H.A.S. been...

Friday, October 21, 2011

A Couple More From the Beach - EDIT

EDIT- And just because it is funny, click here to go to the video website to see Nolan dancing.

Though the wedding was beautiful and the sunrise was breath-taking, I really enjoyed the few minutes I had out on the beach with the boys on Sunday morning. Listening to them chatter and feeling the sand in between my toes and the cool wind around me was quite serene.

Marching onto the beach from the house.

Such a handsome thing.

wish Shep was in this picture... if he were, it would be on my wall.

love this one... wish Shep's eyes were open

My loves.

I also thought I would throw in a couple pictures from when Nolan and my parents took the boys out while I was busy with wedding stuff.

The Mantis with the boys.

Mom, this is a great picture of you.

Is this not the sweetest picture?

Shep is busy (no buckets so all the work had to be done by hand or shovel)

Uncle Nolan and the boys with their masterpiece shell/ sand castle

The finished product

Mantis out in that cold water with the older two.

Hard to believe it has already been a week! Again, thank you Aunt Christy for the incredible house to stay in, the boys had a blast. And thanks mom, dad, and Nolie for occupying the boys so well and helping me out. Ya'll are the best!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

A Beach Sunrise

What is about watching a sunrise at the beach?

My children gave me a precious gift Saturday morning... they woke up early and as a result, I woke up early. As I dragged myself out of bed, it was still relatively dark outside. Though cool, the boys and I went and sat out on the deck overlooking the ocean. It was then that I noticed the sun was starting to crest out of the ocean.

Of course, I ran back inside and grabbed my camera.

It has been along time since I have actually sat and watched the sun rise. It really is amazing! And I dont think I have ever actually taken pictures of it. I was amazed at how quickly the sun was up... I dont think it took me than 2 or 3 minutes. These pictures were pretty much taken in a rapid succession with just enough time in between for me to play around with the settings.

And to add to the Eucharisteo list

555- No quiet or still mornings

556- Looking out onto the ocean from 3 floors up

557- Color of the sky as sun pushes up

558- The speed at which night becomes day.

559- Daily seeing God's hands right in front of me

560- A beach house that is big enough

561- My marriage

562- Beach seafood and lots of shrimp

563- GrandpaGordie making the trip

564- GrandmaDean's faithful hand and example

565- Watching my grandparents pray together when they knew no one was watching

566- Matching bow ties

567- My parents taking care of the boys over the weekend

568- Funny dance moves

569- Pictures that say it all

570- Pulling up into our driveway

571- Teacher workdays at the perfect time

572- Getting a moment in the sand with the boys

Monday, October 17, 2011

Wedding

This weekend was a whirlwind. My cousin, Stephanie, got married at the beach.

The doors to the reception. Letter made by yours truly :) (I think the florist hung the "S" upside down though).

This picture was taken after she had changed out of her wedding gown.

The house our family stayed in was AMAZING! i will talk more about that next post. This post is dedicated to the wedding. Once I looked at my pictures, I realized how poorly I did at taking pictures of Stephanie. I guess I figured that is what her photographer is for ;) However, I did get a few and as you can tell, she looked beautiful. I was bummed that I did not get a close up picture of her husband (!!!) John. oops! Also, my dad was at the wedding yet somehow managed to escape my camera.

Getting ready

Kristy (Steph's sister in law) fastening the buttons.

The boys- they dance like their mother. This picture just makes me laugh

GrandmaDean and GrandpaGordie used to be able to dance, however GrandpaGordie was wheelchair bound so GrandmaDean got some miniature dance partners. I only got video of her and Hunter dancing, but here is a picture of Ashton and GrandmaDean.

And another picture but with Shep and mom dancing too.

The handsome boys

My boys and me.

GrandpaGordie, GrandmaDean, and my mom

The bride and GrandpaGordie

Nolan and my mom shagging

Nolie shagging with Aunt Christy

John and Steph leaving for their honeymoon.

This was a great wedding with perfect weather and wonderful family.

Thank you Uncle David and Aunt Christy for a great time! And thank you Steph and John for including me in your day! We love you guys!

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Wedding Bound

We leave tomorrow for my cousin's wedding.

Though Chad is not coming, my parents are riding with the boys and me. Since I am in the wedding, they are also on kid-duty pretty much all weekend. We have a good 5-6 hour trip ahead of us tomorrow... at least it leads to the beach though.

Anyway, here is a sneak peak of what the boys will be wearing.

Hunter in green (and he is wearing different shoes as these "hurt" his feet)

Ashton in blue

Shepherd in yellow

Now, tell me that is not the cutest thing... My Grandma Dean and I (mostly her) made the bow ties for the wedding. Do you have any idea how ridiculously expensive those little things are? Let me tell you- the cheapest I found them was $20 all the way up to $45!!!! We made them for less than $2 a bow tie. I love the matchiness of it. They will be far too cute!

Be ready for picture overload when I get back! :)

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Tigerama

Instead of going to Chad's football game this past Friday (they played away), we decided to go to Tigerama. My brother, Nolan, had to sell tickets since he is being inducted (is that the right word?) into Blue Key. Of course, my mom obliged and bought our tickets as well.

It was a really fun/ interesting evening. I must admit that I have not been to a college pep rally so I was taken aback by how absolutely ridiculous some adults act. WOW! They love them some Clemson Tigers.

We got there a bit early for the kids activities.

Of course he is eating.

Got his face painted (and then smeared it). His brothers wouldnt do it.

Ash giving the Tiger a high-5

Shep is going through the phase of not liking dressed up characters. But Hunter and Ashton loved the Tiger

Met up with Nolan for a bit.

Ashton gets brave and decides to get a tiger paw.

Hunter getting hula-hoop lessons from Nolan's friend, Michael.

This picture makes it look like he knows what he is doing... deceiving picture!

Close up on the Tiger

Once inside, it started a bit slow with two corny MC's. But once the college students started performing it was really good and it held the boy's attention for the full 2 hours. The cheerleaders were good, the band was loud, the skits were pretty cute, and the football players were huge.

Shepherd and Mantis