June Fun III - Beach Trip

The end of June, we were back to the beach!  It was a beautiful week with super hot temperatures that could only be calmed with a nice ocean breeze!

Bathing Suit? Check

New Goggles? Check

A towel that makes you look like a real fairy? Check

 This was the first time I rented chairs for the week ... other than 1 day of rain that we missed out on using them, I will ALWAYS do this in the future!  It was GREAT and the kids loved them... it's tough growing up in style!

Sand angel?

Beautiful sunset at Shem Creek

Of course, we made it back to our favorite booth at Poe's Tavern one night for a yummy hamburger.  Service was a little slow so picture-taking it was ...

"Say cheese, mommy! And get real close!"

Evidently Abby misbehaved because I looked up and she was in the corner!

Ian actually took this picture of all "the girls"!  It was a great trip as my parents; my brother, his wife, and their 5-month old little girl were able to join us!

I must say that I had no idea a pair of goggles would make such a big difference.  Here are the children literally learning to swim with their heads under water.  They are pretty much little fish now but I had to post for my memories!

"Go Ian, Go!"

I must say that him being able to hold his breath and going from point A to point B with his head underwater brought tears to my eyes.  I had no idea how his lungs would react and they seem to have been ready for swimming which is a true blessing!  I really thought that this was a different video but you get the idea!  I'll have to get another posted since he's come along way in a month!

But, of course, the little mermaid was not to be outdone.  She can hold her breath forever!

June Fun II - Acting Camp

Most children spend their lazy days of summer in various camps which is fantastic.  However, most of them are only available for those 4 years old and up so we didn't have too many options this summer.  But, we did find one and it was great.  It was just an hour a day for a whole week so I am not sure I would call it so much of a "camp" as I would a "class" - either way, it was fun!  It was held at the SC Children's Theatre which we have been to in the past for different things but this was the first chance for Ian and Bonner to be on the acting side of the stage!

Presenting the Little Engine that Could

Starring young friends including 

Ian Bloodworth in his debut performance as Rusty, the old Engine, AND...

Bonner Bloodworth, as "Abby", the fairy (of course)!

Looks like to me that their first "camp" was a success!

They even made the newspaper (look on the right-hand side)!

And, of course, no post would be complete without the actual performance!

(Ian appears halfway through if you want to fast forward)

June Fun I - Miscellaneous

In June, I went with a group of high school graduates to the Dominican Republic.  It was a quick getaway to a beautiful resort and as we all know, I am much happier with my toes in the sand.  The resort was beautiful and we had a good time.

I also took my first stab at cosmetology in June when I trimmed Bonner's bangs.  She is desperate to have her hair grow "as long as Rapunzel's", but her bangs were getting a little too long for my liking.

Before ...

After ... Not too bad for a first attempt with borrowed shears!

It was a good thing that I didn't cut the back because she LOVED it when my neighbor french-braided her hair!

 In June, Bonner also took her first stab at cosmetology by painting Gigi's nails ... blue!  Only a grandmother will let a 3-year old go at her nails with a bright blue polish!  I must say that she did a really good job for her first attempt; I cannot believe I didn't take a picture of the final look but this will give you a good idea of her prowess!

I guess you could call this little guy...

"Spider-ger" or

"Tig-man"

Like, I say now that he is in to dressing up, he doesn't discriminate against costumes!

End of May

Well, I'm definitely playing catch-up - I am not at all sure where the month of June went but I'm hoping as I look back over some pictures, that I will remember!  I wanted to catch up the blog and capture what the children and I were busy doing since I last posted.  So, here goes ...

 Since Ian and Bonner have a summer birthday, their teacher was sweet enough to do them a pre-summer birthday party in their class.  They shared the day with 2 other children blessed with summer birthdays; here they are sporting their "crowns"!

 And here is Bonner with her teachers, Mrs. Neely & Mrs. Greer, on the last day of school.  Ian was pretty sad to have to tell them good-bye so he wasn't cooperating with a picture :-(

Now that I am single :-(, I am having to find ways to keep myself entertained on the long weekends that I don't have the children.  So, I made a list of the 50 states to figure out which ones I have never visited; hopefully, I can get to all the ones that remain in due time.  So, for the Memorial Day weekend, I chose the state of Rhode Island ... flew into Providence and then drove the 45 minutes south to the little ocean town of Newport.  It was fantastic!  A girlfriend of mine joined me and we were pleasantly surprised!  There are mansions built by the richest of the rich at one point all along the "Cliff Walk" (which we completed)!

 This is us looking back at the part of the Cliff Walk we had just taken!

 It was treacherous at points; but beautiful all around!

 We visited the beach one day and then finished off the afternoon on the lawn on the Castle Hill Inn - spectacular views... the sailboat in the water is the biggest sailboat I have ever seen!

 Dinner that night at the Candy Store restaurant was a stuffed lobster - it was superbly delicious!

 Bonner fell one day and busted her lip pretty good ... here she is showing it off!

And Ian has finally joined in the dressing up activities Bonner has enjoyed for so long!  Not sure if this is Buzz Mouse or Mickey Lightyear :-)

Bonner "singing" ...

This is actually Bonner operating the Flip camera while Ian tells his story... I just had to post it!