harbor towne

Dinner found us at the Crazy Crab in Harbor Town. I adore an evening in Sea Pines. We waltzed right in to sit down for another early dinner. That's one of the reasons I love eating around 5 pm at the beach. Eliza Kate managed to land in a rocking chair matching her outfit after dinner~swoon.  We rocked away while Omi and Miller toured the variety boats in the yacht basin. Miller loves stealing away special time with his Omi. He has a lot of words to get out in one day, so undivided attention gives him that opportunity;)

We caught up with them for a lighthouse picture. This candy cane designed landmark is well loved and somewhat of a symbol for Hilton Head.  

Although it's not a real lighthouse, the littles enjoyed climbing all 114 stairs to the top. The views were nice from the top so I hear. They proudly showed me their right of passage sticker after exiting the museum. From this point on,  Miller obsessed about not getting a souvenir from the lighthouse museum upon exiting. We reminded him about the tacky bell he chose from the St. Augustine lighthouse that just sits in a drawer. Sometimes, hearing the word no in life can be hard;)

A hammerhead shark sighting seemed to distract us all high atop the pier. We spotted six in all. Beware of shallow water in Sea Pines. Dolphins were in and out of the water in the distance. One things for sure, we spotted a vast array of aquatic animals on this trip.

Here's our closing shot when Miller was forcing a smile through his disappointment over the gift shop--oh my! We put him to bed early on this night. That's what a combination of waves, sun, and beach exhaustion does to a 7 year old.

He rebounded after ice cream and a beach walk. I mean ah-hem, we're at the beach. We managed to get back to our condo in time for late evening  stroll on the shore--my fave! Of course it involved pictures...

It's either thumbs up or bunny ears for pictures these days. My too cool for school dude adds his own personal flair to our family photos. We went crabbing on our walk and this poor sand crab ended up posing with bunny ears.

A nautical cutie for sure this girly of mine.

Bruises, a bandaid, bunny ears, and all ~ I love these three and our beach memories together.

beach days

May weather on the island was gorgeous with a capital "G". The mornings were chilly and the beach breeze was oh so nice. The littles rushed for their towels after exiting the water with cold shivers.

          Miller loves a good wave pounding in the surf. The Atlantic creates an awesome wave.

Tutu cute from behind.

Another great reason to travel when school is still in session are low crowds. We had the pool all to ourselves. Landon discovered the fountain switch and these two had a blast in the shallow end of the water.

There's nothing like what a lazy beach day as a family does to your soul. 

Off to the Beach

Our spring vacations this year just so happened to fall back to back and required a few missed school days in April & May. We managed long weekends so that those missed days would be limited. Uh-hem...mom of the year:) Besides, our bout with the flu over Christmas break, the littles didn't miss any other instructional days during the year. There was that one yucky stomach virus that took Miller out one school day in the fall. It was two months into school and we already blew the perfect attendance award. What's a family to do.... other than celebrate a few vacation days stress free without the worry of making it to the finish line "absence free?"

We landed in Hilton Head after picking up Eliza Kate from her last day of school beach party. It was an early afternoon Wa-hoo  & cannon ball dunk into the icy cold pool. The weather was unexpectedly cooler in South Carolina. Sweaters and long sleeves should have been stowed away in our suitcases. Who would have thought?

This little mermaid ventured out on her own in the water without her puddle jumper on this trip. A big step from the Wilderness pool. With swim team on the horizon, I'm so glad she's gaining the confidence she had last year.

Omi and Papa invited us to join them for phase one of their week long trip.  I knew we couldn't miss a whole week of first grade.  Our resort had convenient decking leading out to the ocean. It made trips back and forth to the pool more convenient.

Horshoe crab skeletons intrigued Miller. It was a little concerning seeing Miller come out of the surf holding what looked like a live creature.  One thing  I love about the Atlantic is that the sand is flat and extends out to the shore for running & exploring.

Jumping waves was an enjoyable vacation pastime to watch. I love this shot. We so needed this weekend of togetherness in the middle of  our crazy May to recharge. 

Shell collecting was a fun activity to share. We spotted playful dolphins jumping out of the water and swimming close to shore. Miller connected it all to his first book report book Dolphins at Daybreak.

Our neighbor recommended a new restaurant on the island. We cleaned up and set off to explore Skull Creek Boathouse. Think pirate inspired.... with sailboats off in the distance.

Skulls don't sound very appetizing, but I promise this restaurant is a favorite in Hilton Head.

The littles loved the games and legos set up in the waiting area. We were told to go early to get a table. Let's just say that a 5:00 arrival made us the early bird family. 

Out on the docks the scenic banks reminded me of the TV show Dawson's Creek with the beautiful marshlands.  Pinkney Wildlife preserve was in the distance overlooking Skull Creek.

The sunset over the water was just an added bonus to the already beautiful setting.
Miller joined in a rousing lawn game of Connect Four. Corn hole games were in full swing. I loved the atmosphere and food of this restaurant.
Say cheese...skipper boys!

We came back for an after dinner walk around the resort property for an alligator hunt. It was Omi's wish to spot a fierce reptile on our evening stroll. The beauty of the spanish moss hanging from the trees is a personal favorite in Hilton Head.  Fortunately we didn't spot any alligators on our search. We did spy the Disney resort on our walk right next to our condo. Anytime EK spots the Disney font on signs or movies she exclaims- "Disney World!"

We called it a night after ice cream and baths. Goodnight beach!

Honored to be their Mom

Eliza Kate's eyes light up when she knows I'm visiting her class. With arms flung wide open and a running leap she says, "Mommy!" I never want to forget that joy of her spotting me. So you can imagine that when we both worked it out to come together, she was over the moon excited. Moms and dads were invited to come see the 3's classroom performance of a precious song:

I wish I had a little red box to put my mommy in

I'd take her out and go "muah, muah, muah"

And, put her back again!

{complete with hand motions}

She sang her heart out at home that I'm still seeing her sweet voice and hand movements in my mind's eye. Barely 4 years old is just the sweetest stage of life. For the first few moments of our visit, I couldn't help but shift my attention to the case of the missing hair bow. I didn't want to cause a ruckus searching high and low. Luckily, it was stored safely in her bag. But, I would have loved it high atop her head for her song. Oh well, at least mommy sported an appropriate floral paper bowl hat secured with a lace neck ribbon for such a fine occasion as this.

 Then a rousing rendition of Take Me Out to the Ballgame won over the dads. Landon was given a paper tie to sport around. My place setting involved the cutest of placemats and a handprint calendar collection from the seasons with scrapbook pages from different events. This is truly the way to a mom's heart.

We took a mother/daughter photo together and Eliza Kate was so proud explaining all of my special gifts that she worked so hard on.. Each seashell was carefully crafted around our frame:)

And, we can't forget about the boy. He came home bouncing off the bus carrying a bronzed shoe flower container. Can we say unique? It reminds me of bronzed, vintage baby shoes. This was oh so special knowing that it was his shoe. We've kept the flower alive so far:) 

 Between brunch, flowers, cards, kisses and hugs, I had a wonderful day celebrating with Grandmama! I'm so honored to be a mother to these two littles of mine.

Field Day in First

I joined up with Miller's class "The Techies" for Field Day this year. This was my very first field day on the mom side of life. Field Day brings up so many happy memories as a child participating in yard  games, stunts, and water fun. Each year at my school, we sported a class designed special t shirt and drove to a local park with our parents for the day. As a 3rd grade teacher, I used to appreciate the change of pace for my kids at the end of the school year. Back in the day, teachers could finish up report cards and start packing up their rooms while volunteers hosted your class. Nowadays, the teachers follow their homeroom around from station to station. What wow'ed me about Mrs. K is that she played all of the games with her class. This fine lady even got soaking wet from head to toe with the water relays. She went the distance all in the name of fun. Oh, how I love this teacher.

Notice Miller's "special friend" Amy sitting to the right of him. He just loved this sweet friend in class. It's his favorite friend that just so happens to be a girl. But, shh don't tell anyone.

Here's the Techie line up getting ready to crab walk and kick the giant ball. If you squint behind the ball you can see the banner that Nikki and I poured all of our energy into. "All Charged Up" for Field Day was our created theme since we were the Techies. We designed an iPad with text messages from Mrs. K to the class. We pasted every child's picture to their own iPhone. It was a hit with the first grade crew!

Here's the sponge relay game. They were really itching to cool off at this point. They got soaked to the bone enough to pack a change of clothes.

In between snapping pictures, navigating our way to the stations and offering water, I managed to freeze frame in my mind stolen moments of field day memories with my boy. After all, I took the morning off to enjoy my littles! Why not make the most of it?

The highlight at the end of my morning visit was watching Miller get doused with a whole bucked to hose water. He got what he asked for:) With that, I jaunted off for a Mother's Day Tea with Eliza Kate at her school. But, not before I said my sweet goodbyes from afar to Miller in order to stay dry:)

Back to Reality

Let's face it--May is the CRAZIEST season of life with school age children. Slap on a vacation {or two}a company formal & weekly projects and this momma was almost sent to the crazy house. Not to mention, there were end of the year room mom duties to finish up sprinkled in with teaching 3rd graders a couple of mornings a week.  Miller's teacher was crowned TOTY which called for special recognition. Let's just say that I didn't respond to many personal emails. I probably didn't even call you back if you left a message. I'm sure I skipped out on a few thank you notes. Please forgive me. I'm just now fully recovering:)

 While Landon and I do love any excuse for a night on the town all dressed up, it took a lot of extra planning to get all fancy while still living out of half packed suitcases;) TechBridge is a non for profit fundraiser that Landon's company supports. It was a lovely night downtown with new co-workers enjoying dinner and entertainment.

This. happened. We stepped into the photo booth and played with all of the fun props. Little did we know that these were published to Facebook. I did not proudly tag the formal lovebirds smooching on our big date. How embarrassing;)

First grade decided to end the year with a bang and wow the moms with a month of special projects said no mother ever. May is the worst month to create extra work for busy moms {sigh}. Miller managed shopping in his closet for career day. I snatched EK's foiled walkie talkie from an officer visit at preschool for Miller's prop (shh!) Introducing Police Officer Miller Fokens. This is what a costume looks like in May. In September, we just might have gone all out.

His first book report however was an enjoyable shared project. He's flying through the Magic Tree House series like mad this year. Jack & Annie tickle his first grade fancy. I'm so proud of him! We filled the grocery bag with 5 props from the book to retell the story. Miller loves sharing with his sweet class of friends. He came home like a chatterbox reliving the glory of his presentation. This boy talks a mile a minute from the time his Nike's hit the pavement off the bus. He has a lot of words to communicate in one day's time. So, here's to the close of a school year in May.