Our Last Day...

We are all sad that today is our last day here. Everyone has had a great time and the kids are exhausted! We have swam, dug in the sand, and enjoyed every second of being on the beach with nowhere else to be. Steve's dad, mom, niece, and nephew, our adopted mother-in-law Denise, her daughter Elizabeth and her boyfriend Chris, and Steve's ex-stepdaughter Tiffany all came from Sunday until Thursday. Yes, it was a full house......but it was great to spend time with family! And- how wonderful are my in-laws- they treated me like a queen! I didn't have to cook, clean, do laundry, or even make the kids lunch! They said that I deserved a vacation- and they did everything I would have to do! Aren't they fantastic? On Tuesday it rained all day long- so after supper that night we held a family talent show with the grandparents as judges. I have to say that it felt kind of hokey at first but it was so cute! Alex performed some magic tricks with Tiffany as his assistant, Sophie said the pledge and sang My Country Tis of Thee, then sang Poker Face by Lady Gaga (which was pretty hilarious), Abby and Sophie performed The Climb by Miley Cyrus (sooooo precious) they did a little ballroom dancing, Caitlin and Savannah performed a comedy routine that they wrote, Devin and Alexis did a magic trick, and Damon did a Night at the Museum 2 impersonation. It was great! The grandparents all decided to give the kids $2 each for participating. On Wednesday we hit the beach again even though it was overcast. Sophie and Savannah stayed out most of the day, with the other kids coming out after lunch. Sophie has really surprised me by loving the sand and water so much. She is not afraid of it at all and stays out all day long. She has only had one nap since we have arrived and has woken up at the butt crack of dawn because her Grandmama (Denise) has been taking the kids for morning walks on the beach. I wish that I could have convinced my parents to come down for even a few days- the kids would have enjoyed it- and who doesn't love an uncrowded beach? Thursday we went to the aquarium at Ft. Fisher. While we were there we passed movie crews filming a movie on the beach, which excited the kids. The aquarium was a great experience and they were able to get out of the house for a little bit. Here are some pics!

Almost Paradise.....

So, our beach trip is in full swing and I have tried to be so vigilante about sunscreen. I mean, I am the woman who has four full cans of spray sunscreen, four creams, and two face sticks so that we don't run out. Six kids, twelve arms, twelve legs, six faces...you get the drift...it's a lot of dang kids to make sure that you have slathered up. They go out to the beach as slick as a greased pig only have the wind hit them, and then they are covered in sand. Well, I went out and somehow...my legs came out on the beach unsunscreened. Please don't ask me how. I can't tell you. I have no idea how it happened. It is totally unreasonable to say that six kids had so flustered me in their excitement to get out to the beach that I just got my tale out on the beach to appease the masses. Yep, totally unreasonable. So I won't use that excuse. I am just saying that I have no idea. So at 8:00 I was on the beach and at 2:30 I came inside. Yep...I said it. 8 to 2:30. And you would also have to understand that I am not one of those people that can just lie on the beach and look at the water. The water calls, it beckons to me.....it says....come....maybe its where my dad was in the Navy and he passed something genetically to me...because I can tell you that not one of my other sisters are this way- but I love playing in the ocean.....as long as I can't feel any critters underneath me! So, after being in the water much of the day and playing in the sand with the kids I had no idea that my legs were passing the red mark, passed the tomato mark, and were fastly approaching steamed lobster status. When I got inside I wasn't THAT red yet, as the burn tends to "come up" instead of going away (which is what I wish). So I thought that shaving my legs would be okay, because I wasn't that burned. I am just going to give anyone who reads this a bit of free advice. Actually I am begging you. Please, Please- if you think you are sunburned- please do not shave that area. Liquid fire raining on you may feel about the same as it did after I shaved my legs. So then, I had to spray some white vinegar on the legs....which stung (because of the shaving bit) and then I applied aloe. Today I was able to find some relief by getting back in the ocean....the salt water probably helped the shaved legs....not the sunburn...i think I effectively took the top layer of skin off of my sunburn. So please heed my advice...it's free....it's yours....take it. Other than that....enjoy the pictures!

Sophie filling her sandbucket- happily!

Spikey the seahorse (the kids named him- then the sea reclaimed him- we all observed a moment of silence in his passing).

Morning on the beach- anything better to greet you in the morning when you step outside?

The View From Here....

Isn't that amazing? We were lucky enough to be able to rent a beachfront house this year- and we are loving EVERY minute of it!

The gang- together again! Tiffany (our adopted daughter, lol- Steve's ex-stepdaughter, was able to come and stay with us this week!).

Just so they can rub it in that they are having more fun than you are......
Their first run at the water.....I think that I may have seen some people clearing the beach and running for cover when they saw these seven hooligans coming down the stairs towards the water- and I can't say that I blame them!

Waiting on the water to splash their feet...

I couldn't help it- I love this picture of Abby! How funny is this?

I love this picture of Sophie running- she was running with such abandon- she was so happy and all she could do was stop and say, "Thanks for taking me to the beach, mom."

Sophie dipping her toes in the water.

Supper at our favorite restaurant on the island- The Crab Pot- my dad would love this place!

Sophie doing her best impression of a scary face...and I have to say- I think she is doing a decent job of it!

The kids have been so excited for weeks, and we are just glad to be here! Now, we are all going to get a good night's rest and hit the beach for some REAL fun tomorrow! (Let's all hope that the rain holds off!)

Please....

Dear Readers,
I am so sorry that I have not blogged since May 20th! It makes me want to hide my head in shame and try to tell you about how busy I was those last days of school, how I have enjoyed my days since school was out, and how I am now busy preparing to leave for the beach on Saturday. My computer is going with me, and I promise to blog while we are there and make sure I post pictures. Can you please forgive me?

Love,
Amanda

Sophia Rose with the pretty nose....

While my title may seem strange (but I do think that she has quite a sweet little nose- not at all like the huge thing I have pasted on my face)....Sophie has actually grown up quite a bit in the past month. Everybody sit down, hold your breath, hang on to somethin'- Sophie gave up her pacifiers!!! Now, there was no arguing, no screaming, no CRYING even! Simply a little bribing was involved.....She was told that when she went ten nights without her pacifier (because I know that by then we have broken the habit) that she would be able to go to the Riverbanks Zoo and take the whole family with her! We were lucky enough to be able to have a few hours of overcast skies- which was better than the rain this past weekend. My friend Amy and her four children went with us- so we had quite the posse (I would like to say group, but there is not another word to describe nine kids with just three adults...). The kids were all fabulous and I wanted to eat Sophie up I was so proud of her! Can you believe that she is growing up this fast?

Sophie is so cool with Alden's sunglasses!

I suck....

at blogging- or so my sister told me a few days ago. And I must admit that she is correct. Two weeks ago I went back to work after recovering from my tonsillectomy- and life has been a whirlwind ever since. Our life has been a blur of games, practices, and last week we had our annual 4th grade Charleston field trip. While it is fun, I was so tired this weekend that I didn't have the energy to even open my computer. Two weeks ago at Sophie's game I let Savannah take my camera and take some pictures. Behold what I found on my camera when I looked at the pictures.....

I think I may have a budding photographer on my hands. What do you think? Time flies by so quickly- one moment they are babies, and in the next moment they are doing this:

You can't see her, because I don't post pictures of other people's children without their consent, but Sophie's friend that lives across the street was riding with her. This friend is a foster child, and is relatively new to the neighborhood, so when they were riding Sophie was practicing her traffic signal knowledge and introducing her to everyone. They would ride a little ways, Sophie would scream, "RED LIGHT" and then when they had come to a stop I would hear her say, "This is my house." Then, "GREEN LIGHT" until they had reached the next house, where she would let her friend know who lived at that house. While it sounds like they had a great area to ride around, the truth is that it was just in our little cul-de-sac. It was hilarious! I am going to leave you with some pictures from Sophie's first ragball game. She looks so cute!

And sorry mom, I know you hate the s... word!

Breaking News: I am still alive!

Okay, we are now on day 9 post-surgery and I am surviving. I am going to let you in on a little secret: Days 1-5 were a breeze- Day 6 was like a kick in the butt- and now, everyday since, I have found myself with terrible ear pain and the back of my throat feels as if, well I am not sure what it feels like, except awful. I called the ENT today to ask about the ear pain, and the nurse told me that it was referred pain from my throat. So, I was wondering- is that like someone stepping on my foot and me hitting them- referring my pain back to them? Ha! Seriously- I am not a baby about pain and I don't like to complain, so I will just say that it is not nearly as bad as I thought. And- if you are thinking about having a tonsillectomy, the most helpful thing throughout this whole process was staying on top of my pain medication. With it, I can function. So, enough of that business.

Yesterday, my friend Amy and I decided to try to make some cake pops, as seen on Bakerella's website. We were going to try to make the chicks, and probably a few cupcake bites- but it went all wrong somewhere. These things are super cute, and I was so excited, only to be let down when it wasn't working. But after careful examination of the tutorials on Bakerella's site I would like to say that I think that it may be user error. I don't like to admit defeat- so that may be why it really ticked me off, but now I may understand why it didn't work out so well. Also, to Bakerella: I am sorry for my Facebook status yesterday saying you were a liar- I was just a little frustrated. Hope there was not offense taken (who am I kidding- this is someone who has been on the Martha Show- she isn't caring what I call her- she doesn't even know I exist!).

If you would like to know what NOT to do when making cake pops- just ask. I can give you some pointers!