HHI - The Beach

Thanks for your patience with me in posting these photos! I brought a bad case of bronchitis home from Hilton Head! I think I should go back and get revenge (and maybe relax on the beach for another day!) :). Four prescriptions and 2 1/2 weeks later, I am doing much, much better. Thank goodness! Poor B has been fighting something yucky, and our little man is fighting a stomach virus now, but hopefully he'll beat it soon. Amazingly, our sweetheart Brooke is holding her own! Big cheers for her immune system doing an awesome job!

We had so many great photos from our vacation that I had to break them up into two different posts. The focus of this one is the Beach :). Our kids loved the beach - honestly, I think they would have been perfectly happy to had played in the sun and the sand the entire time! They take after their Daddy for sure!

This may be one of my all-time favorite photos of my little miracles. Oh, how Mommy loves you, Carson and Brooke.

My three favorite people...

B stopped at the Dollar Tree before our vacation and stocked up on beach toys and a great kite.

What a handsome little boy!

After years and years of practice, I'm getting pretty good at the self-portrait. I'm thankful every day for you, B.

The kite - a kid-favorite! It was just windy enough that it didn't take any effort to get our kite to fly!

On Saturday, we headed to Harbor Town. We had yummy icecream, went up in the Lighthouse and took a great family picture... and sadly, said goodbye, for now, to Hilton Head. And some family memories and precious moments this blessed momma will never forget.

HHI 10.10

A few of my favorites to share of our family vacation in Hilton Head...more to come :).

Pumpkins and good friends

We made our annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch today after mass. It was a beautiful, sunny day.



We took a tractor ride to the pumpkin patch and then, the hunting began. Brian and Carson went looking for pumpkins while Brooke and I guarded our row of potential pumpkins. The vines were a little too hard for Brooke to navigate. She kept getting tripped up and the tall weeds were bothering her. She kept yelling for Carson and Daddy if they got too far away!

"I sit on the punkin."

The deliberation - as is tradition, Carson and Brian each selected their own pumpkin. Carson spent the rest of the day asking Brooke and I whose pumpkin was better. He's not competitive at all. Really.

They narrowed it down to 7 before making their selections. We consider pumpkin-selection to be a very serious process! But, once you choose - you're all in. No second-guessing!

A very nice young girl offered to take our family picture. So nice!

After we picked our pumpkins and rode the tractor again, we ate lunch/yummy snacks and discovered Brooke's fear of bees. The bees love the cider and she was really frightened of them buzzing around. She would bury her head in me and say no, no, no bees. They played in the giant haystack for a while before we left.

Before:

After:

We bought some apples and said farewell to the pumpkin patch until next year!

My good friend Heather, who lives in California, was in town this weekend! After the pumpkin patch, we spent the afternoon at the Houk's. Heather introduced Becky and I a long time ago, and the three of us girls have had several fun adventures over the years. Our families have become great friends and we're so blessed to have the Houk's and Perry's in our life.

Not long after we arrived, we snapped a photo of the girls, but then I put my camera down(sadly). Carson and Brooke are joined by the Houk kiddos - Caroline (3) and Winston, Truman and Theodore (15 months). Their sweet puppy Hank joins the fun, too. We always have fun spending time with these wonderful people and today was no exception. Brooke went without a nap today (too much fun to sleep!!!) and threw a huge fit - because Heather was leaving :). We missed you, Jay!

Soccer Kids

Carson had such a great soccer season! We were all a little sad the season ended today, although it will be nice to have our calendar free up two days a week. We had a great group of families playing this season - four were returning with Coach Chris and three were new to the team. Brian was the assistant coach this season and he did a great job (I'm trying to convince him to coach basketball!). As U-7's, they had referees and the parents and team were on separate sides of the field.

The Soccer Kids had a double-header today with games at 10:15 and 1:45. By this point in the day, Brooke was d-o-n-e (thus, the rare out-of-crib pacifier appearance).

The entire team, and band of Dads who helped coach. Stefan, Brian, Jade, Kassie, Evan, Talia, Oliver, Carson, Julian, Brian M. and Coach Chris.

Coach Chris said lots of nice things about Carson during the "trophy presentation." He called him a goal-scoring machine! Carson scored at least one goal during all but two of their games. He also has some really pretty footwork!

This picture is really indicative of how the families interacted. After the game, all the players and siblings gathered under the goal and ate snack. They were laughing and playing while all the parents were standing around talking.

Check out that messy chocolate face :). Oliver's sister, Bianca, was nearly as bored at the soccer field as Brooke was at the soccer ball (that is what Brooke called the soccer field). They were quite a pair and kept each other entertained. They would kick the ball back and forth, throw big rocks down a drain on the field, play peek-a-boo, read books, play tea party and eat lots of snacks! Bianca brought Brooke chocolate chip cookies this afternoon.

The little hair bows are my most recent attempt at managing Brooke's hair. The little rubberbands are way too easy for her to pull out. The hair bows, and the rubberbands, are more of a challenge. And they look awful cute! These have two colors and pink and a leopard print. I am going to try them a few more times and if they work, I'm going to stock up!

The teammates under the goal.

This was after the first game. "Beganca" and Brooke (who is saying cheese) were drinking purple gatorades. Brooke ended up wearing her, thus the wardrobe change for the afternoon :).

It took me all season, but I finally got a shot of Carson scoring a goal!

The next few pictures are from Wednesday nights game. Carson taking a goal kick.

Miss big-brown-eyes.

Trying to get our picture - great effort, not so great result. :)

Aunt Katy came to a game earlier in the season and took some great photos. B looks great with a clip board (don't you think he should coach basketball?!?!).

Corner kick.

And one of Carson running. Carson really enjoys soccer. He never complained about going to practice or games, always tried his hardest and fancy soccer footwork comes naturally for him. I'm sure he would be thrilled to hear me say this, but his footwork is really pretty. in one fluid motion, he can stop, turn the ball around and keep going. Above all else, he had a lot of fun and made a few new friends. B and I are really proud of him. And except for Brooke having some nearly-terrible-two moments, it was a really, really fun season.