Beach Week

Two weeks ago, we traveled to Edisto Island for a week at the beach. We rented a wonderful house from a friend, Ashley (check out her blog here)... it was beautiful and perfect for what we needed. We spent our mornings at the beach and our afternoons napping! Both boys were little fish and amazing sand castle architects.

There were two beaches we visited while we were at Edisto. There was the beach at the ocean and the beach at the sound. The ocean's waves were bigger than the sound's waves, so we spent a good bit of time at the sound... the boys liked playing in the water, and the bigger waves at the ocean were rough on them. We went to the ocean several times at night, though, to play in the waves and fly Jackon's kite.


We took so many great pictures... it is going to be tough to only pick a few!

Visitors

Caroline and Fordham came to visit on our first day there. We went to the beach to let the boys play, but Harris and Fordham weren't interested in the water. Thankfully, they gave Caroline and I a chance to just sit, relax, and chat while they played in the sand.

Thanks, Smiths, for making the trip out! It was nice to have an Edisto playdate with you!!

Darn Blogger

I am gettin very frustrated with Blogger... I have been trying to update with all of our pictures from the beach week, but Blogger has not been cooperating. I have gotten a few up, but I am frustrated with it now, so I am quitting. I promise I will have more later...

Time Away From the Beach

There was a small park near the "business district", and we spent a bit there while we were trying to waste time before dinner one night. The boys loved the gazebo, and we sat there for a long time just watching them run and play.

Beach Time with Papa

Papa came and joined us on Wednesday. It was great to have the time with him, and the boys were thrilled he was there. Jackson's big game with Papa was telling him to go under water... for some reason, Jackson loved it when Papa went underwater and laughed hysterically.
Thanks for coming, Papa... we loved having you with us!
 

Serpentarium

Jason and Papa took the boys to the Serpentarium one afternoon to see the alligators, lizards, snakes, and turtles. Since I didn't go, I don't know much, but the pictures are great. They got to see the alligators being fed, and both Jason and Papa mentioned how fat and lazy the gators were... when the handlers threw them the chickens (already dead of course!), they pretty much threw them directly into the gators' mouths. If they missed, the gators just kind of rolled over and grabed them lazily! No big show like you'd expect after watching Animal Planet! The boys loved it, though, and Jackson came home with a snake and a sticker book, telling me all about the animals they saw.

I'm Gonna Getcha...

You better run!
I'm gonna getcha...
Here I come!!

911

On Sunday after we got home from the beach, I ran to the grocery store to get some essentials. About 5 minutes after I got home, the doorbell rang. As I got to the door, I noticed a police man standing at the door. My heart started beating quickly, and I wondered what I had done to warrant this visit!

When I opened the door, the kind police man told me that there had been a 911 call from our address. Shocked, I asked Jason about it, and he said that he didn't know anything about it, but 20 minutes earlier, Harris had been playing with the phone. So, I guess Harris was checking out the speediness of the 911 response team (which didn't do very well... they showed up 20 minutes after his call!!).

After the police left, Jason said to me, "It looks like the days of Harris playing with the phone are over".

Ya' think???

Did he just now figure that out???

Victory

That funny-looking thing in front of Jackson is a homemade ice cream cake. In case you didn't know, we promised Jackson an ice cream cake when he went poo poo in the big boy potty. Yep, he did it!! He decided to do it the day before we left for the beach, so once there, I put this one together for him... he loved it! He has been so good, too, and not had the first accident since he decided to start using the big boy potty. I think potty training is officially over (thank goodness!!).

Yay, Jackson! We are so proud of you!

Dear Jason,

I am still saying NO to the golf cart.

Love,
AB 

Bits & Pieces

Harris has started to scream and screech now. While it is nice that he is so verbal, the screaming is a bit much. To make it worse, Jackson thinks it is so funny, so he will start screaming and screeching, too. I think this might drive me crazy!

Harris loves to drive. Anything. He drives Jason's truck, he drives the ride-on toys, he "drives" the fort on the play set... anything with a steering wheel, he drives. Watch out, NASCAR... here he comes!

Harris loves his big brother! He wants to be wherever Jackson is and do whatever Jackson is doing. He loves to give Jackson a night-night kiss and hug, and he loves to steal whatever it is that Jackson has, especially James the Train!!

Harris has started to talk some: Eh-do (Elmo), rah-rah ("wipe my hands and face"), all done (signs this, as well as speaks it!), signs "more", ba-ba (milk sippy), ba-ba (bye-bye), ma ma, da da, etc. I think my favorite is when he brings me his diaper with Elmo on it, saying "Eh-do"... too sweet to hear!

Jackson is talking more and more (finally!!). He has started to tell us who his teachers are, what he did at camp, what they had for snack... all secrets to us until recently. He also is sure to tell us daily which trains he doesn't have and which ones he wants... just in case we had forgotten.

Jackson is almost potty trained... enough to be able to go to camp at his school! He hasn't had a pee pee accident since the second week that we started training! The issue is the poo poo... he wants to go in his pull-up or in the little boy potty, not the big boy potty. Hopefully we will have this resolved soon...

Jackson is very hip... he loves my music! He can tell you who is singing any song that I play in my car. His favorites: The Fray, Jack Johnson, Goo Goo Dolls, Rob Thomas, and James Blunt.

Both boys love their daddy... as soon as they hear his key in the lock, they both drop whatever it is that they are doing and run for the door screeching! Daddy coming home is such a nice break for me!!

***UGH!! I I wanted to post more pictures, but Blogger isn't taking them!! I give up... maybe I'll try again next time!***

Goal

For the past few months, I have been planning on running the Rock N Roll 1/2 Marathon in Virginia Beach on September 3rd. I didn't want to post about it, just in case I whimped out and didn't do it... well, I am backing out. The summer has been so hot, and I have not been able, safely, to run the two hour runs required to train for the race.

BUT, I am not whimping out completely... I have another goal. My friend Tracey (Miss T) and I have decided to run the Outer Banks 1/2 Marathon on November 12. I am putting it on the blog to hold myself to it... no whimping out.

I will keep you posted with the progress...

Dear Jason,

We are NOT getting a golf cart. We do not NEED a golf cart. We cannot AFFORD a golf cart. We are NOT depriving our kids by not having a golf cart. What we NEED is a new coffee table and loveseat to replace the ones your darling boys have destroyed.

No golf cart. The end.

Love,
AB

Beach Morning

Harris and I headed to Folly Beach yesterday morning with Nancy and DuBose. Jackson is at camp this week, so I have been trying to take advantage of the time alone with Harris... what a great way to do that! The boys played and played, laughed and laughed! Not to mention, Harris used up so much energy that he took a three hour nap in the afternoon!
Let's dig a big hole... and keep Nancy busy filling it with water!

Pumping Iron

The results of Harris' iron tests from last week are in... he is getting better, but still not up to par. So, we are doubling the amount of iron daily. And yes, that means more bloodwork in 3 months. Ugh... poor kid!

Trispan 10K

On Saturday I ran the Trispan 10K in Wilmington, NC. Betty traveled with me on Friday night, and it was so great to have her along. Again, I had my own cheering section and personal photographer!!Listening to instructions and waiting for the start.

What a great race! It was tough, but it was probably the best race I have done recently. I think there were about 1000 runners or so, half doing the 5K (3.1 miles) and half doing the 10K (6.2 miles). There were three bridges to cross, and I was very nervous that I wasn't in shape enough to get over all three, but I made it!

The majority of the run was on highway roads, which was a little scary, but the entire run had beautiful views. The view from the top of the bridges was of downtown Wilmington, and part of the run was through forest and marsh. The weather was ideal (70 degrees when we started!), so it was a perfect way to start the day!

I had a starting goal of 54 minutes, and that would have been reasonable had there not been three bridges to deal with! As I was running the first bridge, I knew I would have to reevaluate my goal, and decided I just wanted to finish without walking!! I did that easily and finished in 57:26. That was 19th out of 32 in my age group. You can check out the results here: http://www.set-upinc.com/rp5/trispan/resulstpage.htm

Thanks, Betty, for coming along... I loved the company!

I don't have any race plans coming up, but I need to find something to keep up my motivation in this heat!!

Endurance

Check this out... this man is going to run 50 marathons in 50 consecutive days in 50 states. I can't even imagine.

His mission: "The mission of this event is to encourage, motivate and inspire people of all ages to become active, make physical wellness an essential and enjoyable priority in their lives and to promote healthy, active living across this great country. "
--Dean K.

I'll definitely be watching to see how he does!!

http://www.endurance50.com/

His blog:
http://enduranceis.typepad.com/

Reading Material

Jackson loves a "magazine"... any toy catalog, Babies'RUs circulars, Disney Magazine, Turtle... he loves them all. He especially loves to have them at nap time... he usually falls asleep reading one.

Today we got the new Babies'RUs catalog, and he was so excited to look through it. When I put him down for his nap, he kept saying "Nude magazine! Nude magazine!". I looked at him, shocked for a minute, until I realized he wanted his new magazine!! Phew... thank goodness... I'm not ready for that talk yet!

Fourth of July Weekend

Nana, Great-Grandpa, Great-Nana, and us! Papa T is taking the picture... sorry we missed him!

We headed to Atlanta for the Fourth of July weekend. This is the Third Annual McDonald Family Fourth! It was a crazy weekend... so much going on, but so much fun. The pool was perfect, and Jackson had a blast swimming and splashing all day!

Mom totally outdid herself with the food... brisket, steaks, chicken, ribs... it was all so yummy! We definitely ate way too much, but we appreciated every bite!!

Jason and I were ordered to bring fireworks, as anything that goes over 5 feet high is illegal where they live (confirmed by a friendly officer's visit on Sunday evening when Papa T and some neighbors set off some "practice" rounds!). The boys set them off Monday night, though, and I think we definitely had the best show on the block!

Great-Nana and Great-Grandpa
Jackson with Nana
We had a great time in Atlanta... thanks, Mom and Terry, for having us! Looking forward to it again next year!!

Little Fishes

We spent most of the weekend in the pool... it was so hot outside, and the pool was just perfect! Harris wasn't thrilled with the pool, but Jackson was a different story... we couldn't keep him out!

Once he figured out the slide, he loved it. He especially loved watching Daddy and Papa T go down it!

Harris Pictures

Sitting in the fridge, helping himself...
Loving Nana with the popcicle.
Eating the ice out of the cooler (one of his favorite games from the weekend!).
Keeper of the Cooler.

Again, loving the popcicle!