Makes me excited about all the fun we will have down there this summer!


 

Last Days of School

The week before Memorial Day weekend, both boys had their last days of school.  I was super sad about it (and not just because it meant no more "breaks" for me--and I use the word BREAK very loosely since I always have a boy by my side!), but because I am really and truly grateful to both sets of teachers for such a fabulous year.

Cal's last day was Tuesday. We had to take some pictures before we left...

Of course Andy had to sneak into the picture... he hates to have his picture taken, but insisted on being in this one!

 Annnnd, we had to do some first day/last day comparisons...Hankers is always nearby!

 Cal's teachers put together a book of his entire year... it was filled with hand print art from each season (cue the tears!) and pictures of him throughout the year.  It is absolutely precious and I adore it! I might take a picture of each page and upload them to the blog so I will always have them.

 They do an "interview" with the kids at the end of the year and they write down exactly what the kid says.  Cal's was funny....until they asked what his mommy does.  ummmm..... !!!!

 (Cal's buddy Ava said her daddy says bad words...hahahahah!!!!!)

The boys had to look for a few bugs before we headed home.

Ava's sister, Abigail, Andy's love, gave him a picture of them together for his birthday.  Andy carries it around constantly and smooches it all.the.time.  I will look in my rear view mirror and he is having a full blown convo with her and then starts kissing her-- soooo cute.  

Andy's last day was Wednesday... they had school on Friday, but we were heading out of town for Memorial Day so Wednesday was the last day! I took a bunch of pictures with my good camera and that cord is with Eddie at work, so I will add those later...

He got a belt from his buddy Jack for his birthday and he wore it to school-- suuuuper excited about it!

 annnnd..... Andy's first day!!! WOW....

Andy's teachers are freakin' hilarious...

Andy's school put on a little performance and it was about the cutest thing.  They performed several songs and Andy was dancing and singing away-- he loves music! He knew all of the movements and continues to demonstrate them at home.  I tried to get a picture of the boys after the performance, and this was the best I could get...

 Here is a link to the post I did on their first days of school.... it's amazing to see how much they have changed in a school year! (and that right there is why I blog-- it just made me SO happy to be able to go back and see where we were a few months ago... I can't urge people with kids (or without!) to blog enough-- and I am off of my soap box!)

So, now the school year is over and summer has started! We have a few camps lined up and we are going to be going to the beach a lot (I hope!).  We are also taking the boys to Mexico, which should be a lot of fun... I have a feeling the summer is going to fly by!