Happy Birthday Ari and Auntie Hey Hey!

This weekend the kids and I headed up to Baltimore for a visit with all of our favorite people. Friday we headed up to see Aunt Nancy and Baby Clare while Uncle Clark headed down to see us for a boys weekend with Daddy. Gwennie loved spending time with Clare (who will forever be known as "Baby Clare until she's well into her 30's) and teaching her all sorts of stuff! Hudson could have spent days climbing up and down the stairs and taking a ride on their roller coaster.

Saturday was Ari's big birthday bash and as you can see from the pictures, it was a Superhero party. Auntie Hey Hey and Uncle Alan made capes for all the kids to decorate. It was pretty fabulous! All of the kids had a blast. Here is a picture of Gwennie with Bat Girl (Stacey). In case you are wondering what the kids dressed up as...Gwennie was Fancy Nancy and Hudson was Charlie Brown...we decided to go with Super Nancy and Super Charlie!

After the party we headed to Alan and Heather's for the rest of the weekend and as you will see from the pictures and video...Ari's new Jeep made for hours of fun. Matthew and Hudson also got a turn in the Jeep but Gwennie and Ari pretty much occupied the seats all Saturday afternoon.

Soccer and Gaga...

Gwennie started her first week of soccer! Unfortunately she also started her first week of a stomach bug so she made it to practice but was unable to make her first game :-(

Overall it looks as though she really will enjoy soccer (especially because her buddy Ayla is there with her!) and we hope she doesn't get too mad at mommy being an assistant coach.

Saturday I headed to Lady Gaga with cousin Page and her friend Jennifer. As you can see...it was as sequin studded event!

Arizona!

This week the kids and I headed to Arizona for some quality GeeGee and PopPop time. As you will see from the hundreds of pictures, a majority of our time was spent in the water and on the boat! I am pretty sure Hudson would have slept in the golf cart if we let him. Usually if we weren't in the boat, the kids were sitting on the golf cart waiting to go for a ride! We also got to meet Kipper their new dog! She's very friendly...and very much a puppy. Gwennie loved Kipper so much that I am pretty sure the dog was relieved to see us go. Here are a TON of pictures from the week!

Happy Birthday Crawford!

It was a big weekend of fun again! Thursday I finally snapped some shots of the baby birds who have been living in our fern plant. The babies were a little nervous about a camera in their faces but since we had been taking the fern down well before the hatched they did not fly away. Friday we headed over to see Mark, Jena, Ayla and Reese and as you can see from the pictures, clothing became optional. Gwennie and Ayla decided they were tired of dresses and Hudson figured who needs a diaper when there's plenty of "spots" in the backyard?!?!

Saturday we were lucky enough to celebrate Crawford's 6th birthday with her. Gwennie was so excited to see Crawford that she could barely take her nap. Sunday Corbin and got the bright idea to attempt to groom the dogs ourselves and as you can see from the pictures....it did not go very well.

Hotlanta and Sparkle City!

This weekend was probably one of the busiest we have had in a while but it was worth it because we got to spend our time with friends and family which is always a blast! Thursday night the kids and I headed to Atlanta to spend the night with Richard, Lynne, Faryn & Kamryn so I could see my good friend Addie and her two girls Alexis and Reese. The last time I saw Reese, she was all of 1 day old and my how she's changed! We decided the best place to meet in Atlanta was at the amazing Georgia Aquarium! Jess (a great friend of Addie's) came along and was so much fun (as usual) and also helped out with the crazy kids! The hit was probably the beluga whales as well as the big walk through shark tunnel. As you will see from the pictures everyone was amazed!

From there we said our goodbyes and then I headed up to Spartanburg for a visit with all of the cousins. As you can see all of the kids just love to hang out with each other and while the mommies were busy doing other things, the boys occupied their time in the pool...with the barbies. I figured since I didn't have a picture of all of the kids, this still life of Ken flexing his muscles would cover the antics from the weekend. Sunday Russ and Corbin took the girls to the farm (we call it Big Bill's sanctuary) where they both enjoyed a drive in the all terrain cart!

We all enjoyed a wonderful weekend together and now are exhausted! We really enjoyed all of our time with wonderful friends and family!

We Miss You Already GeeGee!

Well, GeeGee left on Thursday but not without spoiling both kids while she was here! Both Gwennie and Hudson have new bikes to ride and as you can see from the pictures Hudson was still getting the hang of his tricycle but LOVED it. Gwennie...not so much yet but hopefully she will enjoy her new wheels. We also had some fun with Ayla and Cameron this weekend. As you can see from the pictures, Gwennie and Ayla had a blast running around the park splashing each other!

Peggy and Keith!

This weekend we left the kids at home with GeeGee and we headed to Chicago for the marriage of our friends Peggy and Keith. It was a beautiful weekend and a wonderful wedding and it was one of the first time since all of Natalie's roommates from College had been together in about 4 years! Peggy and Keith looked wonderful and they planned a great weekend of activities. The day after the wedding Corbin and I went on an architectural river tour of the city and although it was a little rainy to start, you will see that the day turned out to be clear and beautiful and we took some amazing shots of the city!

Here are the pictures from the weekend and a funny video of what GeeGee taught Hudson to do over the weekend.

Rainy Weekend....

Typically I would be happy that it was not 97 degrees with 80% humidity but this weekend the break in the weather was also followed by tons of rain. This meant LOTS of time in the playroom and a nice break in hanging out at home to have dinner with our friends Michelle, Drew and Cameron.

Here are the few pictures that we took over the weekend.

Family Lake Weekend!

This weekend was the annual Webb/Duncan Lake weekend where all of the aunts, uncles and cousins get together to see one another outside of Columbia. Because it was so hot this weekend, most of the day was spent by the pool or in the shade. As always we had a blast and the kids were exhausted when they got home. Sunday we spent most of the day alternating between our pool and our friend's pool (between naps) to keep out of the heat. Overall another great weekend! There are also pictures from Gwennie's school carnival here. Enjoy!



Also - here is a video that our cousin put together from the reunion

First Trip to the Dentist and a Few Steps!

Well....not only did we get through a visit to the dentist with all smiles (and goodies from the trip), we are much closer to having 2 kids walking by themselves!

Gwennie had her first visit at the dentist and she loved every minute of it. She even asks to floss now! Hudson is starting to walk...sort of. You will see from the video, he's pretty wobbly but loves to walk from Corbin to Drew. Saturday we checked out the new Discovery place and you can see that Mr. Drew used some creativity when putting 3 kids in a stroller fit for one!

Another Weekend at the Pool!

Another warm weekend here! Instead of hanging out at our own pool, we decided to head on over with our friends to their pool where you can see that Reese/Hudson and Ayla/Gwennie are good buddies! Sunday we headed over to Melissa's super nice pool at her house and the kids had a wonderful time. Gwennie loves Melissa's dog Bella...Hudson is still warming up to her! Here are some pictures from the weekend.

Happy Anniversary and Happy 4th!

I would have put a picture in of Corbin and I but as would be typical, we both are the ones behind the camera so I didn't have one from this weekend. Saturday we celebrated 5 years of marriage by hanging out with friends and then heading to an early dinner/movie. Sunday we had an early brunch and the kids spent the morning outside playing in the yard. Sunday night Corbin made a wonderful dinner on the grill (see pictures!) that we all enjoyed followed by a night of Gwennie sleeping with us in the bed until the "booms" were over. Needless to say we likely won't be going to any fireworks anytime soon.

Monday we headed to Spartanburg to see Grandma Gary, Nina, Robert, Caroline and Megan. The kids both loved running around Grandma Gary's house and Gwennie remembers the oddest thing. She loves "molly" the stuffed cat and chatted the whole way down about how she couldn't wait to see her.

We then headed over to Lulu's for a much needed nap and some swim time. The kids love the pool and Gwennie is already asking when we can go back to Lulu's to swim and play with Belle again!

Bathroom Flood....

No, it's not what you think. Our plumbing is not out of whack, our 1 year old has a toilet paper addiction that resulted in a flood on Sunday morning. Hudson decided to unroll the toilet paper and Gwennie figured the only place toilet paper should go is....in the toilet! So when Corbin and I saw a large puddle of water trickling from the kitchen into the laundry room, we figured it wasn't the work of the dogs and found both kids splashing in the water.

Then to top things off Hudson decided that he also wanted to go check out his 2nd favorite spot...the liquor cabinet. In his quest to knock everything over, Hudson successfully pulled a glass down and the first picture in this set is Daddy's face during the clean up. We then spent the rest of the day in the garden and washing the cars. As you can see from the pictures, Hudson actually needed a wash himself!

Later we headed over to Ayla and Reese's house for dinner and dress up! Gwennie and Ayla wanted to be addressed as "her majesty" all night. As you can see from their outfits, the girls were in full attire. Hudson and Reese had a nice night sharing their meal and playing in the water table with Cameron who I wish I could have grabbed a picture of sporting his overalls and Fancy Nancy heels. Overall a great weekend! I also put in a couple of videos of week 2 of ballet/tap class, Hudson jamming to the grateful dead with his dad and some of the madness from last night!

Happy Father's Day!

It was a busy weekend at home with LOTS of activities. First Gwennie started ballet lessons on Saturday morning. Needless to say Gwennie might not qualify as a "prima ballerina" just yet! She had more fun jumping than doing the actual steps.

Saturday afternoon we headed to a birthday party for Hudson's buddy Trey who also just turned one. Both of the kids where wiped out after the fun and so we had a nice long nap before the pool.

Sunday Gwennie and I headed to the movies to see Toy Story 3 which we both loved but I needed a tissue for. Those folks at Pixar sure do know how to make a parent cry! Sunday afternoon we had a bunch of friends over for a Father's Day barbecue which was lots of fun for the kiddies. As you can see from the pictures it was a messy evening!

Summer is here!

Well, the heat is here and the kids are spending all of their time at the pool or near water! It has been a busy week celebrating the birthday of our cousin Alexandra and our buddy Noah who both had birthday parties that were "so much fun" as Gwennie liked to remind us after each party. Gwennie has figured out that her water wings allow her to swim all over the pool so she refuses to get out unless forced and Hudson loves using the green raft to kick around and check out his sister's swimming! Here are a TON of pictures from the week.

Hudson's 1!

It was a wonderful birthday weekend for everyone (especially a certain 1 year old who had LOTS of cake!). We had perfect weather, wonderful friends and great food (thanks Corbin and Clark!) for Hudson's birthday. As you will see from the pictures it was a fun afternoon and we all celebrated a birthday for a wonderful little boy! Enjoy the video and pictures!

Happy Memorial Day!

Well, this week was BUSY! We had a dinner with the families at our daycare, a trip to the zoo, pool and then to top it off a BBQ with great friends! Enjoy the pictures!

Happy Birthday Stella!

This weekend our good friend Stella turned 4 so we headed back to our favorite place, Monkey Joe's for more sliding and jumping in the bounce houses. This time Hudson was big enough to check out the toddler bounce house so he had a great time as well. Sunday we played outside and the kids enjoyed checking out all of the potential vegetables they will be eating from our victory garden. We also got a new "flip" camcorder and here's one of our first videos. I was trying to get Hudson to do the "fish face" which was unsuccessful but you can decide if he uttered his first word :-)

May Recital

As promised here are the hundreds of pictures and videos from the recital. To view the videos, click on the first picture below and it will take you to another window where they will start playing. Be sure to turn the volume up loud because the kids are pretty quiet. I now know why my mother could never hold the video camera still. You will notice I am trying to help Gwennie with the words so the videos are a bit shaky.

Weekend Fun and Tune In Tomorrow!

It was another great weekend at home with an impromptu barbecue at Casa Meek. Since the kids were covered in all sorts of things, we threw the boys and girls into baths and scrubbed off all the dirt. As you can see from the pictures, everyone had a blast!

Be sure to check back tomorrow because I will post videos and pictures from Gwennie's school recital!