Playing at Broad River

We had an impromptu outing to the Broad River in downtown Columbia yesterday (7/11/10). I can't believe I've never gone down there after living here my entire life! It was fun and it reminded me of how we've gotten over the "hump" and seem to have some extra flexibility in doing more with the kids without having to pack like crazy to do something like this.

I LOVE this picture of Corbin and Hunter. Brotherly love... for the moment. :)

Dane especially had a great time at Broad River. Watching him climb the rocks and stand there alone made me nervous, but also happy that he's able to hang with his big brothers. He was so excited to be out there by himself. I called his name when he was out there and he said, "cheese" as I snapped this picture.






Matt and his mini me- I love this picture! Hunter was the first out on the rocks.




Corbin took this picture of us. Wished we had someone out there with us to snap a photo of all of us. Corbin took a good picture though. :)


My boy-o's on the river. This is another favorite of mine. Feeling pretty fortunate right about now.

... And if I become the 2010 Miss River Rock I will stand here every Saturday as a statue to represent all of those women who don't shower, sport greasy, pulled backed root-showing hair and walk the streets in 2 day old worn jean shorts, a super low cut t-shirt, and barefoot (hopefully not pregnant). heh! heh!

We finally decided to go, so Matt had to help all of us over and through the water. It wouldn't have mattered if we would have brought our swimsuits and towels... next time though! Hunter and Dane did not escape getting pretty wet though, so to avoid driving home, we hopped over to Richland Mall and made a quick stop at the clearance rack at Gymboree and continue on our "STAY TRIP" around town going to docks, checking out trails, buying boiled peanuts from a strange man, getting ice cream and rounding the day off with a new Wii Resort game ala daddy.

Next on the Wilson agenda... Hunter's 4th Birthday!

The Beach

My Mom and Dad were nice enough to take us all on vacation to Myrtle Beach this summer. We got to stay in a house (not on the water, but close to it) and like chocolate syrup on ice cream, they rented a golf cart- which I believe was the highlight of the kids' trip. Now, they point out when they see one and begin to list off benefits of having one... and no, I didn't get pictures of it b/c I was a terrible photographer this trip. I had too much to worry about and I mostly relied on my sister and mom to take pictures... but I did get a few good ones. :)


We were obsessed with digging holes! Leah and I jumped in on the hole digging action and I must admit, we got some head turns day after day on our mad skills (or they could have just been checking us out... he he he)


We even made little steps so the kids wouldn't collapse our walls. :) They did a little digging here and there.


Dane loved the "wah-yer"! Before bed every night, the only way I could get him to quietly go to sleep was to tell him we would go play in the water when he woke up. :) My baby is growing up so fast!... but I'll save that whine for another post. :)


Did you have fun at the beach, Hunter? 2 thumbs up, apparently.



And no, I have no pictures of me on my camera from this beach trip- my mom and sister have some though.

Summary

It's been a while since my last post mainly because I didn't think I had much to post about. No new pictures, no new places that we've visited, no crazy big news... it's been mostly quiet (except for the afternoons when I want to rip the vocal cords out of my young... did I just say that out loud?!... oops) So I've decided to summarize the month of June so far. I've pulled out my trusty calendar which life would cease to exist if this ever left my sight.

-Got through the end of school year parties
-The last day of school was June 3
-Matt and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary on June 4 by having dinner and riding go-carts
-The MTV movie awards were great- I look forward to those annually
-The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner came out- yes, of course I read it and got really depressed afterward
-The Eclipse Soundtrack came out (and I have not bought it yet, I know, right?!)
-Matt and I went Kayaking
-Bought Karate Kid (the original) for the boys- they LOVED it! and btw, Ralph Machio was disgustingly skinny back then
-Read The Iron King (AMAZING!) by Julie Kagawa
-Read Dead in the Family sookie book #10 by Charlaine Harris
-Started Running (yes, I actually am pretty good at it)
-We've been swimming at the neighborhood pool just about everyday (and no, Corbin and Hunter are not tan, though Dane and I are getting there)
-I painted my mailbox
-Matt finally got my IKEA furniture put together
-Bought some new workout clothes
-Hunter threw a colossal tantrum at Columbiana Center a couple of weeks ago over jibbets that I refuse to buy
-Matt bought some Mario WII game for the boys (they love it)
-Our good friends moved away :(
-Father's Day (I know I didn't make a post for this, but my Dad knows how much I love him)
-Water day at Nana's (weekly during the summers)
-Payday
-I've been working out like crazy b/c I have nothing better to do... jk- but I am having fun
-Registered for the Mud Run
-Oh I forgot that a new season of Design Star started in all of it's gay glory

So that is pretty much what's been going on. I guess things weren't that quiet- we were actually pretty busy. Onto what's next for the rest of June:

-Birthday party for Hunter's friend at Monkey Joe's
-Payday
-MYRTLE BEACH!
-Eclipse Movie Companion being release (I know, I'm pathetic)
-Eclipse at IMAX!!!!!!!!!!!
-The twenty something season of the Real World comes on (I know, double pathetic)

Say "Cheese!"

So Dane was playing around and he found his hat and put it on backwards. I thought it was so funny that when I pulled the camera out, he sat on the floor and said, "CHEESE!"

Treasures

I went to my Grandparents house with my mom yesterday to help with the cleaning out process. By being a part of this, I've decided to re-define what my definition of "treasure" is. I love my Grandparents- they were another set of parents for me and to see their pictures around stung me a bit in the chest, but I was still happy to be there. That house contains so much history and love and happy times for me. The things that I was able to take with me have meant more to me that anything.


This statue sat on the top right hand side of my Grandpa's desk my entire life. As a kid, I would stick my pinky in his ears and belly button (I know, ew.), but I always thought this was so cool. Grandpa always said that it was a statue of him and would laugh. I'm thrilled for this treasure. It will sit on the top right hand side of my desk now.


No story behind these. They are about 4 inches tall and they are actually salt and pepper shakers. These reminded me of Night at the Museum (Hunter is famous for quoting this movie) "No gum-gum for the dumb-dumb" Hunter and Corbin both flew at me to get to them when they saw them. They are excited about this treasure.

We lived with Grandma and Grandpa for a couple of years when I was really young and Grandma had these beautiful pillowcases with embroidered flowers on them. I thought I was so special because she let me sleep on something so beautiful. Later on as I got older, I specifically remember her making me do some, but I would never finish them because I thought it was boring. Makes me wish for some do-overs.


This was Grandma's apron. It's faded and soft and well-used. I'm happy that I can have it. Maybe some of her genius in the kitchen will rub off on me some day... I hope.

I miss Grandma and Grandpa so much. I miss the days of Kmart and icees, working in the gardens, cabbage and rice, BLT's (no tomato for me, of course)when the first tomatoes of the season would come in, playing cards, peanuts and coke (even though I hated peanuts, I ate them anyways b/c Grandpa did), bowling on Wednesdays, Driving range on thursdays, picking up leaves with the lawn mower, legos, barbies (and their furniture that Grandma made for us out of popsicle sticks), thundercats, Gilligan's Island, shopping at the PX, eating cherries off the cherry stand at the commissary, grilled cheese sandwiches, eating apples out of salt water as Grandma peeled them, learning new ways to weave hemp (I think Grandma was trying to relate with me at the time), listening to me, Grandpa's laugh, the way Grandma pronounced my name, her cold arms (I always liked to lay my cheek on them because when it was hot, her arms were always cool- even as a young adult I did this)... I KNOW that as long as I live my life the way I should, I will see them again and we will all be a family forever. No doubt in my mind. Their absense is noticed everyday, but my treasures will be a constant reminder of them.

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all Moms, Moms-to-be, future Moms, any woman to desires kids... or any woman that kind of likes kids... or any woman who comes across one every now and then... Did I cover all bases? Okay, so I hosted the dinner at my house today. It was a lot of fun! We had some great weather, great food, great laughs, and great company! Highlights: We feasted on roast beef and sticky rice (mom), homemade mac and cheese (Mikelene), corn on the cobb and pasta salad (Jaime), and brownies (Leah). We're awesome, I know. The men cleaned up and we sat around digesting and trying not to lose our dinner. Matt and the boys got us a princess pinata and all the moms got to wack at it and the kids ran for all the chocolate in there. It was a good time!

Mother's Day- May 9, 2010

Jaime taking a swing!

Leah's turn!

Hit it, Mikelene!

Mom got 2 good hits! She, however, opted for the Nerf bat rather than the steel baton

Oh, and for my gifts, My guys got me that fossil bag that I posted in my "likes post". Hunter gave me a really great card and a bird house, Corbin gave me some coupons and Dane gave me lots of kisses including the smacking of his lips with it. It was a great day with my family and friends!

Good times, Good times

Just wanted to post some random cuteness of my boys!


Matt got a new tent for a hiking trip he is going to be taking soon and when it came in the mail, he put it together and as always, these guys needed to try it out to see if it could pass the ultimate test... them.


On Fridays, "The Nana" comes over to baby-sit so I can go volunteer in Corbin's class at school. Everytime she comes, they build the tower... and it seems to be getting bigger and bigger!

Candid pictures are my absolute favorite! I was chasing Hunter around one morning with my camera and he tried to hide behind a door, but I was sneaky and stuck the camera around and snapped this! It makes me smile everytime- I rarely get a genuine laugh of him on camera.


Just wanted to take a picture of all the boys. The little boy next to Corbin is our good friend, Michael, who we consider a pack member!