Beach Bum

We decided to relax today and took Drew to the beach. We couldn't believe it when the first acess we went to had an open parking spot. (That won't ever happen again!) Drew had a great time although he didn't spend much time in the water. He spent most of the time running from the waves! He also had a blast buldling a "neighborhood" in the sand complete with houses with hot tubs in the backyards and roads. The weather was great at about 83 degrees and with our beach tent and the nice ocean breeze it was really comfortable. Drew is already asking when we can go back to the beach!

Swim Lessons

Drew just finished 2 weeks of swim lessons and is actually swimming on his own. Drew's lessons were at Echo Farms Country Club and they do them one on one which is great for a 4 year old. (Hard to concentrate with other kids around.) Drew's teacher, Leah, was great. She started with kicking hanging on the wall, then the kickboard, then putting his face in the water while kicking with the kickboard, then she taught him arms, and then they put it all together. I was amazed how quickly he picked it up.
We are so happy we signed up him for the lessons - they were priceless. He is as happy as a FISH in the water now - going under without a care!

Sleeping Beauty???

Ok, maybe not Sleeping Beauty, but Drew was sure sleeping peacefully when I snapped this picture. He has just about stopped sucking his thumb, so I thought I would capture a picture for his scrapbook. We have worked really hard at getting him to stop, but it really is cute when he is asleep. He just looked as sweet as an angel. Just didn't want to forget this precious site. He just seems to be growing up so fast.

July 4th 2007!

We spent the 4th of July in Wilmington. Drew was very excited about going to the fireworks (or as Drew calls them "pop-pops) this year. Last year he was still a little scared of the fireworks. So, we were so happy when he kept asking to go see them. The fireworks in Wilmington are held downtown on the riverfront and they send them up from across the river at the battleship. It is a beautiful location for fireworks and Wilmington really goes all out for the firework display. We got a great spot this year front row along the banister on the riverwalk. We had a fabulous time!

Camping in Santee, SC

We decided to take Drew on his first camping trip to Santee, SC. He was so excited he talked about it all week long. Friday afternoon we got to Santee around 4 pm. We got the tent set up and the gear set out. We had dinner, did a little exploring aroud our site, made a fire, roasted marshmallows.......then of course, it rained!! We haven't had rain in the Carolinas in 6 months, but of course it rained on us!! It was kind of nice listening to the rain in the tent as we went to sleep.

Saturday am we headed out to rent a boat and go out on the lake for the day. We got out on the water and did some fishing. Drew caught his very first fish.

Unfortunately our day on the boat was cut short by.......yeah, you guessed it.....rain! Actually a pretty nasty storm blew in and Drew was a little scared on the boat. We got to go back out for a while on Sunday since the rain cut the trip short. So, it was nice.......so nice, Drew spent it napping.Camping was a little messy from all the rain, but I think we all had a great time anyway! We will definitely go back to Santee again in the future.

A Day Trip for Father's Day

We took a quick trip to Cliffs of the Neuse State Park in Seven Springs, NC for Father's Day. The park was really nice and we had a great time. There is a nice lake with a swimming beach and paddle boats. Drew had a blast running playing in the lake. There were some nice (short) hiking trails that took us right down to the river too. We had a picnic lunch and scouted out camping spots for a possible future trip. Drew said his favorite part of the day was playing down by the river.

Last Day of 3 Year Old Preschool

It is hard to believe that an entire school year has gone by. It seems like yesterday that Drew was starting his first day in Mrs. Thompson's & Mrs. Carmon's class. Drew has made lots of new friends this year and he enjoyed going to "school" everyday. To celebrate a wonderful year, the class got together for an end of year party at Veteran's Park. The kids had a great time playing and we had some great food too. The kids found the water fountains to be most interesting and since it was in the 90s they decided to pour water on each other. It was a hilarious.

The party was bittersweet, though, as some of Drew's friends won't be returning next year and some will be in other classrooms, so it was the last time they would all be together. BUT we are thankful for the past year and the wonderful things he has learned. We are also VERY happy that Drew will be returning to MGCS next year for the 4 year old Preschool.

WeeBall

Drew has been playing WeeBall every Saturday am since April. WeeBall is a precursor to T-ball which they have added for the 4 year olds. (Typically, T-ball doesn't start until 5 years old.) They all get to hit every inning and there are no outs. It is a great way to teach them how to play the game. It is so much fun watching the kids learning to play!

Drew's 4th Birthday!!

I can't believe that Drew is 4 years old. Where has the time gone? His birthday bash was held at Hugh McRae Park in Wilmington. He had lots of friends from MGCS and from his WeeBall team along with our family and friends. We had a great time!! The kids all played on the playground equipment and the for the grand finale we made cotton candy. It was a blast! I am sure the parents were not happy to take their kids home hyped up on SUGAR though!!!

Chilly Easter

Well, Easter was exciting, but boy was it COLD. We only got a few quick pictures outside because it was just too chilly. It did warm up in the afternoon and Drew and Connor got to hunt for some eggs outside. We also made a trip to the Myrtle Grove Fire Station for family pictures which the dept was doing as a fundraiser. Drew didn't care much about the pictures, but he sure loved the firemen and the firetrucks. He had a blast.

Spring Break

This week is Spring Break so no preschool for Drew. He wants to play outside all day everyday and he is relentless. It has been beautiful and he has spent a lot of time outside playing in the sand box and in the DIRT. He loves to play road construction with his Tonka Trucks. We have been busy too getting ready for Easter. We got some pretty potted plants for the porch and today we colored eggs. Drew did a great job coloring them all by himself. He had a great time and was very proud of himself.

Easter Party!!

Today was Drew's preschool Easter Party. It was a beautiful day and the kids had a wonderful time. The kids ran and played and then we decorated buckets to collect the eggs for the Easter Egg Hunt. It was great watching them search for the eggs and get so excited to find one. Today was technically the last day of preschool before their Spring Break so they don't go back for a over a week. We will have to find something fun to do!!

Rainy Days

After "school" today, Drew spent the afternoon day playing inside with his "best buds" due to the rain. Drew and his best buds of course watched the infamous Tonka Tonka Trash Truck DVD over and over again. Drew was very disappointed to hear that the weather is supposed to be cold tomorrow because he was supposed to have his first baseball (weeball) practice tomorrow am. He will have to wait one more week. He is so excited!!

Drew's 1st Trip to the Battleship

Sunday before last we took Drew to the USS North Carolina for the 1st time. It was a wonderful day to go as it was cool enough that going below deck was actually comfortable. John and I had been several years ago and didn't even see 1/3 of the ship because it was miserably hot. This time it was perfect though and we ALL enjoyed seeing the inside of this incredible ship. Hard to imagine what it would have been like to live and work on the ship. Drew loved climbing up and down all the stairs and checking out everything. It was a great day!

1st Official Post

I guess this is my 1st official blog post. I am exicted to be able to share our day to day experiences with family and friends. Let's just hope I can keep with it!!