County Fair

I love this pic of the boys at the county fair! We visited MeeMee and Poppy this past week and attended their local fair. The boys also had a chance to spend a week with their grandparents while I attended a conference (I can't complain - it gave the boys some time with family and was the only week my office asked me to work all summer!). My in-laws have goats - which Luke loves. And they are certainly starting to grow on Blake. When you say "Oreo" around this house - you're not talking about a cookie - you're talking about a sweet goat on their farm. Luke and Blake will also tell you all about goat milk being their favorite beating out cow milk by a landslide. Cuties.

Mom's Night Out

All moms need a night out! Thankfully, I have a wonderful husband and mother-in-law who understands this! On Thursday, MeeMee gave me tickets to see Dierks Bentley at the county fair. He put on a great show and probably would have played a lot longer but we got cut short by a big storm. On Friday, Yuliya and I saw Keith Urban who played for almost three hours and sang and played his heart out. Sweat poured down him and although thousands were in the audience he managed to give everyone an intimate performance. It was evident that both guys love what they do and I love their music! And of course, we were able to dance and sing and act as silly as we wanted to without the guys around.

Cousin Jacobs Visits

A few hundred miles separate Luke and Blake from their only cousin, Jacob. Aunt Missy took some time off to visit with Jacob this month. We visited the Museum of Natural History in DC. Luke and Jacob loved it but Blake was convinced the animals were going to get him. Maybe watching "Night at the Museum" wasn't such a great choice.... We also went swimming and visited downtown for a carriage ride where Blake told everyone his dad had been in jail. I wish I was kidding. I laughed and said, "Blake, what are you talking about? Your dad's a police officer." Ha ha ha. I can't imagine what the people on the carriage thought - "That poor child". Aside from the convict story, I'm pretty sure the boys learned some things. Even at three, Blake can tell you a few things about George Washington who lived here as a child.

Swim Lessons

"Swimming isn't just for fun. It can save your life" - words of wisdom by Momma spoken to Luke as he clung to the edge of the pool fighting back tears. The boys completed a two week swim course at our local YMCA earlier this month. I am SO proud of both of them. Some kids love the water - some don't. Blake does ok and loved water as an infant. Luke had to be given a bath in the kitchen sink until he was too big to fit and was terrified of water from the beginning. The first day of lessons, he was the only child who didn't get in with his group. I finally went over and said, "You have three choices - get out and go with your group; go with the pre-school group (where Blake was) or get out and I'll get a refund." He asked what a refund was. I explained and then told him to make his choice. I walked away and sat down on the bleachers with the other moms who all offered words of encouragement. About 5 minutes passed and I saw him get up. I was sure he would head towards me to get our "refund". He suprised me and joined his group. He bonded with his instructor, Angel, a recent high school grad (there really are some great teens/young adults out there!) and promised her he would complete all tasks. By the end of the two weeks, he had gone down the slide, swam to the deep end with Angel and gained a tremendous amount of confidence. So - I'm proud of both of them but this certainly came easier for Blake who found the whole experience fun and games compared to Luke who really had to dig for some courage. We also had VBS in the evening one week and the music teacher asked, "Do you trust me?". Luke replied, "I've already trusted someone today at swim lessons." Too funny. Although they're not headed for the swim team anytime soon I am pleased and will enroll them next spring for another session. Way to go, guys!

Edisto Beach

The low country of South Carolina has been described by many as one of the most alive places in the world. The marshes may look like just a bunch of mud to some but it's so much more than that. In the mud, marshes, creeks and sea water are thousands of creatures big and small - many are endangered. Many are loved by all - like the dolphins and sea turtles. I've traveled to some beautiful places but I don't believe I've ever felt as connected to nature in any other place (except my home soil of WV) like this region. These pics just do not do justice to the vacation we had this year. We checked out the beach each morning until around lunch time, had afternoon naps and time to read books, rode our bikes and enjoyed local food. I signed up for a beach walk with the naturalists at the state park to learn about and look for sea turtles (the boys were too young to go) and had to chance to see a freshly laid nest and momma turtle heading back to sea in the surf. I don't believe I've ever seen so many stars in the sky. Many in our group saw numerous shooting stars. Our family literally swam with dolphins every day. Some days the pods were as close as 20 feet or less. You could see their whole bodies. One even jumped all the way out of the water as if putting on a playful show for us. I would have loved to have been able to capture some of this on camera but no cameras were allowed on the turtle walk (plus it was pitch black) and we were in the inlet water when the dolphins were close. Luke especially loved the dolphins, moving closer on his wave board each time they appeared. This is the Edisto I know and love.

Visit to Momaw and Popaw's

Our second big trip of the year was to West Virginia to visit Momaw and Popaw and Momaw Kathleen. We had a wonderful, relaxing time and visited with a lot of old friends (and new friends for the boys). I had a chance to reconnect with my old high school friend, Angie, who now calls the Lone Star state home with her three boys. We took the five boys to Chief Logan Park (which we both still miss) and let them play in the little stream until they were exhausted and filthy. Great fun. We also visited Twin Falls which wasn't much of a "falls" right now due to the drought but the hiking was great as always and the boys love this place. We attended the Freedom Fest and the biggest highlight for Luke and Blake was riding in my dad's new antique car. They thought they were cool stuff in that thing! And I can't not mention the boys playing with my grandmother. She will be 84 in December and still plays with Luke and Blake with great enthusiasm. They love it.

West Virginia Pics