Nathan learns how to whistle 

At the beginning of May, Nathan learned how to whistle. He was so proud of himself. : ) 

 

Nick turns the BIG 4-0

For Nick's 40th birthday, I surprised him with a weekend get-a-way to a resort near Charleston, SC. It was a our first visit there and our first weekend "kid free"

To announce this "kid free" weekend, the kids and I presented Nick with a list of 40 rules for his birthday weekend.  

There were many silly rules and then it ended with:

Rule No. 39: Enjoy the peace and quiet because...

Rule No. 40: NO KIDS!

As a bonus, we were upgraded to a deluxe room with an ocean view.. Here is the view from our balcony.

 Our horse named Larry.

 

The horse and carriage ride was delightful until I looked over at Nick halfway through the ride to discover that he was having an allergic reaction to the horses. Yikes!

No worries though.. he was ok. We took a quick walk to the Harris Teeter after the ride for some eye drops.

Adding to the decor of a local drinking establishment in Charleston. The owner told us that there were probably about 8K in bills on the walls of that place.

Saturday night ended with a beautiful view of the "super moon" over that Atlantic Ocean.. I know it just looks like a white circle in this photos but it really was cool.

 

Mother's Day 2012.

I had a wonderful Mother's Day. I woke up to these beauties!

And then, blueberry pancakes in bed.

followed by a spa manicure.

 

 

 Nathan played his 4th T-ball season this fall. 

He just finished his last game this past Saturday. 

According to Coach Dad, Nathan has the most consistent swing on the team!

(Editor's note: He may be a little biased.) 

 

 

 

 

Nathan turns 6.

We had a Star Wars Lego themed 6th birthday party for Nathan this year at a local party place for kids. I was thrilled to not have to clean the house this year and I even bought a cake! 

The party included bouncing...

Nathan with Brodie and Matthew -- friends since the one-year old room at our former preschool. 

bumper car rides...

Games...

and birthday cake of course...

After Nathan's party, we immediately headed to a park for a ceremony marking Juliana's graduation from being a Girl Scout Daisy to an official Girl Scout Brownie..

I just couldn't resist taking this photo of my handsome husband looking on..  : )

And speaking of brownies.. would you care for one?

After the festivities, we headed to the neighborhood pool..

 

 Life is Good.

Life doesn't get much better than this.. lounging by the pool with a bowl of mac n' cheese : )

Nathan's "real" birthday.  

Nathan wanted me to make Star Wars cookies for a birthday treat at school.. so I did. 
Here is what we took - they were a big hit!