The hard truth...

My sons are learning some hard lessons since we moved to the beach......

#1 We live AT the beach....not ON the beach.
Everyday they want to go to the beach and on the days that we do go, they act as if they are being unjustly stripped of their right to stay on the beach for as long as their hearts desire.

#2 Sunscreen is a necessary Hassle.
"Mom, I don't need sunscreen!" "Get over here or you WILL regret it later!"
You see by keeping them on the shore to slather on the SPF 50, they are being deprived of 5 extra minutes of water time.

#3 Humans CANNOT breath underwater.
"Look Mom, I can breath underwater....cough*cough*.....ok, no I can't!" (this takes place while I have a mini heart attack). No, they didn't really try it on purpose but they are learning this lesson well.

Yep, that's right....My boy is swimming right there.

Oh my, that face.

A Day at the Park

A Hard Decision

As most of you know, I have been trying to get into the Nursing Program @ ICC in Rutherford County for almost 3 years and despite my hard work and the grades to prove it, I have been passed over twice. Based on this, Kojak and I made the decision to move back to his hometown on the coast of North Carolina in hopes that we would be able to further our educations and careers. It was a Very Hard decision. After we made the decision, I applied to the local community college in Morehead City and was accepted into their Practical Nursing program based on my grades and achievements thus far.
So, as of last Sunday we said Goodbye to family, friends and Rutherford County.
Below are some pics that have been taken over the last couple weeks.

At Shell Point on Harkers Island

Back home......for some reason these boys LOVE mud! I think they got that from me.

An old tree on the island.

My babes!!!!

Toes in the sand, toes in the sand, lookin' like a crab wit my toes in da sand.......hahaha

Big Dal's (Papa) boat he built by himself.....I'm impressed.....hopefully, I will be fishing off that boat sometime this summer.

The backyard in the mountains.

Part of the old driveway in the mountains.

Friends.....Kit don't kill me!

Poppie and his boys.

Shannon.......miss you! And don't kill me!

Moving boxes......ugh!

Mountain views......from Chimney Rock

This is right behind the college where my classes will be.

Hard at work, Hard at play!

As most of you know, Poppy's job takes him out of town sometimes and just recently he got assigned to a job in Lee County. Of course he will be home on the weekends but he will be gone during the week due to the fact that Lee County is more than 4 hours away.
Anyway, since we are moving and Poppy was working on a job here in Rutherfordton we decided to take the boys over to see where he works.

James really enjoyed the track-hoe and was very focused when Poppy let him help swing the bucket around.

Cameron loved it too but when it came time to get off he did not want to budge. I think he would have stayed for the rest of the day if we had let him.
Nana thinks we may have another construction man in the family. I think Poppy enjoyed the visit as much as the boys....I think he loves it when his grand-baby's get so excited over what he does.
Note: We left not too long after the pics were taken......my overly nervous mother tendencies really kicked in when the boys started trying to run around the job site. I'll never make it through the teenage years!

April Already?

Has it really been that long since I posted? I guess between chasing the boys, Haley's first year in school and my classes I just can't keep track of time. Not to mention trying to plan a move to the beach. Oh well, the semester is almost over and Haley is out of school in June. I can't really do much about chasing the boys, they are boys after all. Well, I've got a few things up my sleeve that I've been wanting to post about so I'll try to do that this week.

Not my best idea!

Well, Christmas is right around the corner and we all have family traditions that we like to keep. Since my family is fairly new and the kids are getting big enough to participate in things like decorating I figured we could start some traditions of our own. I had the idea to bake and decorate gingerbread cookies with the kids. In hindsight, it was not by best idea....but it was fun!

The kids went a little overboard with the icing....they have yet to grasp the concept of "less is more"!

I realized at one point that Cameron thought he cookie was not fully decorated until the icing was flowing over the sides and onto the table.

And, after this little project I am asking myself again what possessed me to put a white rug under my kitchen table.

They sure did have a lot of fun and we have enjoyed eating our Christmas treats. They were all so cute (the kids, not so much the cookies). Each time they finished one cookie they would inform me who that particular cookie was for. We had cookies for Nana, Nannie, Poppie, Daddy, Mommy, Uncle Donnie, Christopher, Gracie and the other "Gurls". They didn't seem to make any for themselves.....although, they took the pleasure of eating them. Guess, they figured that was more practical than shipping them.

Despite the mess, I am sure we will be doing it again next year.

Now, last night we had our Christmas Play at church. Mom wrote and directed the entire play while the little kids and a few of the older kids did all thew acting. They all did a most wonderful job. After the play, a special visitor showed up to wish the kids a Merry Christmas!

Moma thought that Santa looked A LOT like her first born son! Would that make her Grandmother Christmas? Shhhh....don't tell her I said that!

This year's experience with Santa went much better than previous years.....there were no tears.

Haley and Santa Bo.....I mean Claus!

Here's Santa and Grandmother Christmas again!

Gabby and Annabelle with Santa Claus!

Bo, I mean Santa Claus I don't Gabby fell for the suit.

Santa Claus handed out gifts to the kids and posed for pictures....he did a really great job! His belly even jiggled like a bowl full of jelly!