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)

7 up

 Last weekend my little boy turned 7 and I realize that he is not so little anymore.  We had a great weekend and he had a VERY fun-packed day. 

 I went with a Super Mario theme and cut out characters to hang around the house.  I thought they turned out pretty good, but all Ethan kept saying was "Mom, why didn't you make Yoshi, or Bowser? You should've made a Mario."  I guess I should take it as a compliment, because he thinks I can do anything.

 His Birthday started off with breakfast and all his favorite things, then some b-day spankings and a wrestle with Dad. 

 He liked all of his presents but especially the one that had "Super Mario Galaxy 2" in it.

 We spent most of the day at "Splash Island" and had a blast.  Ethan went down the water slide at least 100 times.

 One year older. 

After cake and ice cream we went to another party with a bouncy house, blow-up slip-n-slide, and slushy machine.  Ethan and Mitch were in heaven especially since they got to pour soap all over the slide and got covered in bubbles. 

Summer so far....

  I am way behind on blogging, as I am frequently reminded by my mother.  So this is my attempt at a recap of the last 2 months. 

Dan, Heather & Seth came to visit

For Memorial Day weekend we got to play with baby Seth.  Both Molly and Mitch LOVED having a cute baby to harass play with.

I actually got to leave the kids for the day and have fun at Cedar Point.  It was so fun to ride all the big rides, but I was definitely reminded of my age by the end of the day.

Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame

 

Fun at one of our favorite Cleveland parks, Preston's Hope.

Swimming and sliding on the natural water slides at Euclid Creek

Goodbye BBQ's

We made so many good friends during the last few years of residency.  We are really going to miss everyone.

End of School Zoo trips

 

I went with both Molly and Ethan's classes on their zoo field trips.

Saying goodbye to our neighborhood friends

Last Day of School

Ethan and Molly both had such a great school year, with wonderful teachers and friends.

We miss ALL our good friends

Baseball

Ethan played half the season before we moved.  He had such great coaches and some good friends on his team.  Wish he could've finished the season.

Too many good friends to say goodbye to

Last Cleveland Beach trip 

I got to meet up with my cousin Jessie and her girls at the beach.

Graduation



So proud of Scott and all his hard work over the last 8 years.



Moving Day



It was so sad leaving our HOME.  Mitch was crying and wanted to go back in when it was time to leave.  He was so confussed and had no idea what was going on.



 We made it to Charleston



Huge THANKS to Bonnie for coming out to help us with the move.  I seriously don't think we could have survived it without her help.



 Week with the Merrill's

After getting settled in Charleston Scott had to go back to Cleveland to finish work.  So I invited myself to Joe and Monica's house in NC.  We were just planning on going for 2 days but the kids had so much fun that we stayed the whole week. 

 Happy 4th of July



Fireworks at Patriots Point.  The kids loved watching the helicopters land and take off.



 I LOVE the BEACH

It is so nice living 5 min from the beach.  I LOVE it



One night at the beach we found this horseshoe crab