Sunday, July 22, 2012

Beat the Heat, Five Bees Style

Eighty-four degrees with ninety percent humidity. The air is thick. Sticky.The boys are content outside for all of three seconds before they come right back in and slam the door. By Saturday afternoon, dark clouds rolled in and the ominous sound of thunder had everybody quivering in fear. Luke revisited some of his favorite indoor activities from our time in the soggy northwest. Andy is always game for any of Luke's suggestions.
We resurrected the costume box from the attic. Of course Star Wars was the order of the day. 
We sure get a lot of mileage out of a Halloween costume. I am pleasantly surprised. 
The older boys were long overdue for new shoes. I never imagined boys would enjoy shoe shopping but they happily jumped in the car with Steve. Maybe they were bored and just wanted to get out of the house.
Andy was thrilled with his sweet kicks. He ran through the house boasting about how he could run faster and jump higher. This morning he wanted to go out simply so he could wear his new shoes. A boy after my own heart.
We have reached an age where going out for dessert is more like fun and less like torture. We decided to dodge the raindrops and headed for Sweet Spoons in Apex. The boys love frozen yogurt and the self-serve is right up their alley. Andy and Eli entertained us with impromptu dance moves in between bites. Very cute. They even forgot about the heat for a minute and posed by the fountain for a photo. 

Monday, July 16, 2012

These Are Some Good Times

Although our radio is often tuned to the kids' favorite station, Kids Place Live, my preferred genre is country music. I love how country songs, even the bad ones, tell a story. Andy wanted me to walk him into school for his second day of kindergarten because he wasn't sure he could find his classroom. Luke kissed me goodbye at the front door and we parted ways. As we approached the kindergarten hallway, I could see Andy's teacher and I burst into tears. I pulled it together to kiss him goodbye and then did the ugly cry all the way back to the car, dragging oblivious Eli along beside me. When we left the parking lot, I changed the radio station and this song  by Trace Atkins came on. It didn't do much for the crying, but I was a little bit thankful for the 5 and 1/2 years Andy was at home with me. Not gonna lie, I wished away a number of those days when he drove me absolutely batty.
I think Kindergarten is overwhelming at first, so much to take in and spending the whole day with strangers is a daunting task. So far his favorite part was putting his hand print on the wall of the school. Something his older brother didn't get to do, by the way, since he wasn't in kindergarten here. 
Luke started his first day of third grade last week with a dangling front tooth. By bed time he was talking with a lisp. So adorable. Something precious about all those absent 's' sounds. Makes me giggle.
If you haven't already heard, because we have proclaimed it from the rooftops in recent days, Steve and I celebrated our tenth anniversary on Friday. We had a wonderful time at a fabulous restaurant in Raleigh called Second Empire. We go fancy about twice a decade so I'm sure the waiters were entertained by our ignorance. I had no idea what was on the menu. But it was delicious and we still can't wrap our minds around the fact that ten years went by so quickly. 

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Seven Days of Surf, Sun and Let's Not Forget the Cows

 Traditions bring joy and consistency in their appearance on the family calendar. Occasionally a new twist on an old tradition pops up and we embrace it. This bovine photo op is a new favorite for our kids. Steve's extended family vacations at the same beach every year on the coast of North Carolina. No matter where we live, we try to spend the week of July the 4th at this particular beach. We even rented the same house as last year, which the boys were very excited about. We started eating ice cream fairly regularly at our new favorite ice cream shop, the Calabash Creamery. This cow stands in the parking lot and we simply cannot resist.
 Sometimes with this particular child, a caption just isn't necessary. What can I say? Classic Andy.
 Eli's starts his day with the word cow. I think he likes ice cream. A lot. 
 Eli started the week avoiding the water. By Friday he would grab the hand of any relative standing nearby, point to the surf and say, "Out der! Out der!" When he watched the older kids body surfing he would yell, "watch out!" When the wave went by he would say, "Whew. Close." His personality is definitely emerging.
This has nothing to do with a cow but it has become a tradition. I almost always celebrate my birthday at the beach.
 Andy and Luke had a great time playing mini golf with their cousins. I'm thankful our children can spend this week together and hopefully bring their own families to the beach someday.
Our family beach picture. It's considered a great shot if everyone is looking at the camera and keeping their hands to themselves.