Grits With Grins: 2011

Monday, November 7, 2011

Down Memory Lane

Okay, for my 1 or 2 faithful followers, don't fall out! TWO POSTS IN ONE WEEK! (One of these days, I'm gonna write an entry, How Facebook Killed My Blog. But, for now, I'm just going to focus on resurrecting it.) It truly has become a scrapbook of our lives that I don't want to lose, so I plan to spend the next week or so backtracking with highlights from the last few months.

Today, I'm backtracking even farther. We had to choose a baby picture for Dylan's 8th grade graduation in June. Around here, we learned when Kat "graduated" from 5th grade, elementary and middle school graduations rival high school graduations, so there is advanced planning!

After looking at tons of pictures, and shedding a few tears, these were a few of the favorites:

This was my overall favorite! That big smile of excitement to be playing at the park with Daddy!

This one brings back such vivid memories. We had been in Switzerland exactly one month when this was taken.

Funny how it seems like forever ago since we lived there, but it seems like only yesterday I held this bundle of joy and energy in my arms. sniff, sniff

I still remember those berries. They were huge, and Dylan's face would be stained purple when she finished eating them.

This was taken in the field of flowers that was in front of our apartment. A whole acre of gladiolas taller than Dylan.

An animal lover from the beginning, she always loved this little park where she could pet the goats.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Halloween Fun

Boy were we lucky not to be in New Jersey this Halloween! After hearing from friends without electricity and several inches of snow on the ground, we were mighty thankful for our North Carolina weather!

The festivities began early for Isaac at school. After a fun party, the kindergarten classes had a costume parade for the older kids at school.

Decorating your own cupcake is serious business.

Now, did he really need all that icing before a night of sugar overload? The look on the girl's face is classic. She's thinking, "Boys..."

Jack and Isaac get into character before the parade.

It's trick or treat time for our Nerdy Lil' Kat.

This was quite the crew. They started early and ended late. I have to say, when Katherine came home and had swapped out all the Snickers for candy I don't even like, I almost locked her out. Not nice. Not nice at all.

Bowser Jr.

If you don't know Super Mario, you won't get it. Isaac, however, lives and breathes Super Mario. And he wouldn't settle for any other character. He just had to be the one character for which no commercial costume exists. I won't tell you how much time went into making this thing, but it made one little boy very happy, so I guess it was worth it.

The back view.

Bowser Jr. and Mario himself. The smile says it all.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Spring Break 2011 - Turks & Caicos Islands

Turks and Caicos has to be one of the most beautiful and relaxing vacations we've ever taken. There's not much to do besides relax. And eat. So we did plenty of both!

Spring Break - Turks & Caicos (snorkeling)

We took a day cruise that allowed us to go snorkeling in the Carribean...something I'll never forget! It was so much fun. The girls and I went in, while Scott and Isaac "guided" us from the boat.

Here, we are getting ready. A little nervous...not sure what to expect!

But we jumped in!

I wish I could describe the beautiful, colorful fish and coral reefs we could see. But, even Scott and Isaac got to see some fish from the boat.

Dylan is in the foreground, and you can barely make out Kat and me in the distance.

Drying off.

We then went snorkeling in more shallow water for conchs. I found two of them, and Isaac was fascinated by the way it would come out of it's shell.

And then, we learned, in a very graphic way, how the conch is removed from the shell.

And this is what it looks like!

The kids are holding the now empty shell.

And this is what became of them. Conch Salad. It was so good that Dylan ate two bowlfuls!

Spring Break - Turks & Caicos (eating conch)

Some of the most fun we had revolved around eating conch. Turks & Caicos is the world's leading supplier of conch. I have to admit, I'd never tried it before, so it was an experience. But we all tried it. And we all enjoyed it...at least a little!

Getting to Da Conch Shack, apparently THE place on the island to eat it, was quite an experience. Being a British territory, you have to drive on the left side of the road. And, being a fairly undeveloped island, we had very primitive directions, and took many scenic tours down pot-holed, dirt roads before we finally found it!