Here is the lane of 7 and unders (closest to the front of the photo) all lined up to dive in for warm ups before the meet.
Here is Ayden doing his dive pose getting ready to swim freestyle in his first swimming race ever! :)
Close up of the diving readiness pose! :) I love it!
Here is a rare sight! A sleeping Gabriel in his new big boy bed! We put the twin mattress on the floor to wait for the bunk beds that they will hopefully sleep in once Gabriel is ready to share a room. The crib was falling apart mostly due to the fact that Gabriel knew just how to jump around in it like crazy to make it fall apart! Also, he knew how to climb out and he just seemed ready to move on. Ohhh, my baby is growing up, yikes!!
Diana and Ron Legrand came to visit the week before our trip to Hilton Head! They were out visiting some old friends who live on Lake Norman, which is near Charlotte, NC. They were kind enough to stop by through town on their way back from Hilton Head and some other coastal cities. We had a nice time (in the sweltering heat) checking out the Duke Gardens and having lunch at Mad Hatters (our favorite little lunch spot near by). So great to see you both Diana and Ron!!
We took care of our good friend's boys so that they could go out to dinner and it was a lot of fun because Ayden got to have a sleepover party in his room! Here they are as wild and crazy super heroes! I think they were asleep by almost 9pm, so not bad! They wore themselves out that afternoon at a neighborhood birthday party and then watched a movie with some popcorn. Reminded me of sleepover parties from my childhood...ahhh the memories!
Most of July has been pretty hot this year with some especially scorching days in the last half of the month and so Ayden had the bright idea one afternoon to pull out the sprinkler. We haven't spent too many afternoons at the pool because kindergarten has provided such long days for Ayden, and so I didn't want to completely wear him out. He did start swim team practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays after school, so that has been enough pool time for the last two weeks.
Drawing with the blue chalk of course! :)
Here's Ayden on his first day of Kindergarten all dressed and ready with his new backpack!
Here is the crew out at the bus stop. Thankfully, our neighbor Lucy is the experienced 2nd grader (left) who was ready to show Ayden and Tori (middle) the ropes of bus riding!
Off he goes! Miss Phyllis, the Bus Driver is such a nice lady, so that was a big help. It was an emotional and reflective day (for mom anyhow)! Ayden got off the bus in the afternoon and I said, "How was your day? Was it fun?" He said, "It was fun, but long!" In the last few weeks, Ayden has done a pretty good job getting used to being in school. It IS a long day though, they go from 9:15am-3:45 pm! He has already changed teachers once because his original teacher had to move back to Florida due to a family emergency. His new teacher, Ms. Todora is really nice and very organized. I was able to attend Open House and meet her and so we are excited to see what this year will bring!
The other day when I was cleaning up, I noticed this pile of items on the kitchen table that Ayden had left out and I thought to myself that these toys/items pretty much perfectly represent what Ayden is all about these days as a big five and a half year old! He is all about discovery and exploration! He takes his binoculars everywhere so that he can check things out in his environment. Since it is Summer time, he has got to have the sunglasses on just like all his friends. I wasn't too sure how the magnifying glass would go, but it was on sale at the Nature Center in Asheville and so I just couldn't resist since he just loves to check everything out in detail...bugs, seeds, pods, rocks, you name it! So far, the magnifying glass has only broke once. Thanks to Uncle Henry, it was saved with some super glue! We have a paper airplane "how to" book that Ayden has just started to be able to follow, but most of the time, Dad makes him the complicated ones that do the best stunts! The blue paper is a drawing of a map that Ayden created of where things are in the house. So these items pretty much sum him up, Ayden, the Explorer!!
Cousins and their babies! We had a fun time at the Nature Center with Cousins Alexandria and Elizabeth!
Cheese!
My big five and a half year old! :) Lately, if you say, "Ayden is five." He will correct you and say, "I am five and a half!" I remember saying that when I was that age...it just makes you feel more grown up I guess! :)
Ok, I know I keep posting more photos from Hilton Head, but for my own scrapbook, I want these to be in there. :) They just crack me up too much! The three older cousins were goofing around in the hammock when they visited the Disney time share property one afternoon while we were there. Ayden sure does miss his cousins already!
And the last activity that we all did together before we drove home and the Lukacs drove back to Savannah to fly back home the following morning was spend the morning and early afternoon at the Coastal Discovery Museum, which ended up being more interesting and involved of a museum than we first thought. Lots of great tid bits of information about coastal sea creatures!
Here are the boys pausing in between rock out sessions with the Summer entertainer, Shannon Tanner, who plays music and keeps the kids entertained at one of the resort areas near where we were while we were in HH. The kids loved this guy!
Here are all the big boys! We've got from left to right: Benji, Jake, Gabriel, Ayden and Sam! Five out of the six boys and how did I get them all sitting on the couch together? Yep, the good ole' boob tube! :)
The three oldest boys certainly have a bond since it was just the three of them for a number of years before their little brothers joined them! :) Aren't they precious?
I was so excited to convince my sister and Julius to bring their whole family across the country to fly into Savannah and then drive to Hilton Head for a vacation with us!!! We just got back last weekend (stayed there Aug. 5-8). We had a great time in Savannah the night we all arrived (they flew in and we drove in). Right outside our hotel was a fun little spot with some restaurants and shops and so we had some pizza and ice cream! We sent home about 5 different photos via the cell phone to Julio and Gabriel because Gabriel got sick two nights before and so they couldn't join us. :( The photo above was taken on the trip over to Hilton Head the next morning. The older boys rode with us and they of course had a wild and crazy blast together!
At the resort's pool! Couldn't get a normal side by side pose from these three, but this pose is way more entertaining anyhow! :)
Here are the two younger Lukacs brothers, Benjamin and Joseph. Aka Benji and Joe-Joe! Aren't they adorable!!!
Marcie double fisting with the babies! :)
This was taken on Friday when we went down to the beach. There was this cute little spray ground spot in the front of the walk down to the beach that the kids took advantage of! It was pretty hot, so it felt great! Here is the whole Lukacs clan plus Ayden! :)
Baa,baa, black sheep! Gabriel liked the idea of the sheep, but when he saw a real one right near him, he wouldn' let me put him down! :)
We did pet the nice, black sheep. :) I felt so bad for them with all that wool in the heat!
Posing on the old, retired tractor! :)
In the barn! The Nature Center as always was a lot of fun for the kids! It was the perfect afternoon activity on Saturday.
Here is the Birthday Lady, Grandma Betty opening up all her gifts on Friday night after our little dinner party. :) Ayden and Gabriel's Great Grandma Betty sure is an amazing woman! It was so great to be able to be there to celebrate the big event!
All four of the cute cousins playing a little Mr. Potato Head together!
Daddy and his boys!
Another attempt at getting all four little cousins together in a photo. Not bad!
