Monday, July 5, 2010

Birthday's, Pool Parties, and Fireworks

We were one busy family this past weekend!  I didn't cook one single meal and we stayed home long enough to sleep and shower before moving on to the next activity.  Our weekends are normally very relaxed and we stay home.  At least we were together as a family and we were spending time with our families.

Friday:  Toy Story 3: 3D with Pops, Tommy, and Donald.




Saturday:  Pool Party @ with Paden, a quick shower then, My 
                 Grandmother's surprise party for her 80th birthday.
 
 {My Great Aunt Frieda and my Dad's sister Marie}



Sunday: Independence Day, Grill out & fireworks at my parent's   
              house with Emily, Lee, Joan, Bonnie, Tim, Pops & Tommy.
 

Friday, July 2, 2010

Simply Sammy

Sammy is such a sweetheart.  He's growing at warp speed and his wonderful little personality emerges more and more with each passing day.

Here are just a few of the things I love about my little buddy!

He'll get out of the van and then turn to hold Hannah's hand and help her out. He's such a gentleman. 
 
He likes lemonade and loves pink lemonade. Just like his mommy.
 
Our little cutie has a favorite outfit: his white shirt with the guitar on the front being the one he choses the most. He'll strum the guitar with his fingers and sing, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."
 
He wants me to sing 'The Ants Go Marching {Three by Three} every night when I tuck him into bed. My fingers are the ants and they "march" up his legs and tickle his tummy. He laughs every time.
 
Speaking of bed. I was very proud that he shared an air mattress with Hannah while we were in IN. They never argued, kicked or whined. Amazing!
 
The phrase heard most often from Samuel is, "Where is it Mommy? Where iPod go?" He loves playing Castle Defender on Bobby's iPod Touch. He knows how to turn it on, flip the screen to the games and tap the one he wants. He's pretty good at defending his castle too.  (Not sure if this is a good thing or not...)
 
Sam is an awesome traveler. 
(Sammy, pre-hair cut, wearing Hannah's galoshes.)
 
His favorite movie is still 'Night at the Museum.'
 
I love that Sam still sleeps with his favorite snuggle buddy...Mystery.
 
He adores his Papa.  He's always right behind my Dad asking, "What you doing Papa?"
 
He loves his big sister and cannot stand to be away from her for long periods.
 
He loves shoes and has named just about every pair he owns:  Jackie shoes, Bonnie shoes, Keds, Papa boots, "Old Naby" shoes (generally named after the person who bought them for him or the place he bought them.  Very creative I know.)
 
He called Ryan & Bethany's dog {Vader} Gator for some reason.  One morning he called him "Alligator!"
 
Sammy willingly helps around the house.  He rinses dishes, separates clothes, makes his bed to the best of his abilities, and vacuums.  He'd use the Swiffer Wet Jet every day if I'd let him!   
 
There's much more but that's enough for now.  You get the point.  I have the cutest son in the world!!

Friday, June 25, 2010

a mini-family reunion

We're now on our second trip in two weeks.  This time we have the kids with us (happy dance).  We're currently in IN visiting Bobby's family.  Normally we come up for the 4th of July but his classes @ Clemson start on the 2nd so we had to come early.   So we basically got home last Friday, unpacked, cleaned the house, washed all the laundry and repacked. 

Today we just stayed @ home with Ryan & Bethany and relaxed.  Then we headed out to eat dinner with some of Bobby's aunts and uncles.  We ate some delicious food and then spent the next few hours just hanging around talking.  I love Bobby's family...

Bethany & the kiddos

 Bobby & his cousin Dewayne

Bobby's cousin Lori.
 

Sammy is by far the cutest...

Uncle Don...
 

The Girls...
 

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Lucca

The Saturday before Bobby & I left for Boston, we took the kids to Chau Ram County Park to help celebrate Lucca's (my second cousin) first birthday.

Despite the humidity and bugs we had a blast.  There were a ton of kids there and the food was delicious (I mean Kathy & Frank provided the food so it couldn't be anything but amazing...)  Chau Ram is a beautiful location for a party too ... if you haven't been there you should make plans to visit it.

Lucca seemed to enjoy his big day.  But seriously, aren't parties more for the parents than the kids?  At least that first birthday?  

One thing's for sure - he certainly enjoyed his cake!


{The kids loved the swings.}

{Hannah particularly loved the stream.}

{The party scene.}

 {Menu: pasta salad, sub sandwiches w/ PB&J for the kids and fruit salad. Yum-o!}

 {Someone got grumpy while waiting for some b-day cake.}

{Luca, "So what's going on?"}


{Kathy's home made cakes were superb!}

Happy Birthday Lucca!!  We love you!!

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Some Pretty Awesome Dad's


...I hope some very special Dad's have a very special Father's Day.  I love you all very much!...




 and of course my own sweet husband who has to be the best Dad ever!

Friday, June 18, 2010

Museum of Fine Art {Boston}

Yesterday I finally made it to the Museum of Fine Art!!  And it was so worth the trip.  After 3 and a half hours I still hadn't looked at every exhibit...

If you're ever in Boston you definitely have to go to this museum.  I walked through a hall of African tribal masks, sat in a replica of a Buddist Shrine and spent about an hour looking at an Egyptian tomb and its contents.  But my favorite was the European art...

Islamic "Tombstone"

 Hieroglyphics on the lid of an Eygptian Sarcophagus

--Degas--


--Monet--

--van Gogh--

--Joseph Mallard William Turner--
(I did a report on this painting for one of my Lit classes so I had to take a picture of it too!)

That's it folks...
I've packed our bags and now I'm just waiting for Bobby to finish his final training session.  Then we're off to the airport!  I'm so ready to be back home with Hannah & Samuel.  I've really enjoyed this trip but it would have been a lot more fun if they had been with me. 

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Quincy Market

I've decided to leave the Museum for our last full day in Boston.  

Today I took the T to the open market (Quincy Market).  It's pretty neat but not quite what I was expecting.  There was a huge food court that included the second Cheers bar.  There were vendors all over selling jewelry and Boston apparel but there were also some major shopping stores (like Godiva, Coach, and my favorite, the Croc store).  A very fun way to spend the afternoon.


On the way to Quincy Market there is a beautiful tribute to Holocaust survivors.  

  Heart breaking stories from Holocaust survivors are written on each of the glass panels along the walkway.  One lady wrote about how she watched her sister stand naked before a Nazi soldier.  Her sister told the solider she wouldn't be parted from her family and the solider then shot & killed her.  I couldn't read all of them because they were so devastating... 
There are grates inside each section that envelop you in steam when you stop to read the stories.

The Clark's Next Big Adventure

So much for keeping the blog updated this year 😂  The Clark family is embarking on another adventure though and it's too big not to doc...