Last week Chris and I, and of course Noah, all took the boat on a ride. It was fun. Really fun. I haven't really jumped on the boat bandwagon. Our last family outing turned into a family of six stranded in a little boat with nowhere to go. Thanks to a slightly inebriated skipper who stopped to help, we were safely pulled to shore. So, I haven't been too excited about boat trips. But when you have beautiful weather, no bugs, low winds and calm waters and only one child, this makes for an enjoyable experience. I told Chris I would ride with him every day if he wanted me to. These were some of the sights we saw. All need to come and visit and see in person. Pictures do no justice.

Charleston Battery

New Cooper River Bridge

Noah at the wheel.

Pure Enjoyment!



Spanish Moss -a southern delight-

>

Pelican Perched upon a Post
(how do you like that alliteration?)

Shem Creek Shrimp Boats

daily works of art #21

by noah

daily works of art #20

STARS

by noah

after...

This is what my children look like after school. You can't see the huge ketchup spill on Ceily's shirt. But it's there. It's there every day usually.

daily works of art #19

HELLO

by eddie

lana cheering...

"Every night when I sleep, I dream of my cheerleading practice. And then when people wake me up, my career ends." This was Lana this morning as we left Cheerleading. I had to tell her that her career has just begun because this morning was the very first game and they did awesome.

We- the parents- were a bit worried. The practices have been a bit lacking in instruction, but the girls really surprised us. They even did some formations and stunts and a cute hello cheer.

It always surprises me that my children want to do these type of things. I would rather cut my arm off than jump up and down in front of a crowd- or sing in front of a crowd- or recite poetry in front of a crowd. Ceily just auditioned for the 5th grade talent show. She and three of her friends sang a Colbie Callet song. Eddie missed his last soccer practice because he wanted to participate in the Poetry Slam on Tuesday. I guess they haven't learned not to make eye contact yet- something I've tried to teach them so they don't have to talk to anyone. We'll have to work a little bit harder on that... until then, I will continue to enjoy them as they are.

lana sleeping...

It's getting harder and harder for Lana and Noah to get to bed because it's "still morning time outside!" They can't really grasp the concept of "spring forward" yet. Lana was suppose to be slumbering. I guess we all need to catch up on a bit of our magazine time every once in a while. And we need to keep our hair out of our face as we sleep, right?

daily works of art #18

CHICK

by noah

daily works of art #17

FLOWERS

by lana

love

I sure love these kids. Even after sacrament meeting.

Lana once again, requested I take some pictures of her cute outfit. It's mostly the shoes. Since day one, I can tell that these shoes make her feel pretty and special. It took her a few wearings to be able to walk uprightly without twisting her ankle.

And then comes Noah. Noah adores this girl. He too had to have his picture taken- "ALONE!" He would be with her 24/7 if her could. I know at times Lana would love it if he would stop touching her or wanting to be by her side.

Lana is the perfect sister and lets him play with her and her friends.

She always has.

daily works of art #16

FRUIT

by eddie

sand surf and FUN

For the last 6 years we have loaded the kids in the car and headed down the street to the beach. We have a favorite "beach song" that we blast and sing as we cross the bridge. We pack chairs and sunscreen and snacks and drinks. Sometimes we bring the kite. Sometimes we stay for hours and hours and some days we only stay a short while.

Last Saturday was our first short trip to the beach. Yeah!! It's that time a year again. The kids were so excited. Eddie had a soccer game earlier that morning, so after that loss, we decided to make a quick detour to the beach. We didn't expect everyone to get in and go swimming, but the call of the waves and the push of the breeze was too much to resist. They were disappointed that they didn't have their bathing suits, but that didn't matter. Noah finally let go of his pants and was seen clad in heart dressed underwear.



By the time we were ready to go, sand was everywhere, clothes were soaked and no one wanted to leave. The girls spent most of their time collecting baby clams and placing them in their plastic water bottle. They are always surprised and saddened when we make them return the creatures to their natural habitat.

I'm excited to find starfish and sand dollars and glimpse dolphins and maybe even a shark. We actually saw one in the surf. We see pelicans, seagulls carrying Doritos and live conch shells. One summer we saw a wedding. One summer a few baptisms. Can't wait to see what this summer brings.

daily works of art #15

BRIDGE

by ceily

daily works of art #14

MARSH

by eddie

lana said...

"Mom, will you take a picture of me and put it on the log? This is what I should have worn to school today for my pictures."

daily works of art #13

GUITARS

by ceily

merry, merry

My youngest sister Merry is the best. I've been thinking about her a lot lately. Having just been home visiting family, Merry was the one that gave up her room for Chris and I. Without one complaint. She has been known to complain pretty loudly upon hearing that she will have to relinquish her room for a few days. It's hard for her to break out of her routine, but she always does. Sometimes, we will find notes or letters asking us to please not touch her stuff or there will be dire consequences. This time her note was sweet and tender. Merry has Down's Syndrome and has made our life better for 25 years. (Jayne and Chris-

You are my best sister and brother-in-law.

You are my favorite and easy to talk to and fun to be with.

I love you so much. You have good kids. Love, Merry)

I remember looking at Merry through the glass at the hospital. We were all sad. Merry wasn't the "perfect" baby we had all been waiting for. She was the last of 7 and so anticipated. I was a 14 year old baby lover, and couldn't wait for another little one to snuggle and take care of. They told my parents that they should consider institutionalizing her. My parents never looked back. Merry was in physical therapy since birth and has been blossoming ever since.
We love Merry. We love that she drives us crazy sometimes. We love that we can't understand her. It just makes us get a little closer and listen more intently. We love that she calls and leaves us very long, sometimes, incomprehensible messages, but never forgets to say "I love you. Call me back."
We love that she pats us on the back and gives really long squeezes when she's around. She has also been known to give me really superb foot rubs. (I do have to pay her sometimes, but I'm willing. Oh, and she did try to convince Chris to leave me for her. I forgave her.) And the person that chooses Merry for the Christmas gift exchange is ecstatic, because the genuine joy as she opens her presents is priceless.

We are sad at times that Merry will not marry and have a family, something she desperately desires. But, what makes life great with Merry around, is that we are all just a little closer to heaven. She has been promised she will be with her Saviour. We all want to be there with Merry. We all try harder to make it there too, because we know Merry will be there with the long squeezes and tight hugs and a few pats on the back.

daily works of art #12

ROSE WITH THORNS

by lana

daily works of art #11

SPIDEY

by eddie

strawberries

Every year we go to Boone Hall Plantation and pick strawberries. The first few years, I would take all the kids with me. Then I wised up and decided to take the younger two with me while the older two were at school. It was pleasurable only having to monitor two little ones. I could easily hide the fact that they would pick a strawberry and immediately place it in their mouth. The bright red juice dripping from their lips to be vividly displayed upon their clothing, was a bit more difficult to conceal, but I managed. I only had to chase two instead of four.

My oldest children, Ceily and Eddie have whined and complained and whined and complained ever since. "You NEVER take us to the strawberry patch anymore. It's not fair. Lana and Noah always get to go! You don't love us as much!"

I bit the bullet on Thursday. Maybe it was because Chris has no job and is home and he wanted to come with us. Maybe it was because Chris has no job and is home and we needed to get out of the house. Whatever the reason, all six of us loaded into the car and arrived at the strawberry patch and prepared to pick some delicious berries.

Well, now that Boone Hall has other fun attractions, like a jump castle and huge inflatable slides, again I only had two children accompanying me. Ceily and Eddie and I enjoyed our quiet time together as we searched for ripe berries. I didn't have to tell them not to eat the berries. I didn't have to chase after them. I didn't have to tell them to stay out of the mud. Oh wait, Ceily did happen upon the only mud puddle in the whole field. But she was able to wash her self. What a joy. Maybe I had been taking the wrong kids with me every year.

Thanks to the extra sets of eyes and hands that Chris brought with him, Lana and Noah played happily and didn't pick one berry.

daily works of art #10

LADYBUG

by lana

daily works of art #9

HEART

by ceily

daily works of art #8

STILL

by ceily

daily works of art #7

WATER

by eddie

super noah

Almost daily, Noah asks me to either film him trying to fly, or take many pictures of his attempts at flying. Well, he knew he could do it. I have documentation that Noah can actually fly. How fun to have a flyer in the house. (He did land once on his head, quite hard I might add. The flying ended for the day after that.)