Toad-ally Cool!

We found a toad in the backyard today.  I ran over one with the lawn mower yesterday, so maybe that was the dad (as Caleb said) or I didn't actually kill him.  Either way, he had minutes of fun with him!

I have to brag on Caleb just a little bit.  On numerous occasions, Caleb's teachers have told me how gentle and caring and compassionate he is with the other students in his class.  He always helps and plays with a little girl named, Emma, who has Down's Syndrome and he is always willing to help others when they're having a rough time or can't figure something out. 

This just makes my heart burst with happiness!   

Baseball Season

Last night was Caleb's first t-ball game of the season.

 Acting silly!

 We thought we'd be nice and stop for ice cream on the way home since Shawn was leaving for Key West today.  Someone (me) thought dipped cones would be good, but they just made a huge mess.  Mine was all over the place.  Amelia's was all over her face.  Caleb dropped his in the seat and then proceeded to throw a fit because it kept dripping….

 ….so, we pulled over and threw it out the window.  

And this was his face after that.

(For the record, he's the one that wanted to throw it out the window.)

Fireplace Makeover

When we moved into this house, we knew we might want to do a little something to the fireplace.  Probably just the tile.  Maybe the mantle too.  Then we had a fireplace inspector out and after the words, please do not use, were written on the paperwork, we knew it was an entire gut job.

 A couple days after Thanksgiving began this long, long process.

Our first option for granite fell out.  

After that, we purchased tile from Lowe's and another tile guy fell out.  

So, we decided to finish this project on our own.

 Six months later... 

IT.IS.FINALLY.FINISHED!!!!!!!!!!

I think it turned out great!  I couldn't be more proud of Shawn for sticking to it and making it look great!  

 We're going to let it dry a little longer before I decorate it again, but I'll be sure to get the final fireplace makeover pics up soon!

Blue Angels Weekend

We ended our Spring Break week with an awesome weekend in Beaufort, SC.  The drive (5.5 hours each way) wasn't that great, but  it was a fun little getaway.

We ate dinner downtown Beaufort and while we were waiting to get seated, Shawn says, "I think that guy was my rack mate from TBS."  After he came back out from putting their names in, Shawn walks up to him and he instant recognizes him.  They haven't seen each other for 13 years!  That was pretty cool!

 This area had lots of trees like this...

 …and tree lined streets like this...

 There were also lot of big, southern homes like these...

 We stayed on Parris Island, where, they make Marines.

Clearly.

 Saturday morning, we got up and headed to the airshow.

 Sitting in a helicopter.

 Shooting the guns from the top of a huge truck.

 Going to check out the B-52

 It was huge!

 We walked through a handful of planes.

 And even got to pretend to be the pilot!

 The Osprey, which flies over our house all of the time and makes it feel like the walls are going to come crashing down.

 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

 Look at this cool plane…..oh, wait…..that's just the Prowler:o)

 After walking around for a few hours, we were all ready to go sit down.  We got special treatment, which was awesome!

Yah, that's us.  Friends and Family of the Blue Angels!

 We found our friend, Cooper, whom I hugged like he was my own kid and I'm sure he thought I was weird.  

 This is what Caleb did for most of the time in this area.

 Watching the planes, waiting on the Blue's.

 The Harrier hovering.

 Here comes Fat Albert as the Blue's begin their show.

 Our friend Nate Barton, from Washington, (Coop's dad), is the number 4 jet.

 The Blue's always put on an awesome show, and any airshow is worth going to,  but if you get to see the Blue's, it's pretty awesome.  I told Shawn that it's weird seeing Nate as a Blue Angel, but I really don't see him as anything else, other than "just Nate."  

We were so glad to get to see him and Cooper, if only for a few minutes.  We hope to see the rest of the family this summer as they vacation in Topsail, about an hour from here!

(Nate's standing next to me)