June

Getting behind in documenting what's happening can be overwhelming, especially for the month of June. It was a fun and busy month. It came and went so fast and I've been on the computer a few times to update but thought it would take too long, so I'd just get off, but I'm biting the bullet this time and just doing it!

We had a lot of park time. We've tried a number of parks in the area. One of the faves has a splash pad and they usually enjoy running through that for a bit.

We had a great trip to Charleston, SC. Only Liz and Caroline had been to the beach and neither one really remembered it, so they were all having so much fun! Wee-Mama and Papa John met us out there, along with Jill and her family. We had so much fun. Nonnie (grandma) was such a great host and we had the best time!


Of course, there was tons of beach time. We did both Folly Beach and then Kiawa. It was the first time to the beach for Cooper, Bella and Charlotte. Liz and Caroline didn't remember it from almost 5 years ago, so they were all so excited. It was fun to watch them all experience it for the "first time". The water was perfect temperature and it was tons of fun! The girls found a horse shoe crab and played with it for a bit. If it was alive when they found it, it wasn't when they were done. One day we took a little walk around Sunrise park. There was someone there with their sailboat so we snagged a picture. From this park you an see the battery across the way.

 The girls had wanted to see a wild dolphin more than anything. We had been to the beach a couple of times with no success. I was wondering if the trip would be ruined for Liz without seeing it, but one morning we went and Jill had my camera and snapped the most perfect picture of Elizabeth seeing the dolphins for the first time.  It was perfect!

 We always have to take a walk down along the harbor/battery. There are cannons and cannon balls from the civil war there on display.  We also love looking out in the water and did see some dolphins this time. Yay! Also love seeing all the old homes. Such a beautiful city!

Brian and I were lucky to have family watch the kids so we could go on a few dates. A few of our favorite things to do are food related, go figure. We had to make our traditional trip to California Dreaming. They have the best croissant rolls. They are amazing. We always get an extra order of them. I think Brian ate 5. :)  Brian also loves sea food, which I do not, so we made a trip out to a local sea food restaurant, Locklear's, which is right on the pier over looking the ocean. He got great sea food and I got the best hush puppies ever!!! I wanted to make another trip out there just for them, but didn't have time.

We took a drive to a park that is literally under the new bridge. It was so cute! They built the playground to look like the bridge. It was perfect too because it was under the bridge, which gave shade, and the breeze off the water made it wonderful!

 One night uncle Les and aunt Wendie had us all over for dinner and play. The kids all got to go fishing. Cooper caught a fish right away and ran away when they pulled it out of the water. It was so funny. Liz was the last to catch one. I was starting to wonder if she would, but I'm so glad she did. Everyone was successful. Even Brian! :)

 

 We had lots of great family time, both with close and distant cousins. Trips to the beach, family reunion, exploring downtown, walks on the batter, a tea party put on by Ronda, and just being together. It was wonderful!

It was a perfect family vacation!

Wedding Bells

We had a wonderful weekend celebrating the marriage of Julia and Patrick. It started out with a great night for the girls only. We got to hang out and just talk and do our nails. It was very relaxing and a great night of sleep. We ( Suzanne, Julia, MaryBeth and I) woke up and got ready. As we headed over to the hotel where the rest of our families were we got a call that the fire alarm went off at their hotel. So when we got there, this is what we saw:

Most were dressed, but the hair needed work. :) We were able to get everyone ready and to the temple before the sealing began. Luckily they were running late too. :) Brian did a great job getting them all dressed and everything packed up. 

The temple was great. It was so wonderful to see Patrick and Julia sealed for time and all eternity and see them so happy. It was great to have all the family there.

It was sweet to have all our little family there and to get a picture of us in front of the House of the Lord and to know that we are sealed for eternity together.

We drove back up from DC to our home where the reception was the following night. It was a nice evening, especially because after the ring ceremony, we took Bella, Charlotte and Caroline home. That made our night a lot more enjoyable to not have to worry about the kids the whole time. Brian did a wonderful job participating in the ring ceremony by singing some songs with his guitar. Such a beautiful voice.

We got a good picture of all the cousins together.

 Here are a few from the fun evening at the reception:

 After the reception, we headed home, grabbed the kids and took off on our all night drive to Charleston. Lots of driving, but wonderful weekend!

Rest of May

Well somehow I missed telling about Kiki's birthday. I think I hadn't done it because somehow we only ended up with 2 pictures, and not great ones at that. It was pretty much a regular day. She took a treat to school and was the special helper. Then we picked the kids up from school and went to Chucky Cheese and played for a little bit. The kids had fun doing that and it was pretty cheap entertainment! We grabbed a pizza on the way home and then all the Chudleigh clan came by for cake, the birthday video and presents. We were supposed to go to see cousin Daniel's race, but it got to be too late, so just the older 3 and Brian went. I think she had a good day. We sure love her!

Also had a wonderful Mother's Day. Brian always does a really good job of making it special for me. He got the kids all ready for church, made me breakfast, special cards and gifts and then a great meal.  We had dinner with the Chudleigh group and the women got to eat separated from the rest. It was a lot calmer and a nice moment to the day. Grateful for all the children (and husband) that help to make Mother's Day special for me.

We also enjoyed a great Memorial Day that Brian had put all together. I said I didn't want to plan another family outing, I wanted him to take a turn, and he did a great job. He put together "olympic" games and we split into two teams and competed. It was a lot of fun. It was also super hot, so as soon as those were over we jumped in the pool for a nice cool off. Afterwards, we had a great lunch that everyone helped put together. Brian's party planning was a big success!

 

And the rest of May....

 1. Kiki at the Bell's pool 2. Playing in the rain 3. Coop helping Daddy clean his bike 4. Phone time with Wee-Mama 5. Cute Bella 6. Girls playing outside 7.Charlotte in pigtails 8. Handsome Cooper after church 9. Following a bald eagle down the river just up the street

Special visitors

Had a good week with Caroline and Jayde here. They ended up staying a few days more than expected since they couldn't move into their place. It was great to have them here. They played fun games with the kids, like some trampoline game and red rover. It was fun to watch. Yep, I watched. Nice to see the kids having fun and being able to just sit! Thanks you two!

I wanted a pic with my kids too, so we grabbed one. I thought the colors were great.

The kids had a real fun time playing red  rover. Even Charlotte got into it. She had a pretty determined face when she ran. Wish I would have caught a picture of it.




It rained nearly every day they were here. Brian and Jayde were able to get out for one mountain biking trip. Other than that, most the time we just hung out at home doing the normal stuff, but one day we did go take the coal mine tour. It was pretty cool. The kids really enjoyed it, except for Charlotte. She cried the way down into the tunnel. 

Of course we had to grab a picture with the hats on, but I think the only person that kept one on was Bri. Cooper tried but it was too big.

 It was fun having them come visit. They're off to Boston for the summer for an internship so hopefully we can get up there and visit them. Fun to have some of my fam on the east side! :)

Elizabeth

I knew that as the kids got older they'd be faced with kids that did or talked about inappropriate things. I just didn't expect it so soon, or didn't really think about it. Well, we're there. The first issue we faced was hearing "God" in vain, ALL. THE. TIME! From kids and adults. We tried to help the kids understand why they might do that and to try and not overreact. They've done well with that. But Elizabeth has a group of friends that apparently were talking about inappropriate things and she said she had to walk away from the group to not be a part of it and when she came back and they were still going she tried to get them to talk about something else or just go play. I was so proud of her.

A few months ago we read a story out of the Friend magazine that talked about a girl who kids were really mean to and how someone went off their own to make her feel like she had a friend. Liz came home from school and said there was a girl like that who came up to their group and asked them if she could play with them and no one said anything, so she just walked off. Elizabeth followed after her and played with her. Those "friends" ended up being kind of mean to Elizabeth because she left them for her but she felt good about what she did. I was so happy for a few reasons, 1- because she isn't one of the mean kids, 2- she learned from something we had talked about, 3- she knew what was the right thing to do and although not easy, did it anyway, 4- she told me about it! Love this girl. I'm so proud of how she's growing up and the choices she's already making at this age!

Angel?

Don't let this little angel face fool you. Although at times, yes, she can be an angel, other times... not so much, especially lately. Had a rough go of it with Bella and Caroline. Caroline's had 4 good days in a row though, and yes, I'm counting. Matter of fact, WE are. She's anxious to see how many days she can be good. Ha!

I told Brian the other day that I cannot remember the last time I had a day without a drama meltdown and it can be about the silliest thing. We had FHE and Brian had us do charades of different things and this thing for Bella was to act disrespectful, like she was back-talking, without using words. She had the motions down and this was her face. Think she's made it a few times?! Love this bipolar nugget!

Outdoor Love

So we had a really nice warm spell there for a few days in April. We'd put Charlotte down for a nap, then Cooper, Bella and I would go outside and snuggle on the trampoline. We'd take a blanket if  there was a breeze. One day we brought out books, but most days we just went out and I laid down with one on each arm. Probably my favorite thing to do with my kids. Just snuggle. Cooper is by far the one who loves to do it most. He asked me 3 times today to just go sit on the couch and snuggle with him. He wasn't feeling well, but on a good day, at least 1 or 2 times he'll ask, and I do 'cause I love it too!

This particular day I told the kids I'd make them a picnic lunch to eat on the trampoline. They were totally excited about that!

Once they finished I wanted to try and get some cool jumping pictures. They look kind of funny though 'cause you can't see any motion in them, just frozen in place, but we had fun trying.

And yes, Cooper is still in his pajamas. He loves those things! Superheros are a good thing to him!
Bella always gets the best static hair. Had to snap one and I love her face in it!

Cooper just looked cute in this one so I had to share it. He looks like such a big boy in this one. I hope he'll still snuggle with me the older he gets.

Bella and Cooper play so well together. I love seeing their relationship grow. It's probably a good thing that she'll follow him the next year after Kindergarten. It's only half day, so for the next 2 years she'll only be home 1/2 a day without him. Love these little stinkers!

Cooper- 5 years old

Yeah, I was about a month behind on getting Cooper's 5 yr old pictures done. Liz asked me when I was going to take hers and I decided to take them yearly around their birthday until their 8th birthday and then we'll just do them in the fall before each school year. So... here are a few of my sweet little boy. So blessed we have him in our family.