Let Me 'Splain

As I was deciding -- rather suddenly -- to begin blogging again, I began composing my first post in my head. I kept hearing Inego Montoya from The Princess Bride saying, "Let me 'splain ... no that will take too long ... let me sum up."

Obviously, it would take far too long to catch up on the last year-and-a-half, plus. So, I will sum up:

• Allen is 6 (can you believe it? Neither can I.)
• He goes to Kindergarten at Beaufort Elementary and loves it.
• He's reading -- a lot!
• He's still into Cars and Dragons (we're reading the How to Train Your Dragon series), and he's added  Dinosaurs and Star Wars to the mix (thanks, Uncle Josh!).
• We live with Nana, Papa, and Gigi.
• We still have Mia and Murphy, and have since added to the brood a mutt named Ginger, a Bearded Dragon named Buck, and an assortment of fish. Plus Nana and Papa have three dogs. Yes, we are crazy.
• He takes tennis lessons.

I'm sure there are other things I will realize after I start blogging more frequently, but these are the highlights for now.

Thanks for coming back and reading. I'll get to the good stuff now.

Mechanical bulls and dinosaurs

Allen and I had a quiet day today. The boys (minus Allen) went to play golf today. It was Brian's first time. He had a blast. He didn't play that well, but he had a blast. And it was his first time, so his score was pretty good considering.

We met the boys at Barefoot Landing for dinner. A decided to ride the mechanical bull ...


I think he lasted almost a minute.

We stopped the Toy Store while waiting for our table and bought Allen two planes and a set of four dinosaurs (since he is so smitted with A's). Allen decided to spear his hot dog roll with the one dinosaur's tail ...

And here we all are at TBonz for dinner. It was a yummy dinner and we had a lovely evening.


xoxo,

Myrtle Beach arrival

Thanks to our wonderful and dear friends D and W we get to enjoy a week in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Check out the digs!

The kitchen and dining area

The living room (yes, that is the ocean outside) Our bedroom (one of four total, and the second "master" bedroom) The view from our bedroom The view from the condo balcony

Once we got unpacked, the dads decided to take the kids down to the beach. I stayed upstairs to rest a bit and let my ibuprofen kick in. As I stood on our balcony and looked down, I realized that I could see my boys ...

Did you notice the woman in the pictures above? Well, she started flirting with Brian ... to the extent that she did the "wife-check." After some idle talk, she said to Brian, "So is your wife at the pool?" Brian was horrified (she was quite a bit older than him, and let's just say that a bikini was probably not the best look for her).

A and E are D and W's kids. A is almost 10 years old and is very into dinosaurs; E is four and loves horses and dolls. Almost immediately the three kids sat down in the living room and began sharing and exchanging toys. I overheard Alex educating Allen on dinosaurs and then quizzing him on what he'd taught him ("is somedinosaurus a meat eater or a leaf eater?).

W had given Allen his dinosaur board book at my baby shower a couple years ago because Alex loved it so much when he was little. So we suggested that Alex read it to Allen. They sat next to each other and looked at the book. After A read to Allen for awhile, Allen put his hand on the back of A's neck, and said, "You are my friend."

Being the ridiculous sap that I am, I ran to get the camera ...

E and Allen have had some differences this evening, being that they are closer in age and Allen's not used to sharing toys very well or recognizing "personal space" quite yet. But after dinner, they shared some M&Ms while watching Ratatouille on TV.

Of course, a little while later, Allen smacked E in the face (I don't think it was really intentional; rather I think he was trying to knock some toy out of her mouth that he had just put in her mouth). So their relationship may need a little more work ...

Allen is looking forward to making sandcastles and playing in the pool this week (at least that's what he says); and I'm looking forward to helping him build sandcastles and splashing in the pool and ocean with him. If this evening is any indication, I'm sure I'll have tons more to post this week.

xoxo,

Jurassic Park

OK, the title of this post is a little silly. But as cheesy as it is, it make perfect sense ... read on and see why.

This is Allen's favorite book right now. He really enjoys all of his DK children's books (we have a pretty nice collection), and tends to pick a new one to fixate on every few weeks. I don't normally mind because they're short and interactive and focused on the pictures so Allen absorbs them well. But, dinosaurs aren't really my thing. Especially not the meat-eaters and "fierce hunters" (as the book calls them). Not to mention that it's taken me weeks to prounounce their names fluidly enough that it at least sounds like I know what I'm saying.



So, you know how there was a lion in my bathroom a few weeks ago? Well, today there was a baby T-Rex and a baby Baryonyx (or was it a Barosaurus? I can't remember now). Fortunately, they stayed out of the toilet for the most part (except once when Allen decided to flush them). Where were these dinosaurs' parents, you wonder (because you know I was wondering why they left them for me to watch)? At the park, waiting to play with Allen (see, do you get my post title now?). He told me he was going to go in the house with Barosaurus, and ride the see-saw with T-Rex (sadly, I was actually envisioning this stuff and thinking, Barosaurus is way too tall to fit in the house, and you'll go flying off the see-saw once T-Rex sits down).

I wish ya'll could've seen my little boy holding these imaginary (or clear as his mom used to say) dinosaurs, petting them and saying, "Awww. It's OK baby." How ridiculously sweet (and bizarre). His imagination amazes me. He told me that they were hungry. "What do they eat?" I asked. Adult dinosaurs apparently eat "hot dogs," and the babies eat "juice treats." Who knew?

Hope you enjoyed this story as much as I did. More later, I'm sure.

xoxo,