Grandparents Week

While we were away, Grandma Laura came up for a few days to stay with them, and then they went to Grandma Paulette & Grandpa Doug's house for a time.

Before we left, we all attended Henry's Celebration at school. It was a special time that ended with one of his class's committees giving him a "custom made" snow globe.

The Monday of that particular week was Chinese New Year, so Grandma Paulette set up some fun for the kids to celebrate.

The week ended with a trip to the cabin, and all the fun that such a trip includes!

Hilton Head

Not a week after we were through with Fayetteville, WV, and the kids were in Columbus, we took off for Hilton Head Island for a gathering of the Gates-Gates-Hopwood crew. The beach was fantastic, the pool was lots of fun, we had comfortable sleeping arrangements in the house, and dinners were amazing.

One evening Grandma Paulette & Grandpa Doug kept the kids so the Hopwoods could visit Palmetto Bluff and Jenn and I could visit Beaufort. We took a really cool walk around Hunting Island then had a wonderful dinner at the Old Bull Tavern. The food, service and drinks were incredible... one of our better restaurant experiences.

The beach where we were at, a stone's throw north of Sea Pines, was perfect. Long and gradual, with a nice tide pool during low tide that was great for seeing wildlife: hermit crabs, horseshoe crabs, blue crabs, minnows & mussels.

The bike paths around the island are neat, and good for running in the shade, but think long and hard before you take bikes for young kids. Lincoln (7) was a good age for using the paths. Lydia & Henry (4.5) needed lots of (stressful) guidance to keep them on the correct side of the path and out of others' ways.

Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge was a morning stop for us that was fantabulous.

We loved the ocean...

... and, of course, the pool...

There were crafts, a visit to the local diner, sand castles, a light house climb, planet sightings, alligators, and just a whole lot of fun. (And notice the alligator just behind the kids in the photo below!)

Henry's Third Birthday

We have another 3-Year-Old in the house! We celebrated Henry's third birthday on Saturday with a little cake & presents with Grandpa Doug, Grandma Paulette & Grandma Gates.
Henry's been having a real good stretch. He's communicating well, he's been super silly, you should hear him count (!), and even when he's being pouty and defiant, he's showing us that he's acting his age.
On Saturday evening Jenn and I went to Fleming's for dinner and had two really, really good meals. (It helped that we had a gift card.) It had been a while since we'd had a date-nite, and we were thankful that the Grandparents were willing to keep the kids for the evening.

Last night the snow started.This morning, the kids woke up and surprisingly didn't bother Jenn or me much, but instead congregated in Lydia's room. Henry went to the potty without my telling him, and Lincoln got some underpants for him. And then I heard Lincoln excitedly say, "We have to go tell Daddy!!!"

The kids ran into our room and screamed, "Snow!!!" and continued to run to different windows and see the snow outside. This is going to be a fun winter, and an especially fun Christmas time.

A Thanksgiving Coda

Yesterday, after the glorious finish to a punished season, we all went down to the Riverfront to see the lighting of the Christmas Tree and the fireworks show. This was the twins first experience with fireworks. Henry loved them, Lydia... let's just say that she's reminded us at least a dozen dozen times that, "Fireworks too loud!"The Hopwoods were there, along with Grandpa Dave and Auntie Haley... it's just been a fun family long-weekend these past few days. Haley went back to school and Dave went back to Columbus this morning, and while they probably won't miss the madness here, we'll miss them. It was great to play catch-up after the past few years with them being so far away. It is our understanding that Grandma Laura is chomping at the bit to get some grandkid time.And here's a flashback to Thanksgiving the other day...At the end of a fun long weekend, Lydia and Henry are put to bed, and Jenn is reading to Lincoln, and it's not yet 7:00pm. Life has caught up to the little ones, and an early bedtime proved to be necessary. Just in time for the Christmas Season.