Greenie

Today the kids caught a frog and it was quite exciting for them.  We have tried a few other times this summer to catch frogs, toads and lizards, but they are always too fast for us.  I think this little guy may have been injured and so he was easier to catch.  Isn't he a pretty little frog.  His name is Greenie and after being handled way too much we gave him some water to splash in which revived him right up and he hopped away. He sure was cute.
 

 

We LOVE Charleston

We went to the waterfront park in downtown Charleston in between Confrence sessions on Sunday.  It was a beautiful day and the kids loved seeing the big cruise ship up close.  They asked if they could go by the fountains and we said sure but "only get your feet wet." 
Yeah right! It is not physically possible for our kids to be near water and not get in, so they of course got soaked.

 

Endless Summer

Even though we have been back to school for almost 2 months now, it has still felt like summer.  We still go swimming and hang out at the beach.  Really the only difference is that now we can actually PLAY at the park, something we didn't do in the summer because it was way way too HOT.  But the weather has been gorgeous lately and so we are enjoying it.
 

 

One Sunday we went for a walk around this lake.  It wasn't until we made it almost all the way around that I noticed ALLIGATORS live in this water.  Had I know this at the beginning, my kids would not have been right next to the water throwing pebbles.

Scott and I had a nice little weekend get-a-way to Washington.  It was relaxing and fabulous, and even though it "technically" wasn't a vacation, we were alone so it counts.  This is a picture of us in beautiful Coure d'Alene ID. 

Our up-stairs neighbors "gave" us some hamsters.  I say "gave" because I didn't really want them so they still live with the neighbors.  But to the kids they are our families new pets named Josh and Clara 

 
The kids Love watching the BYU and SUU football games and Mitch thinks he is so cool in his jersey. (uncle Brad may need to send him a t-bird one)

There are so many fun parks in Charleston. We find a new one every week.  Every where we go we see people fishing and our kids want to do it sooo badly, especially Ethan.  It is getting to the point where I think Scott needs to break down and invest in some rods.  On this day we were walking past as someone caught an eel.  Since Ethan is fascinated with all things that live in the sea I had to snap a picture.

 

One of the other things I love about Charleston is there are millions of butterflies.  They are EVERYWHERE!!!  Mitch is kind of obsessed with them and he is determined to catch one.  Although he hasn't caught one yet it is pretty cute watching him try.

Dr. Daddy

Ethan has been going to the Eye Doctor for 3 years now.  We all really liked our Dr in Cleveland and so it has always been a fun thing for Ethan to go and get his eyes checked.  Well now that we live in SC the kids have a new Eye Doctor, Dr Yeates.

Ethan need new glasses so after school on Thursday we headed downtown to visit dad at work.  He has a really nice office, with a much better movie selection, so the kids really liked it.  But even though Dad is always looking/checking their eyes at home, this was the first time he has done a real exam on our kids.  They had a hard time sitting still for their exams and wanted to climb-on and touch everything.  Let's just say that having a hard time listening at home translated to Dad's office as well.

Finally I said "You need to listen to Dr. Yeates so he can check your eyes." 

Molly quickly responded... "He's not Dr. Yeates! He's Dr. Daddy!" 

 

 

Despite being a little wiggly, they were all pretty good for the exam.  And best of all they got bouncy balls and extra stickers.  Plus it's always fun to visit Daddy at work.

Pre-K

Finally after patiently waiting for 2 weeks Molly had her first day.  To say she was excited would be an understatement.   She had a great time and was disappointed when it was time to come home.  She said that it wasn't long enough and that she wished she could go all day.  She made lots of new friends on the first day and even though she didn't remember very many names, she could describe with great detail what every little girl was wearing. 

Mitch has really enjoyed being King of the house for a few short hours each day, and although I don't get quite the free time I had last year, it's still nice to get some one on one time with that funny little guy.

Back-to-School

 I think it is safe to say that EVERYone in our house is happy that School has started again! But no one more than this kid.  His new school is so nice and his teacher seems awesome.  He was all smiles on the first day....and everyday since.  He has made a lot of new friends but can't remember any of their names.  Mitch and Molly are happy to be back to the school routine as well, and really enjoy getting more of my time. 

 

 

Surf & Starfish

We had another perfect day at the beach today.  I love that we can go and my kids are perfectly happy and entertained for 5 hours.  No whining, no complaining, just happy. (As long as I bring enough food.)

 Today was especially exciting because we found at least 50 Starfish while swimming in the ocean.  The kids were so excited, Mitch was squealing and kept saying "It tickles"

Shark Week



We got a pass to the aquarium in Charleston right when we moved here and we have been every week since.  The kids love it and have so much fun there.  But last week was especially fun because it was SHARK WEEK. 
Mitch loves to watch the sharks.



Shark Molly is trying to eat Mitch. Watch Out!!



scary little sharks.  Now they all want to dress up as sharks for Halloween, so I should probably start working on costumes.



 

This week in Charleston

We have been exploring our new city and have found several fun parks.  At one park we went to this week the kids discovered a "bamboo forest" and thought it was sooo cool to play in it.  They kept talking about pirates and buried treasure, I love their imaginations.  

 

We also do A LOT of swimming. 

The kids are getting more daring everyday.  Molly has pretty much taught herself to swim this summer and is always trying new things.  She is very proud of the fact that she can jump into the deep-end and swim all the way to the stairs by herself.  Ethan on the other hand has been teaching himself how to do flips and trick dives into the pool. 
This week Ethan learned that doing flips from the side of the pool = a bald spot.

 

He got to close to the edge of the pool while attempting a front flip now he has a whole in his head.  You would think that now he would listen to his mother when she says "NO FLIPS" but he is still doing it.  I really hope we don't have to make a trip to the ER this summer. 

Happy 9 years

It has truly been a wonderful 9 years with you Scott.  We have aged, grown wiser, learned a lot, and accomplished some big things.  Together we created three beautiful children.  We have had lots of ups and downs but through it all you can still make me laugh. 

When I was looking for all these pictures I realized something.... ever since we've had children they are always in the picture with us.  It was very hard to find a picture of just you and me from each year (I couldn't find a single one of just us for 2010)