THREE!!

We celebrated Will's birthday this weekend with some close friends. Will hasn't started preschool yet so we are still able to get away with having *our* friends over to celebrate. Lucky for the kids our friends also have children the same age and they all get along very well. Frances' little boy Wesley is three days older than Will ~ so we actually had Will's party on Wesley's birthday, talk about confusing everyone. (Wesley is celebrating later this week). I can't believe my little guy is three years old. It's been a whirlwind of three years and the next three are sure to go by even faster.
Will swims like a fish. He started the summer out using a float vest. Not anymore! He's been swimming on his own since July. Today he 'raced' Katie and swam from the shallow end (where he can't touch) to the deep end and BACK! Amazing. I love that my kids are so comfortable in the water.

Some funny things about Will: other than fruit and veggies he will only eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chicken nuggets and pasta with butter. He recently tried pizza and was 'ok' with it. Other than chicken nuggets he will not touch meat. I don't know why my kids are self made vegetarians. He obviously has no issues with cake!
Will spent most of his birthday with Ma. I had a meeting at school in the morning so my mom came over to be with Will and Camryn for a little bit. Once I got home Will and Ma left for his special birthday shopping trip to Lowes. Will wanted his own set of tools, he's tired of having to share Ben's, he also wanted a lawnmower AND a tractor. Ma was able to talk him down to just the tool set. Once the kids and Jon were home we opened presents and went to The Flying Biscuit for dinner.

Will has changed so much in the last year. He no longer calls his big sister "Tay-dee"; he stopped calling vitamins "ever-minds"; he's completely potty trained, even gets up in the middle of the night to pee without waking us, he doesn't nap (except for today when he fell asleep in Ma's car!). He loves sports. He can throw a baseball up in the air and hit it every time. He no longer wears Kate's dance tu-tus but insists on wearing 'basketball' clothes everyday (it must be mesh).

My little buddy is growing up fast!! Too fast. He's still funny as ever and loves to make us all laugh. He worships the ground Kate walks on, but has recently gravitated towards Ben and has starting spending more time with him. It's all very interesting to watch.

First Day of School, First Day of School!!!

The summer is over and school is here. Ben and Katie were both excited and ready to start, it was me who was dreading the busy mornings, pick-up schedules, and having them gone most of the day. Today was their first full day and they couldn't have been more excited to leave the house. Katie couldn't sit still while eating breakfast, she barely got any food into her mouth she was so busy talking about her upcoming day. I'm sure she was a little nervous too, but she certainly seemed ready! Last week was the first time Ben mentioned going back to school and since then it couldn't come quick enough for him. He LOVES his teacher, Mrs. Cook, and hoped all summer he be in her class. When we got the class list in the mail last week he was thrilled! He also has four friends from Kindergarten in his class. I am amazed at how well they place all the students at Latin. Every class has approximately 5 kids from the previous year and every kid seems to be placed with the right teacher. I can't imagine what they must go through to figure all that out. I do know that the Kindergarten teachers decide what kids get what teacher in first grade. I think Mrs. Cathcart hit the nail on the head by putting Ben with Mrs. Cook. He is going to have a fantastic year.

Ben on his way to orientation. Notice his bag says "Palmer" ~ he wanted nothing to do with his initials or his first name. "Just put Palmer on it Mom, everyone knows that's me." You'd think he was a graduating senior with the attitude and confidence he walks around with!

Katie has Mrs. Austin this year ~ THE Kindergarten teacher to have at Latin. She is just wonderful!! The teachers at Latin not only set the tone for their classroom but also have complete control over the curriculum and material covered in class. So as you can imagine, one class to the next can be quite different. It will be interesting to compare the differences in Ben's first year and Katie's first year. Kate couldn't be happier though, Mrs. Austin classroom is right up her alley!

Kate checking out her room at orientation.

Katie and Claire talking to the fish.

Sporting her name tag.

Will and Cam still in their pjs (along with Mommy) saying goodbye.

Bye! I love that Jon is able to take the kids to school in the morning. I can't imagine trying to get all four of them fed, dressed and out of the house by 7:45. The school day doesn't start until 8:30, but kids can get there as early as 7:45 to play in their classrooms. Ben made it very clear he wanted to get to school as early as possible! It's when they do fun worksheets and get to socialize before the day begins.

It's hard to believe that it was a year ago that Ben was starting Kindergarten. Today it was Kate. My how fast they grow. My how fast time goes by.

Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock ...

Time is just ticking away. The countdown to the first day of school is on. Ben has orientation for an hour on Monday, Kate an hour or so on Tuesday then they both start a regular day on Wednesday. I can NOT believe this is our last weekend and summer is technically over. We still have lots of warm wonderful weather ahead of us, but as far as the summer freedom schedule, that's about to come to a screeching halt! And I'm really bummed about that. I've truly enjoyed this summer, we did no camps, no sports, no scheduled anything and it was great! Now it's time to get back to school and all the logistics that go along with it. Sigh. This year is also the start of a longer school day for Ben. Kindergarten at Latin goes from 8:30 -1:30, but starting in first grade the day extends until 3:10. He gets an extra recess in there, which is great, but it will really feel like he's gone all day! Not to mention the two different pick-up times everyday, that's going to be a fun one to figure out. Kate starting Kindergarten will be an adjustment for us all. She only went to preschool three days a week last year, so we are all going to be missing her. Especially William, he worships his big sister. I feel sad for him that he's losing his favorite friend for most of the day. Will also starts preschool for the first time this year. He will be attending Tuesday and Thursdays at Providence Presbyterian Preschool. I'm really excited about getting back into that program and can't wait to see all the wonderful things the new director has done. Will's first day will be after Labor Day, so we'll ease into a bit of a schedule before we have to start THREE different pick-up times on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Lucky for us, Mom has retired and is willing to help out in anyway that she can. Isn't she great!?! I really don't know what we would do without her!
Here's a little video of Will in the garage building his airplane. You might not be able to understand exactly what he's saying, it's the facial expressions that kill me! He reminds me so much of Ben at that age.



We got all the doctors visits in just in the nick of time. Will and Camryn went yesterday and Ben and Kate today. Little Miss Cam is measuring up just like the rest of them, she's 87% for height and 15% for weight ~ 32 inches tall and a whopping 26 lbs. Tall and skinny, just like her Daddy. Here is a video from earlier today. She sure does keep us all on our toes!

The Mountains With Kate

I took Kate to the mountains this weekend for some quality mother-daughter time before she heads off to Kindergarten next week. (Last year my dad, Barb and I (along with baby Camryn) took Ben to Atlanta for a baseball game and a trip to the aquarium. I really enjoyed having some one-on-one time with Ben, so we thought we'd make it a little tradition for each one of the kids. Sadly, Barb and Dad couldn't join us this summer due to the chemo that Barb's enduring at the the moment. We missed you both very much and will take a rain check for next summer. ) Kate and I started our journey early Saturday morning, picture courtesy of Ben. We headed straight up to Valle Crucis, NC for some horseback riding. When I made the reservation over the phone they told me Kate was too young to ride a horse, so we scheduled a pony ride. I was hoping once we got there they would let us both ride (since Kate is the size of a typical seven year old), but it turns out it's not the size they worry about, but the ability to follow directions and 'lead' a horse. So we stuck with the pony ride. She loved it.

Here she is on her new friend Kelly. Kelly is a miniature male horse, Kate thought it was funny that a boy had the name Kelly.

After the pony ride we stopped by Mast General Store to stock-up on some candy. Hey, is that Stonewall Kitchen I see on the shelf?? Is there anywhere they don't sell that stuff??

Once we got our fill of candy and some local mountain music we headed to Blowing Rock where we stayed at the Meadowbrook Inn. This was my first visit to Blowing Rock and I fell in love with the little town. It sort of reminds me of Bridgton, Maine where I grew up. Only much nicer and quainter ~ but what Bridgton has the potential to be.

Waiting for lunch at one of the cute sidewalk cafes. Yes, those are my sunglasses.

Feeding the ducks at the Meadowbrook Inn.

We walked over to Chitola Lake that evening after dinner.

Endless Engery Kate running up and down all the hills at Chitola.

The next morning we visited The Blowing Rock. Here she is outside the visitor center. Everything about the park was beautiful!

Kate just loved climbing around, through, over, under all the rocks and boulders. You'd never know she was born a 'city' girl!

Here she is peeking over the edge. The rock to her left is THE Blowing Rock. It's the only place on earth that it snows 'up' (at least that's what they claim). It is said that if you stand on top of that rock and toss anything out over the cliff the winds will carry it back up to you. We took their word for it. I don't stand too close to cliffs. Kate on the other hand was very interested in testing that theory.

At an overlook along the Blue Ridge Parkway headed to Grandfather Mountain. It was beyond breathtaking! We were both ooh-ing and ahh-ing the entire time.

We parked in the lower parking lot at Grandfather and decided to hike up the rest of the way. Apparently most people drive up, but really, mountains are made for hiking! It was a beautiful hike and Kate did such a great job. We hiked for 2.5 hours and she didn't complain at all. She really enjoyed being in the woods.

Here she is scaling one of the more difficult legs of the hike. Notice the ropes along the side. She wanted nothing to do with them. "I can do it Mommy!" she claimed ... and she sure did do it. I was amazed by her attitude and her abilities all day!

And here we are at the Mile High Swinging Bridge at the top of Grandfather. If you know me at all, you know I do not do well with heights. We talked about this bridge as we hiked. Kate couldn't wait to cross it. I, on the other hand, was dreading it!! I really didn't know if I would be able to make myself go across, and then back again. I still can't believe I did it. My stomach does flips just looking at this picture! When we reached the half way point, the wind picked up and that bridge really did start swinging, I thought I was in for it. I felt my body start to freeze and for a split second I could not move. Then this beautiful blue eyed girl turns around and says to me "Isn't it beautiful up here?" I didn't look around (at all) but that was enough to get me to the other side. She saw no reason to be scared. How could I let her down be letting my fear get the best of me? I wasn't about to ruin this moment for her. So we crossed, had a nice little snack and crossed back over. I don't know if I will ever do it again, but I'm glad I did do it. And I'm really glad I was with Kate when I did!!

After Grandfather Mountain we explored the caves at Linville Caverns before heading back home to Charlotte. I took lots of pictures, but had problems getting them up on blogger today. The 'caves' as Kate called them were her favorite part of the trip. We'll have to make a trip back there soon, now Ben is dying to go! We had a fantastic weekend together. I will never forget it. I look forward to many more trips like this with each one of my kids.

Back from the Beach ...

What's better than having a townhouse at the beach? Having friends who own a townhouse at the beach! Thanks to the Lincoln's for lending us their beach townhouse for four days. It was just perfect and we were able to enjoy another wonderful vacation on Pawley's Island at Litchfield Beach. Ben spent everyday boogie boarding in the warm (85 degrees) ocean water for hours on end, while Will and Kate played on the beach and Camryn kept us on our toes RUNNING back and forth, back and forth. We all had a fantastic time and have started a new family sport of boogie boarding. Jon, Ben and myself have mastered it. Hopefully next time we go we will be able to get Kate to join us. She was too afraid to go into the ocean after Will was stung by a jellyfish on the first day. It didn't stop Will, Ben or Camryn from enjoying the water, but Kate wouldn't go in past her ankles.

The oaks covered in Spanish moss will never cease to amaze me. They are always beautiful no matter how many times I see them.

Going for a walk. This picture makes me laugh, they both have the same 'grumpy' expression on their face. We just had ice cream ... why aren't they smiling??

Will and Kate on the beach at sunset. I love walking on the beach at night.

Ben in the front seat of the golf cart as we cruised around the compound. That tooth of his is finally coming in!

Beautiful Kate.

A picture of all four of them looking at the camera and smiling. Miracles do happen.

The golf cart was just as fun for the kids as the beach!

The girls.

Will practicing surfing. The boy really wants to learn but just can't understand why he can't just do it NOW.

Camry enjoyed napping on Mommy in the beach chair every morning.

Ben the boogie boarding boy! He had a blast ~ so much fun that he has abrasions on his stomach from the sand. He keeps asking when we are going back.

Camryn loved the beach. She would RUN straight for the waves, get knocked down, get a face full of salt water and get back up and do it all over again. There wasn't much sitting for Mommy and Daddy on this beach trip, but we had fun!

The water perfect!

Camryn looking for alligators. We only saw a few.