God Bless America

We are so fortunate to always be surrounded by good friends and this 4th of July was no exception. After a great day hanging out at the pool we headed up to Holly Tree Country Club with the Rehbergers, Alexanders and Andersons for an evening of good BBQ, games for the kiddos and of course fireworks. As you can see, fun was had by all...including Parker who had a blast running around with all of the older kids. He really got into the spirit of the day. The fireworks for a bit much for him so I had to leave early...maybe next year!

God Bless America!

The Crew- Halpins, Rehbergers, Alexanders & Andersons

One of my favorite recent shots- Love our new camera

P and the boys- Steve & Ken

Upper SC State Fair

For those of my readers who are from Southern CA, let me start by saying, this is "NO DEL MAR FAIR..." However, one thing I have learned as a parent to a toddler, it doesn't matter if there is one cow or 5 barns full they will still have fun and enjoy themselves either way! This was our first Upper SC State Fair and both Patrick and I were a bit disappointed only because the Del Mar Fair is amazing...its kind of like eating a Kobe Beef Burger and then going to Mc Donalds- they just don't compare...but we did manage to have fun and Parker loved visiting with all of the animals and even got to ride a few rides all by himself. We can't wait to take him back next year!

He was so serious...concentrating the entire time!

I love that he chose a pink car- too funny!

Of course he wanted to bring this furry little thing home...NO WAY!

Hello Mr. Sheep

He was best buddies with all of the animals by the time we left!

Fall Fun!

Fall is one of my favorite times of year, especially here in the South when the days become cooler and we get to head out on alll kinds of fun, family outings. This year we decided to visit a different apple farm from the one we went to last year, Nivens Apple Farm. We had a great afternoon of gold mining, talking to the farm animals, hunting for pumpkins, hay rides and of course mommy' favorite apples, Pink Lady! We had so many good photos I had a tough time deciding what to "cut."

Mommy & Parker acting goofy

Our family of three (+ 1/4)

The only way we could get him to smile was to get him to stick out his tongue- he is all boy!

He was so determined to catch these geese. He didn't seem to notice that the faster he ran, and the louder he called after them the faster they ran away from him!

Our handsome boy- why do they grow so fast?!

I think this one looks just right...

Getting tall!

He wanted to push the huge cart all by himself!

Love his expression

Check out the major air!

Here I come

Very serious when it comes to his John Deere!

Gold Mining at Nivens

Safety Day

Our local Lowes is a treasure trove of fun, free activities for kids. I am so amazed at what amazing community stewards they are! On this day we headed out for their Annual Safety Day. Parker got to ride in fire trucks, ambulances and even build his very own wooden firetruck with siren. We all had a blast and love that Parker is now old enough to enjoy some of these fun activities. Can't wait for next year!

Look Mommy & Daddy

Getting into trouble...his face is priceless, like "WHAT?"

His very own fire hat!

Charleston

In October we took a long-weekend trip to Charleston to celebrate our 6th anniversary. Nana and Papa kept Parker so we could enjoy some much needed alone time. We figured with another on the way this might one of your last times for a trip in a while! We had such a nice time being on our schedule for a change and took full advantage of the freedom. There isn't one square inch of the beautiful city of Charleston that we didn't explore. We spent time visiting the battery, wandering down quaint cobblestone streets and of course managed to eat some of the best food imaginable. One of the days we visited funky Folly Beach, which transported us instantly back to our care-free days living on the peninsula in Newport Beach. We did some shopping in the surf shops, ate at world-famous Taco Boy, went for a long walk on the beach (see our future beach house below) and enjoyed some cocktails (mocktails for me) as we just relaxed and got lost in the beauty of the ocean. It was such a great weekend and we can't wait to do it again soon.

These homes are amazing. This particular home must have had over 1000 different gourds and pumpkins in their gorgeous fall display!

Patrick showing off the cannon balls on the Battery

Starting to show

Patrick with the Cooper River Bridge in the background

This is quintessential Charleston- I would love to live her someday

Patrick really wanted to find out what this "club" was all about!

It was just a little windy- otherwise beautiful, sunny weather

Our view from the Marriott- thank you Will and Michael

Exploring the battery

Happy Cows!

I'm so happy Parker has such a sweet spot- after all our great friends the Bordessa's have an organic dairy in Northern CA and one of Parker's first trips was to their dairy so it comes as no surprise. Now that Parker is getting a little older we are having fun getting out and exploring some of the fun things to do around here. Back in the fall, a local dairy (where we get Parker's milk) hosted an anniversary party/customer appreciation weekend. It was so much fun to see the cows up close, go on a tractor tour of their property and learn all about the farm and how different their operation is compared to commercial dairies! The Dairy is called Happy Cow and they explained that the reason they have named it this is because they plan their grazing fields so there is always something fresh and green in season for the cows to munch. Apparently this is a relatively new "method" of farming and helps create happier cows and happier cows give more milk- who knew??

Parker had a blast and we took home yummy milk, homemade ice cream, butter and some other local items from their store. I can't wait to take the Bordessa's for a visit next time they are out our way- I know they would love a visit to the Happy Cow Dairy!

Can't I get any closer mommy?

Hello there Happy Cow!

So behind...so many updates!

I have been VERY remiss in updating our blog...however, I have a good excuse. We are pregnant with Baby #2!! We are now in week 18 and I am finally feeling better and slowly have some energy returning as a result. Baby #2 is due St. Patrick's Day and we are so excited to find out the sex in two weeks!

Parker is super cute about the "baby" growing inside Mommy's belly. He has nicknamed the baby Dozer...demonstrating his recent obsession with Bulldozers and tractors. Its hard to tell how much he really gets what a baby means but he often lifts up my shirt to kiss my ever-growing belly. He even talks to the baby every once in a while- too cute.

I promise to try to be better about updating the blog so check back often...I have 4 months worth of events and pictures to get caught up on.