Tybee Island

 This week we headed to Tybee Island Georgia to enjoy the beach.  The weather was beautiful the whole time and no one wanted to go home!  We rented a condo and the beach was just outside our door.  As soon as we got there we hit the beach to play in the sand and build sandcastles.  They loved when we built a huge dam so they could play in it. 

 The island is 3 miles long and part of the beach is on the Savannah River and part is on the Atlantic Ocean.  This provided the island with a really diverse ecosystem.  We found so many neat animals and shells.  The kids loved running for miles at night to see new parts of the beach and explore.  I think they covered at least 5 miles a day on foot.  We found lots of cannonball jellyfish on the beach.  We read that those jellyfish do not have stingers.    

 We kept finding horseshoe crab shells.  This was the smallest one we found.  

 After dinner we changed into dry clothes and went for a walk.  As you can see, neither of them stayed out of the waves.  It was great to see Avery running and jumping in the waves because on previous beach vacations he has been too afraid to play in the ocean. Alia had no concerns once she saw how much fun he was having.  They were laughing so hard, it was awesome to watch them.  

 We saw quite a few Bottlenose dolphins jumping just off shore.  

 

 She was running so fast and so hard in the waves that she kept getting rolled.  Each time she was rolled she would get up and run back in.  She had so much sand in her ears.  

 A huge horseshoe crab!

 The winds were perfect for a stunt kite!  

 The condo had a pool with a swim through tunnel.  Avery surprised both of us and swam under the tunnel! 

 During the low tide the water from the high tide fills these pools.  We were planning on going for a nice, dry evening walk but again, both ran kids ran through the pools and fell almost immediately.  The pools were really warm and some were pretty deep.  They absolutely loved running through them.  

 On the way home we decided to explore Savannah.  It was a really neat city with lots of history.  The city is made up of 22 squares.  Each square is named in honor or memory of a person or historical event.  Many contain monuments, markers, memorials, statues, plaques and other tributes.  The squares are all close to one another and it is easy to do a walking tour of each one.  We made it to 6 of the squares before we had to go.  River Street was also a really fun area.  There street was on the Savannah river and there were lots of shops, music and great food.  We stopped at the River Street Sweets and let the kids each pick something.  They both picked marshmallows dipped in white chocolate on a stick.   

 Even though it was warm out, much of the city was covered with large trees which provided plenty of shade.  

On the way home Alia saw this 3 foot gummy snake at the gas station.  I let her buy it with her commission money since I was trying to make a point with Avery.  Lately he hasn't wanted to do any of his chores so Alia has been doing them and making all of the money.  I was hoping that if she was able to buy things on the trip and he wasn't that he would work harder at home.  The only problem with this scenario is that Alia is so sweet and always shares with Avery.  I think the only thing he learned was let Alia work and give him the things she buys.

A fun filled weekend

Our weekend started with Avery's graduation from First Presbyterian.  I can't believe that he's done with preschool and headed to kindergarten next year!

They played "Jesus Loves Me" on hand-bells. 

Mrs Perry and Ms Errin, his K-Town teachers. 

 This sweet girl did a great job this weekend going to graduation, my triathlon and Avery's recital.  During his graduation the teachers announced that it was time to watch the slide show.  Alia quickly sat up in her seat and patiently waited for what she thought was going to be a slide show.  After a few minutes she asked me in a rather loud voice where the slide show was.  I was a little confused since she could clearly see the large screen upfront showing the pictures.  When I pointed to the screen she yelled, "No, there are no kids sliding!"  Ahh that's why she was so interested at first.  She was not happy with the real slide show! 

On Saturday my friend Erin and I did the super-sprint triathlon in our town.  It was my first triathlon and I have to say I am hooked!  It was a 300 yard swim, an 8 mile bike ride, and a 2 mile run.  The hardest part for me was the swim but I'm learning! 


On Sunday Avery had his piano recital.


This time around he played Climbing and Jumping Frogs. 

 

Playing hand-bells

I decided to tape one song at home because it was easier to hear and see him play.  Here he is playing Jumping Frogs.

 Playing Climbing

Mother's Day 2012

Today was a great Mother's Day.  Avery woke up before Scott and I and got himself completely ready.  He picked out what he calls his "church clothes" (a polo and khakis) and then set out his second outfit for when he gets home.  He told me today he laid out all of his zebra clothes.  Then he cleaned his room and made himself and Alia breakfast.  I was impressed that he did all of that on his own because he usually needs lots of prompting in the morning to get ready.  

 After church we headed to the bowling alley.  This was Avery and Alia's first time bowling and they loved it!  The bowling alley also had a mini golf area that was lit by black light.  Avery was pretty excited when he saw the zebra.  Can you find him in the picture? 

We started with the bumpers but neither of them liked rolling the ball granny style so we rented the ramp. 

Here it goes!

He wanted to get strikes the whole time so he wasn't happy if it wasn't a strike!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Alia would line the ball up and say, "Ready ball?  Go!" and then she would roll it down the ramp. 

Our Garden

This year we planted a garden in gutters hanging off of our deck.  This conditions in our yard are not favorable for a garden in the ground.  The garden is doing well and Avery and Alia love getting up each morning to check on it.  We planted mini bell peppers, strawberries, green beans, basil, oregano, thyme, cilantro, tomatoes, a pomegranate tree and a fruit cocktail tree that has plums, peaches, nectarines, and apricot.  Avery did a video of the garden tour... enjoy!

 

Scott's Birthday and random pictures

 I guess she was tired! 

 I loved the pictures of the people on this dry erase board.

 They love the dress up box and emerge from the basement as new characters.  Alia was a pirate princess and Avery was being a ninja.  

 We were playing tag around the house and Maia would not stop chasing us and biting our ankles.  The only way I could get her to stop was by tying the scarf around her.  She would try to run and then slip on the scarf!  I love Avery and Alia's genuine smiles in these pictures.

 Avery and Alia brought Scott breakfast in bed.  Avery was so excited to surprise Scott that he asked me everyday for a week if it was time to make Scott breakfast.  He made Scott granola, yogurt, and coconut cereal.  They came in quite early as you can see from the level of alertness Scott is displaying in this picture. 

 

 We picked and processed 8 gallons of strawberries on Saturday.  The strawberries were so tasty!

This was the first year Alia and Avery both helped pick.  Alia did end up eating half a bucket but she did help once she was full.

 This year we made Scott Irish Car Bomb cupcakes. They were amazing!!!!  The center was filled with a dark chocolate ganache.

 

 Scott wanted a big cupcake.  When we sang "Happy Birthday" Avery sang, "Happy Birthday dear old guy!"  It's only going to get worse from here on out.   

 

 This time we made our ice cream with almond milk and it was the best we have made so far.  

Grandma and Grandpa Davis got Scott a composter.  This kids had other ideas for it....they filled it with toys and spun it around and around.  Neither of them were happy when we put it outside and filled it with food scraps.   

Great Urban Race

Scott and I love Amazing Race and have been watching the show since it first aired. Well you can imagine how excited we were when we heard about The Great Urban Race. The race was this weekend and we had a blast! Our team was the e-LEMON-ators and we dressed in all yellow with a few lemon accessories. At the start of the race each team is given an envelope with 12 clues that lead to various locations around Atlanta. Part of the challenge was figuring out which clues to do first and where they were at. We ran 8 miles and covered a total of 30 miles by public transportation. Each location had a challenge to complete before we could move on.


Go team e-LEMON-ators!


There were so many people and lots of neat costumes. One guy was dressed in a giant Wheaties box. I can't imagine how he ran or got on and off the trains and buses.


At this location Stephanie ate a freeze-dried squid and Scott had to run with scuba gear on and a tank over his shoulder.


This clue gave us trouble. We ended up going 8 miles out of our way when we went to the wrong fire station. The clue was looking for an old fire station that turned into a restaurant and we went to an actual fire station.


This was my favorite place because we got to sample homemade bakery goods. As you can see from the picture, Joe and I didn't quite figure out you could adjust the hats.




We had to find 4 people to give piggy-back rides to. These kids were excited to help us out. I felt bad for the girl I was holding because her grandma kept saying, "don't drop her, she's really heavy."


The hardest part for me was navigating MARTA, the train and bus system in Atlanta. I had never been on MARTA and for those of you who know me, I'm not the quickest person to figure out how things work. I could never figure out how to use my breeze pass to open the gates and my team members were always way ahead of me. At least I was the comic relief on the team!


This stop was my least favorite stop because we had to learn a few salsa moves. I have never been very coordinated, especially when it comes to learning dance moves. The instructor had to keep stopping to make sure I got the moves right because no matter what he said I always started with the wrong foot or went the wrong way. Again, I added a few laughs to the day!

In all, we had a blast and really enjoyed getting to see Atlanta on foot and by public transportation. I would love to do this again, but would like to try another city...maybe one I am more familiar with.

Easter 2012

This year we celebrated Easter a week early so we could celebrate with family on Easter.


We started 12 days before our celebration with Resurrection eggs. Each day you read a part of the Easter story in the Bible and then open the corresponding egg with the story. Avery and Alia loved guessing what was in the eggs before we opened them. The eggs were a great way to lead up to Easter and talk about why we celebrate Easter.


On Saturday morning we made Resurrection rolls for breakfast. This is a neat way to talk about Jesus and his Resurrection 3 days later. We made sweet bread the night before but you can use crescent rolls too. Take a marshmallow (it represents Jesus) roll it in cinnamon and sugar (they represent the spices used to prepare his body) and then roll the marshmallow in the dough which represents the tomb. We asked the kids what would happen to Jesus after 3 days. Avery said he would disappear or melt.


The tomb is empty! These make a really tasty breakfast too : )


We also did another experiment this year with vinegar and an egg. The egg Avery has in his left hand sat in vinegar for a week. It was a great discussion about osmosis. The egg really grew in size and the vinegar dissolved the shell. We shined a light on it to watch the yoke move around. Scott had the great idea to break the egg in baking soda to see what happened. When he cut the egg the yoke shot out at him from all of the pressure and then it made a big fizzy mess. The kids loved that he was covered in yoke.


This year we dyed our eggs with kool-aid. It was fun picking the colors out at the store and it was a simple mixture of 2/3 cup water to one packet of kool-aid. The house smelled amazing and the dyes were more vibrant than the Easter egg dyes.


Time to find the hidden eggs! Avery found a treasure map to help him find his eggs. Scott drew a map and placed x's where the eggs were.


We did picture clues with Alia. It took 3 eggs before she caught on to what she was supposed to do. She is holding the picture of the wagon to show how she knew where the egg was.


Baskets!


She immediately stuffed her mouth with a gumball.


Our annual Easter picture outside.


This year was memorable because in this picture we were tipping backwards. When Scott sat down the whole back side sunk into the ground.


Silly string fight! This has become a favorite tradition during Easter. Avery was very excited when he saw the string in his basket. It was nice to see Alia enjoy the game this year since she cried last year.




On Saturday we went to Rock Ranch for an Easter egg hunt. It is a 1,250 acre cattle farm owned by Chick-fil-A founder S. Truett Cathy. They hid 26,000 eggs for the kids to find. We came home with at least 50 eggs. The farm had many other things to do as well. The kids loved the animals and the tube slides.


I found this idea on Pinterest and brought them to Avery's school for his Easter party. It is a frosting bag filled with Annie's crackers and tied with a green ribbon.