Kiddie Updates

First, Will has started to "read" us books. He started with Freight Train and has now moved onto The Little Engine That Could. It's so cute how he reads and turns the pages at the right time. And, with the little engine, he uses little voices. I love it and it just makes me so happy!
He's also doing a lot more imaginary play - he makes up "stories" and voices for his trucks and trains and acts them out. I'm sure you'll see it the next time you see him - he's doing it all the time now.

We're doing very well with our potty training too - he actually told me in Wal-Mart (sorry, Steven!) that he needed to pee. Of course, we were at the front of the store and the bathroom was in the back; but we went fast and he did a great job. Then, he was in the bathroom with Brent the other night. He was sitting on his little seat trying to poop. He kept readjusting himself and he got a little erect. Because of that, his penis wouldn't fit in the potty anymore. He then wisely told Brent, "My penis is way too big!" It was too funny, and something I'm sure he'll appreciate me documenting. :)

Blogging Is Great But . . .

I really enjoy blogging (I hope others actually read it - post some comments, people!) and reading other people's blogs. I love how it keeps me up to date on Ann and Kristi and John (a friend from college). And, I've learned a lot about my friends that I didn't know before, like Ann's actually into politics (which I'm not so I never brought it up), she used to play the flute, and that she likes a good 7 & 7 (I always thought she was an Amaretto Sour girl) and it cracks me up that she always says, "I'm not much of a cook," but she's always posting good recipes she's made; I learned that Kristi has a bit of a poetic side when it comes to describing her girls. So, I really appreciate the technology and the great way we have to keep in touch. It's so much better than snail mail.

But, at the same time, I worry that it may keep us from actually talking - you know, reaching out and touching someone via the telephone. Let alone sending letters (which I think can be really romantic.) With everyone texting, Facebooking, blogging - does anyone pick up a phone? I know they do (and this is actually a reminder to me that I need to pick up the phone as well), but still.

I sent Ann some of Fi's clothes for Sylvia the other day and included a note that reminded her that I like the sound of her voice. Now, I'm sure this was a bit annoying (it's okay, Ann, you can admit it) . . . But, this is a reminder to everyone (again, this includes me) to pick up the phone. I love the sound of your voices and hope to hear them all soon.

The Dinner that Wasn't

So, Wednesday we were supposed to have Brent's boss over for dinner. Now, I love cooking for people (I actually try to make at least one new recipe a week, either from a cookbook or an on-line find) and can't wait until we have a large house with a real dining room so that I can entertain more (when I grow up, I want to be the hostess with the most-est like Ann - big smile!) And, Brent's boss is French so I figured almost anything was fair game. Although, as much as I love cheese, especially French cheese, I was too intimidated to go for a cheese course. So, here's the menu I had planned (thanks, Food Network):

Crab Salad in Endive Leaves for starters
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/crab-salad-in-endive-leaves-recipe4/index.html
- This is a great recipe; very, very easy and tasty. Plus, you can make the salad ahead of time and just assemble before people show up.

Swordfish with Mediterranean Tomato Sauce and Linguine as a main course
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/michael-chiarello/lunchbag-swordfish-with-mediterranean-tomato-sauce-and-linguini-recipe/index.html
- Another great recipe; very, very easy, tasty, and quick. I altered it a bit since I didn't want to take the time to make parchment paper "lunchbags" - I just put the mixture (make-ahead) over the swordfish and covered it with foil. I also added marinated artichoke hearts, which were great. Next time, I actually think that I would omit the fresh tomatoes and just use 2 cans of diced.

Ricotta with Vanilla Sugar Croutons and Berries
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/ricotta-with-vanilla-sugar-croutons-and-berries-recipe/index.html
- Yet again, great recipe, especially for make ahead. I omitted the croutons (too much work, and I don't like croutons anyway) and used toasted almond slivers instead. Yum!

So, the menu's all planned, the kids are all ready, and Brent's home a bit early (so I can get ready.) We've poured wine for ourselves and we're just waiting (trying not to attack the starter). Then, about 6:45/6:50, we get a call - his boss was in a car accident coming to our house for dinner! Oh my gosh! This can't be a good sign! She rear ended someone on the highway - oops. She's OK, but she thinks the car may have to be totaled . . . sheesh. So, we greedily ate all the crab salad and enjoyed the fish (it was quite good). We save the dessert for a different night.

Now, this is the 2nd time we were supposed to have someone over for dinner and the dinner didn't occur. The first time was Barb - the night of the black out. This was the second. Maybe I'm just not supposed to have people over for dinner . . . I hope not. Brent's boss has bravely agreed to reschedule; wish me luck for the next time, and until then, I hope you enjoy the recipes.

I Read It

Sunday night was a first - Will read me a book. He chose Freight Train (see picture - thanks Amazon!) and read the whole book for me, twice. I'm so proud and excited - I could burst. Now, I realize that he's memorized it (I don't honestly think he's reading) but out of all the books that we've repeatedly read, this is the one remembered enough to read/repeat. He continues to read the book each night to whom ever puts him to bed and each time makes me so happy! So, anyone visiting will get the honor of having Will read you a bed-time story - that should be worth the trip, right? :)

Book and Movie Reviews

Since I'm doing blog catch up, I thought I'd add some more book and movie reviews. Here goes:

Daughter of York by Anne Easter Smith
Solid 4 out of 5 stars. This book is about the ending of the War of the Roses (the house of York versus the house of Lancaster) and the life of Margaret of York, who becomes Princess when her brother claims the English throne and then is married to Charles, the Duke of Burgundy. It's very interesting and gave me some more to research and think about in Tudor England. Anyone who like historic fiction and is an Anglophile would like this book.

To Hold the Crown by Jean Plaidy
Another solid 4 out of 5. This book takes place right after the Daughter of York ends (conveniently) and follows the joining of the houses of York and Lancaster through the marriage of Henry the VII and Elizabeth of York (the niece of Margaret of York). It provided some insight (and vast assumptions) about the father of Henry the VIII (who I know most of my friends have read about) and the stability that Henry the VII really brought to the country, which helped solidify Henry the VIII's reign. I'm sure I'll read it again.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day - good movie (3.5/5) Set in WW2 Britain, an old-fashioned governess arranges to work for an American cabaret singer. Situations between 3 men and the cabaret singer, who keeps asking the governess for help in picking the right man, keep your interest and have you rooting for the governess to find happiness. I strongly suggest adding this to your NetFlixs cue.

Run Fat Boy Run - awesome (5/5)! I have watched this movie over and over and have not gotten tired of it. It's about a fat security guard who decides to run the British marathon in order to win back his ex-girlfriend (with whom he has a son and who he left at the alter when she was pregnant). This definitely has British humor (a little dry at times) but it has me cracking up every time I see it. You all must watch this movie!

I'm working into a series of historical fiction books on Ireland next (I had to take a Brit break by reading the Twilight series for the 18th time again . . . I know, it's ridiculous really) so I'll let you know how they turn out.

Sofia Stories

Sofia is growing and changing so much - I know I should expect it and all, but I still can't believe it. She's still not talking much (mama, dada, yeah, hi, and sometimes ni-nite) but she is trying her darndest. She makes the funniest noises with her tongue, especially when we're in the car. I'm not sure how to type the sound but it's like "blabh, blabh, blabh" and when she does stop, both her cheeks are covered in slobber. It's super funny! Even Will asks her, "Fi, what are you singing?" When she's tired of making tongue noises, she starts going "yeah, yeah, yeah" over and over again. It's also super funny! I'll try to get a real video of it (with noise) but as she usually does most of it when we're in the car, I'm not sure that will happen.

Even though she doesn't have the words yet, she's expressing herself quite a lot. She'll imperiously point to something she wants and yells, "GA!" As you guess what this might be, she looks at you. When you finally guess correctly, her eyes light up and she starts nodding "yes" emphatically. It's quite an effective communication tool (and it's funny to boot.)

A few posts ago, I mentioned how we were feeding her naked (as she wants to do it herself and it's just easier on me and the laundry). Well, she still wants to do everything herself and now she wants to sit at the table with us to eat, not in her highchair. We try to get her in it and you'd think we were sending her to the electric chair or something - she struggles, pushes, screams, cries . . . And, when we do get her in there, she tries (and sometimes manages) to escape. So, I'm now working on feeding her at the table (well, helping her feed herself really.) At least we're all eating together now.

She's found some new favorite foods - grapes. I love to have grapes with breakfast, especially in the warm weather. She saw me eating one and kept pointing to it. So, I cut one up for her (since every talks about kids choking on whole ones) but she wouldn't eat it. So, I gave her a whole one - she loved it! She'll go to the fridge and point until you open it, and then, when it's opened, she'll point to the bowl of grapes until she gets some. I tried putting a bunch in a bowl for her - bad idea. She put as many as she could in her mouth (her little cheeks were puffed out like a chipmunk!) and then started choking. But, one at a time she can handle. She's also eaten blueberries, white beans, and watermelon (see earlier post) lately and liked them. Thank goodness - I may end up with one good eater yet!

I'm sure I have some more to tell, but those are the ones that come readily to mind at the moment. I'm sure I'll have more soon, as the kids do something funny almost every day.

Watermelon in the Rain

Last week, before the beach, the kids discovered how good and how much fun it is to eat watermelon outside, with the juice dripping down their chins. I got to remember how much fun it was too - I haven't eaten a watermelon with a rind in awhile. We were eating out on the deck when a little spring rain came through and it was just a really nice moment. Will actually ate 2 pieces of watermelon (and he's such a picky eater that this really is worth mentioning) and Sofia made it through 1, all by herself. She had to be steered away from the rind a couple of times - she made the funniest faces when she tried the rind. It made me laugh. After we were done, the kids stuck their hands through the deck rails and let the rain wash them off. It was really cute and made for a great afternoon.

T-Ball Tuesday Update

I have to apologize (again) for my video clip - not only is there no sound (cuz it's from the digital camera) but I can't rotate it. So, you'll just have to turn your head and watch the fun. Sorry - I will get better at this, I promise.

In any case, this is your T-Ball Tuesday update. This time, Will totally exercised his baseball diva personality - at the ripe old age of 3. He wouldn't warm-up with the kids, or with me, or with Brent. He just sulked back by the fence with Sofia. Then, when we split into groups again, he refused to run with the other kids. He decided to climb the fence (and got in trouble) instead. He didn't want to run the bases either. He just kept saying, "I want to bat!" and pouting. Finally, we told him that he wouldn't get to bat unless he did all the other things. That seemed to work and he ran the bases one time before they started catching practice.

He did pretty well in his group of 3 for catching, but the coach wasn't nearly as good at getting the ball in their glove as the guy he had last week. Oh well - he did pretty well and was introduced to the concept of "grounders." He was good at squatting down (probably from all the practice he got at the sand box - he refuses to sit in the sand for some reason and always squats.)

Finally, the coaches got everyone organized for a mock game. Will started out by 2nd base, and did a good job of standing there. They didn't actually want the kids to field the ball (thank goodness); they just wanted to get the idea across. So, one kid would hit and advance a base, then another. Everyone got to bat 3 times and go through the bases. There was one kid, Braden, who does nothing all day but hit baseballs - you could tell. He cracked the ball each time way past all 3 of the fields. He has little cleats, baseball pants, a batting glove, an aluminum bat (we usually use the foam one), and a mitt. Braden will be pro in 3 years, we're sure.

Then, it was Will's turn to bat (one turn is in the video above). The first at bat was good - he hit it to 2nd base and then decided to run there, instead of to 1st. But, we got him turned around and then Brent helped him along the bases. His 2nd at bat was a bit of a whiff, so they let him go again. It was a nice little bunt (let's just call it that). His 3rd at bat was good too - another towards 2nd base and he actually ran to 1st and stopped there this time.

After we were done, the coaches all remarked at how much of a talker Will is - he kept telling them about the police car outside the fence, the clouds, the grass, the other kids . . . They thought it was funny.

To celebrate our 2nd day of T-ball, we decided Will needed some stuff to practice with at home. So, we went to Dick's and got him a mitt, bat, and tee. He played with Brent last night and had a blast. I just hope next time he's less of a diva and does his warm-ups - we'll let you know!

More Beach Stories

I didn't have time to finish up our beach stories the other day, so I thought I'd tell a couple more now.

First, even before we left, Brent kept trying to give Will the idea of burying him in the sand. For some reason, this totally capture Brent and he really wanted to do it. Will, unfortunately, was not that into it. He just wanted to build sand castles. So, after coming back to our blanket from the ocean with Will, we found Brent sitting in the sand, burying his own legs. It was pretty funny. Maybe when Will's older he'll be more into it (and probably by then Brent won't want it done).

Next, Sofia took a nap the first day at the beach and almost took a nap the second day. So, we hauled the stroller over dunes so she could sleep in the shade. Because one of her favorite things now is climbing anything, anywhere, our stroller is now totally covered in sand. She'd sit and play in the sand, with her wet little butt, and then climb into the stroller. Then, get out of the stroller and play in the sand. The pattern continued both days. It was cute and I'm glad she had so much fun, but I'd kill for a shop vac right now to get my stroller back into shape.

Finally, the second day at the beach, Will started to make up a little song. It more or less went like this:
"We're on vacation,
we're at the beach,
we're building sandcastles . . ."
He had a cute little tune and everything. It was really, really cute and he's been doing little variations of it since we've been home (mostly, "at the beach, at the beach, at the beach"). Maybe you'll get to hear it too!

Beach Video

This is just a brief little video from Saturday at the beach. It was taken with our digital camera, so there is no sound (although I did narrate while I was filming cuz I didn't think about the sound). Just think of it like a silent movie from our youth (at least my youth - my parents took great movies of us that I'm super glad to have, but about half of them have no sound.) Enjoy!

At the Seashore

Since we've moved South, I've decided we should do a trip a month in order to explore the area, which is a totally new region of the country for me. Last month, we went to Cherokee, NC for a day. This month, we decided to do a long weekend at the beach. I wanted to avoid the tourist traps and just have a low-key vacation, so I randomly picked Litchfield on the map. It's a really quaint town about 20/30 minutes south of Myrtle Beach. Now, when I picked Litchfield, I didn't realize there was no straight shot drive and that it would take us 4 - 4 1/2 hrs to get there. Oops.




It was very odd Wednesday night and Thursday as we got ready for this trip - Brent and I both realized this was our first "real" family vacation with just the 4 of us. Brent and I have (luckily) vacationed alone once year since we've had kids, and we went to Tampa, FL for spring training with Will and Brent's parents. Brent started laughing about trying to find Wally World and I was having flashbacks to all our family car-trips as I packed up the kids and cooler. (Random tip for those living in warm climates - do NOT leave your video camera or digital camera in the back of your car when driving for a long time - this messed up our video camera at Cherokee but it's fine now.)

So, we hit the road Thursday afternoon for our long drive. We thought the timing would work out as it was Sofia's nap time and, as Will hadn't napped in 2 days, he should have dropped too. Nope! No sleeping for our little boy! And, he decided Sofia shouldn't sleep either; after she had been asleep for about 20 minutes or so, he started yelling, "Sofia! Wake up! I want to play - wake up!" Good times. Luckily, I had planned ahead and had lots of car snacks and juice to keep them occupied.




About halfway through our drive, Will starts getting upset and saying, "My butt hurts." He keeps saying it louder and louder. We ask him if he has to poop - he says no. I'm not totally sure what's going on, so we decide to stop at the McD potty. He gets in there and pees like he hasn't gone in 3 days (he must have drank more juice than I thought). I asked him again if he needed to poop and he says, "No - I'm all done." Works for me - I was just so proud that his pull-up was still dry (he usually wears regular underwear, but I wasn't taking chances in the car) and that he kind of asked to pee. He was rewarded with a milkshake.

The rest of the drive was uneventful and we arrived in Litchfield about 8. We got checked in, unpacked, and tried to get everyone settled to go to bed. Although they should have been exhausted, especially with no naps, they both didn't fall asleep until after 10 . . . Oh well.

They slept until 9 the next day. We headed down for our free breakfast and ran back up to our room to get ready for the beach. As anyone with children knows, it takes a lot to get ready for anything. And, I had to laugh as I managed to get myself and both kids in swimsuits, complete with sunscreen, in the same time it took Brent to get himself ready. We drove a short distance to the public beach access and unloaded. We were quite the site walking up the stairs and over the planks to the beach - I was carrying Fi and two bags, Will was carrying his basket of sand toys and his ring, and Brent was carrying the cooler with the towels on top. I wish I could have taken a picture or video, but we were pushing it as it was.

We had a beautiful day at the beach - the sun was shining, a breeze was blowing, and the waves were crashing . . . I love the beach! Will wanted to head to the water right away, so Brent and Fi played in the sand while Will and I played in the surf. He liked sitting on the sand and having the tide go in and out. Sofia started to get a little fussy, so we traded kids - I got her to sleep and just hung out watching my boys build sandcastles, with Will laughing every time a wave wrecked it. We ate some lunch on the beach and played some more in the sand after Fi woke up. We headed back to the hotel, and after much work, everyone (but me) took a nap. I read a book - which was great (it's one of the things I miss about my pre-kid life - getting up before Brent on a weekend and sitting with my coffee and reading all by myself.) We went to a local restaurant for dinner, which was challenging to say the least. Will was overtired, despite the nap, and didn't want to eat or sit for anything or anyone - and, the waiter screwed up our order so it took even longer than necessary. After dinner, we played in the pool which calmed Will down but didn't tire him out. It was another late night for the kids and us.

Saturday was another great day - breakfast, getting ready, beach. Fi wanted to spend more time in the water Saturday. I got to wrangle both of them in the water - what a good work-out! Sofia sat in the water and would crack up, kick and splash when the tide came in and again when the tide went out. Then, she found seashells and kept walking deeper and deeper in the water to look at them. I held onto her and she laughed each time the waves came - she even went under a couple of times but each time I picked her up, she laughed and tried to go deeper. She got mad everytime I'd take her further up the beach, away from the water. Will spent time in the sand, in the surf. Before we left, I took him out where the water was chest deep (he was in his ring) and pushed him on the top of the waves before the broke. He loved it!

We had dinner that night at a great restaurant right down the street from the hotel. It had a little boardwalk around a man-made lagoon. Around the fence, there were signs that said, "Please do not feed the alligator." I thought this was a joke and asked our waitress. She just said, "Well, it's only a little 3-4 footer. He's really just a baby." Oh-kay . . . Will loved going to see the alligator and feeding the fish and turtles - it was great to keep him occupied and we managed to have a nice dinner. We finished up our time in Litchfield with another late night swim and late night bedtime.

The drive home was much like the drive there - Will not wanting to sleep (but letting Fi sleep this time) and telling us his butt hurt again so that he could pee. I'm glad he's telling us something, but the butt thing doesn't make any sense to me. I know - he's 3 and his mind works in different ways . . . Maybe it's just a road trip ploy to get McD milkshake . . . hmm . . .

All in all, the first Maxwell family vacation was wonderful! I would recommend Litchfield to anyone and we plan on heading to the beach next month too (but a different location so I can continue to explore). Thanks for letting me tell you all about it - I hope you enjoyed reading about it.

Let's Play Ball!

T-ball that is! Will officially started T-ball last Tuesday, and it's a laugh riot! Greenville Parks and Rec bravely offers 6-week sports classes for 3-4 yr olds. The sport changes with the seasons - right now is baseball. Next is soccer (I know Aunt Linda and Kim will be really excited about that) and after that is basketball. But, I'm getting ahead of myself.

After driving aimlessly (we were given a very bad map and no street address for the park), we finally found Holmes Park. Luckily, we knew we'd get lost and left early(we really miss the grid road system of the North), so no biggie there.
We joined the rest of the parents and kids on the bleachers and waited for a coach/authority figure to show up. Coach Jim arrived with a lot of gear bags and showed us where to check in while he started creating 3 small little ball fields.

We got checked in and Will got to pick a t-shirt. Brent was very proud that out of red, brown, and orange, Will chose an orange short. So, he stayed with Tigers colors while wearing his Detroit Tigers cap.

After everyone was checked in (there were about 30 kids there) and the extra high schooler coaches were ready (this totally made me think of all the swim lessons I used to teach), all the kids got into a circle for stretching. This started the laughter. Will did not want to stretch, but he did stand in the circle as long as I stood with him. He did decide to do jumping jacks - Will style. He flaps his arms up and down like a bird and hops up and down with both feet. Super funny!

The kids were then split up by ages - two groups of 3 yr olds and one group of 4 yr olds - and then sent to the different ball fields. Each ball field luckily had about 5 coaches Will's group lined up against the fence and was told to run to one of three coaches, give him/her 5 and then run back to the fence. One coach blew a whistle and yelled, "Run!" All the parents echo, "Run!" and watch - Will runs past all the coaches and into the other ball field. Brent and I yell, "Stop!" and he looked at us like we were silly. We were cracking up, and so were all the other parents from our group. We finally got him turned around, but that ended his running.

After that, the coaches walked them through the bases and then had them run the bases a couple of times -Will wanted me to run with him, so that was fun. They went from running to catching. Will borrowed a little mitt from the City equipment stash, and joined a group of 4 kids. The coach told them how to hold the mitt and then to catch the ball with both hands by doing an alligator chomp. Will thought this was pretty cool and did pretty well - I was really impressed with how well the coach got the tennis ball into the little mitts (since the kids really aren't ready to field anything). From fielding, they went to batting. Unfortunately, our teenage coach didn't know we were almost done with our time, and only 3 kids got to bat. And, of course, Will wasn't one of the 3. And, of course, batting was all he talked about all day when I told him we were playing T-ball. So, a major tantrum ensued. Luckily for us, the coaches left the equipment out and Will got to hit a couple (which he did really well).

It was a lot of fun and I'll try to post weekly updates on his T-ball experiences.

Happy 4th!

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend - we sure did! Brent had Friday off, which was nice. He and Will went for much needed haircuts. Brent's is just a little too short (but he really needed it that way - he had a total fro) and Will's is a little off somehow (I'm still not sure, but it just doesn't look quite right). But, Will was the best he's ever been at a hair cut. He actually climbed in the chair by himself (up until this point, he sat in one of our laps) and he let the lady put the cape on him. Both firsts and we were really proud of him. Brent said the stylist was really slow (which must be true - they were gone over an hour) but Will just sat still. He was excited when he came home too - he burst in the door to show me his haircut and was very excited to get a sucker.

Saturday, Brent's friend, Pat, invited us to his friend Amy's 4th of July party. It was a little nerve racking going to this part - we're friends of friends, showing up on our own (due to kids and nap schedules, we didn't leave until 6 and we think the party started at 5:30), one of the few invitees that have children . . . It felt like an odd blind date (not that I've ever been on one - it's just what I always imagined one would feel like.) It worked out well though. After getting a grumpy Will out of car finally, we headed in. Pat met us at the car and he and Molly started to introduce us - the names are still a blur. Amy and Scott (the party hosts) had an almost 3 year old, Isaac, and a 6 month old, Jordan (boy). And, Isaac had all the toy cars from the movie Cars - Will was in heaven and had found a friend.

There was also a small pool with a slide - Will didn't sit on that one long. After Isaac went in to change, he was all over getting in the pool too. So, I swallowed my ego/self-consciousness and put on a swimsuit in front of total strangers - all for my little boy. I feel I earned some good parent points for that one. Will loved the pool, especially the slide - he must have gone down it at least 20 times. After his first time down the slide, my make-up was toast, especially my mascara. I'm not a believer in waterproof mascara (it just doesn't go on the same) so I looked a little like Alice Cooper for a bit - I had to laugh at the idea.

Sofia wanted to swim too, so I had Brent get her ready while I dealt with the slide maniac. She started swimming and playing in the water, and then wanted to go down the slide too. When I put her on the pool deck, I couldn't figure out why her diaper was so darn big - it was at least 3 times the size as normal. So, after she went down the slide (Brent held her at the halfway point and helped her drop while I caught her), I stood up in the shallow end and checked. She still had on her regular diaper - which absorbs EVERYTHING! As I wasn't watching Brent, he put the swim diaper ON TOP of the regular diaper. I should have taken a picture - it was too funny!

We climbed out of the pool when it started to get cool (I don't think SC ever really gets cold in the summer) and they started getting everything ready for fireworks. Our hosts started off the night with snaps (those fun things you throw and they make a noise - Will and Brent liked stepping on them), snakes (the black dots you light and they grow like crazy - Will thought they were cool), and sparklers (Will liked them, but Pat really got into them and we had more fun watching him put on a sparklers show than anything).

Around 9:30, it was dark enough for the fireworks (which are legal in SC). We were a little concerned about this part - Will is very scared of loud noises and we thought we might have to make a break for it. We were also hoping he might do OK - he was used to the fireworks from the Tigers games and used to like those. The party was at Amy's father in law's house, out in the country on the top of a hill. His backyard looked out over the mountains, which was nice during the day, but was totally awesome at night. Before our own firework show started, we got to see about 6 or 7 other displays in the distance - it was a great panorama show. The fireworks Amy and Scott shot off were great, and Will and Sofia both did great. Will ran to Brent when the first one went off and was a little upset for the first two. After that, he was fine. Sofia only jumped a little when the noise went off, but after the first couple, she started to look up and raise her hand every time one went in the air above us. It was really cute.

Both kids were pretty tired by the time everything was done, so we said our good-byes and thank yous, packed up the kids, and headed home. We thought both kids would sleep on the way home, but they were too excited watching more fireworks out the windows the whole way home. It was a great 4th of July for everyone.

Greenville Date Night

That's right, folks! Brent and I managed to have our first date night in Greenville - without family watching the kids. It was a first for that. Brent's friend, Barbara, graciously agreed to watch the kids for us before she started her new job. As that started today (the 6th) and she's now in NC all week, we hit her up last Thursday and she agreed.

As nice as Barb is, I was still pretty nervous. We have been exceedingly lucky and completely and totally spoiled to have grandparents and aunts and uncles who were not only close-by but who were also excited to watch our children - for the evening, overnight, for a week . . . I realized before how lucky we were, but the move has only intensified that knowledge (thanks everyone!)

So, I was nervous, even when Barb walked in the door at 5 and Will started jumping up and down in excitement and Sofia held her arms out to Barb. Will had Barb running around playing with him before she even got her things settled, which actually worked out OK (he hadn't taken a nap that day so I needed to get ready for my date.) Brent was playing with Sofia and Barb was still playing with Will when I had everything ready (the kids food, directions for the evening, food for Barb) - we had to get him calmed down enough to show her where everything was and go through all the instructions. Around 6, we asked Barb one more time if she was up for this, and after she smiled and said yes, we hit the door with both kids crying; Will was saying, "Mommy, I want to come too - I want to go too!" and Sofia was just upset I was leaving. Good stuff.

Putting the chaos of home behind us, we headed to downtown Greenville. We strolled down Main Street and decided, since it was such a nice night, to eat outside at Wild Wings. We had some good food, people watched, and talked a lot (not all of it about the kids either). It was really nice. After dinner, we walked around some more and came upon something called Greenville Live. Every Thursday, in this little green space off of Main, there's an outdoor party with live music. You purchase tickets for alcohol and just enjoy. The band was pretty good (they did some good covers) and we were pretty excited when we noticed all the families sitting on the lawn, dancing and playing with their kids (even some as young as Fi). So, I think we may have found a Thursday night family activity.

We ended our date night with a trip to Chick-Fil-A (fast becoming one of our favorite fast food places) to buy Will a milkshake (one of his favorite things in the whole wide world). We got back a little before 9 to a quiet and calm house. Sofia was actually in her bedroom, falling asleep (we woke her up by coming in), and Will was sitting on the couch in his jammies, drinking his milk. All in all, I think a good time was had by all - Barb actually sent Brent a text the next day and said "Thanks, I had a great time." So did we!