A SUMMER VISIT FROM "AUNT SUE SUE"

My sister, Suzanna (aka: Aunt Sue Sue), came in town from Denver for a very generous week. We were able to spend a lot of time with her, which is always wonderful. Not only did the kids see her a lot, but I got to spend one on one time with her, as well as a night with the two of us and Tim. One thing we didn't do a lot of was take pictures. Go figure. We have a new camera and we don't even use it when she is here for nearly 10 days. We chatted too much! ;)

She and my mom came to Mallory's ballet/tap class. This is the ONLY picture I took! (OOPS!) Luckily, it is a good one!

HILTON HEAD ISLAND 2011

Once again, we returned to our most favorite place this summer, for a week of fun in the sun, back in June. We had the wonderful company of our great friends, the Clifford Family, for the second year in a row. Between our two families, we managed to take HUNDREDS of photos, so Allyson put together a video slideshow of the best of the best - and let me say, she did a great job! What a wonderful keepsake!

http://youtu.be/9ryIfDV2ZFs

GYMNASTICS, THEN BALLET/TAP

Mallory did gymnastics for a few months last year, but decided to try ballet and tap this year. Once class into it, and liking it already! Here she is with her preschool pal, Madeline, at their first class.....

And, her gymnastics class from last year.

TYLER'S FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE

Yep, that's right, my baby boy is in first grade. After a fantastic year of kindergarten, we we are hopeful that this year is just as great. Here's to a fabulous year of reading, learning to tie his shoe, and (hopefully) loosing his first tooth!!!

My handsome (and very tall!) little man.

MY CREATIVE OUTLET....

My new (personal) blog is what inspired me to get current, again, on our family blog. I tend to dabble in all things crafty, so I decided to start a blog journaling my creative endeavors.
Enjoy!

http://www.mycraftycreativeoutlet.blogspot.com/

GETTING BACK ON TRACK...

Okay, so there is a two year gap in between posts on this blog. You could say we got a little off track! Thanks to Facebook, life with two young children, and everyday distractions. Oh, Facebook. Love it and hate it all at the same time. I have decided to get back on track with our family blog - a much better way of tracking our lives, in my opinion.

Since most of you are aware of how we've been the last two years and what we've been doing, I won't re-cap, we'll just move forward with news and events. Stay tuned because I plan on keeping current this time! :)

A WEEKEND IN CHARLOTTE

Last weekend we spent our time visiting our great friends, the DeMauro Family. Chris, Melanie, and Mason welcomed us for a fun and relaxing getaway. We arrived Friday and spent the afternoon hanging out, catching up, and feasting on Melanie's awesome cooking! Tim and Chris took Tyler and Mason to the pool, while Melanie and I hung out as Mallory napped. Saturday, they took us out on on of Tony's boats (Chris's brother) on Lake Norman. Talk about NICE!!! I now want to move by a lake and buy a boat of our own! It was a picture perfect day with the most beautiful weather. The kids enjoyed every minute of it, as well as the parents! We swam, ate lunch, and toured all of the beautiful homes along the shore. Melanie and I have ours picked out! Here are some snapshots of our weekend....
Thank you, DeMauro's, for such a wonderful visit! We miss you guys!Tyler and Mallory playing with Mason's sand table.Getting the boat ready for our adventure.
The kids getting ready for our departure. This is where Tyler and Mason were the entire time. They loved sitting up front seeing everything!Tim and Tyler swimming in the lake.Blythe and TimChris and MelanieWhat an adorable picture of the kids!Tyler with his "godfasha"Mason posing cute with Blythe