Vamos a la playa! Part 2

Michael's sister, L'Anita, and her husband, Erik, and their kids joined us for a few days at Hilton Head. It was super fun to have them there with us. It was also totally awesome having Hyrum there, especially to help lug heavy stuff to the beach, ha.


Sunday night--can't remember what we were doing here, but this is our only group shot, sadly!

 I was interested to see what Henry would think of the sand. He loved it. He loved the water. He loved everything about the beach.

Michael and Hyrum had a contest  to see who could get more tan by the end of the week. I don't know who won, but they both got pretty burnt but then both tanned nicely. Those Weiler genes.

 First day, pretty white.

Burnt but making sure they lathered each other up. Wish I had taken an "after" pic!

 One of the many things I love about Hilton Head are the wide beaches with soft sand. The tidal pools are super fun as well. Our condo wasn't the nicest place, but the boardwalk to get to the beach wasn't too long, and the pool was really nice. A big perk was that it had an indoor pool as well, which worked great for Monday as it rained the entire day.

That day we went shopping at Kroger, and after we left the store I discovered that Henry no longer had his glasses on. I went back to the (huge) store and couldn't find them anywhere. I gave the customer service employee my information and came back to the condo stressed and discouraged. L'Anita and Hyrum immediately volunteered to go back and look for them. After an hour or so of hunting, L'Anita found them--in the yogurt section just sitting on top of some containers. How awesome and an answer to prayers again. So so thankful. I need to get a tracking device for those glasses.

 L'Anita did a really cute FHE lesson on patience on Monday night that involved all the kids.

On Tuesday night, Hyrum graciously babysat all (!) the kids while we went on a double date kayaking Broad Creek. It was super fun.

 Michael saw this pic and was like, "I'm an old man!" Haha.

 Erik and L'Anita had nice matching strokes.

 Gorgeous sunset. We saw dolphins several times, which was so fun and exciting. Afterwards, we went to Hilton Head Ice Cream for some super delicious ice cream.

 Loved the shallow water. Robbie was a lot braver this time at the ocean than last year when he was constantly trying to pull us away from the water. He enjoyed playing in the sand and walking in the shallow waves as well. He found a few neat shells, too.

Another great thing about going with Erik and L'Anita was that we could switch off staying at the condo for naps. After they left, we tried having Henry take a nap in the shade in his carseat. He slept for about half an hour, but it was better than nothing. I am not quite brave enough to skip naps altogether for the sake of beach time, and overall I felt like we handled it pretty well with Michael staying with the kids sometimes when I took Henry back for a nap, etc.

 One of the super cute parts of the trip was seeing Henry and his cousin, Lucy, hanging out on the beach. They seemed to really enjoy themselves.

 Unplanned sibling love on the boardwalk.

Thursday (the Heiss's left Wednesday) we opted to avoid the beach and went to the pool and miniature golfing.

 Clara hung in there and played about half of the eighteen holes, which was good.

 Hyrum's swings were super strong and he often shot off the green. Pretty funny.

 Henry tolerated the Ergo for a little bit but then opted to crawl around on the greens. Robbie liked to put his ball close to the hole so he could hit it in.

I made a hole in one on the first hole--suh-weet! Pirate's Cove was a lot of fun. Arrr!

 We were spoiled again when Hyrum watched the kids on Thursday so Michael and I could go out to eat. Hudson's on the Docks was amazing seafood (and for me, that's saying something since I'm not a huge seafood lover) and the sunset was perfect.

On Friday night, we went out for ice cream. Here is our family picture attempt at Kilwin's Ice Cream.

Overall, the trip was very successful and a great experience. Sadly, Michael got swimmer's ear and was in a lot of pain on our way home, but he was a trooper and was finally able to get drops back in Harrisonburg.

I don't know when we'll go back, but it will be great!

Vamos a la playa! Part 1

That line was from a song I think I learned in middle school, possibly in a Spanish exploratory class or something. Needless to say, we did go to the beach the first week of June. We had Clara miss the last week of school (they don't do much anyway) and drove down right after the fifth grade graduation ceremony. We spent the night in Christiansburg, two hours south of us and checked into a Fairfield Inn and Suites that was undergoing renovation. Well, our room had no hot water (!), so we had to pack everything up (including getting the kids out of their little nests at 11:30 at night) and move over to the Hilton next door, which was owned by the same owner and had just opened the previous month. Super nice. The next morning to my dismay, however, I realized I'd left my wedding rings at the Fairfield. Hyrum, who came with us, went over to the room and couldn't find them, but mercifully they were at the front desk. Michael hadn't been that phased by the potential loss ("We're still married, sweetheart!"), but I was so upset because they had been my great-grandmother's (right Mom?) diamonds. I was very thankful.

We then headed down to Augusta, Georgia, which we hadn't visited since we'd moved from there five and a half years earlier. Our first stop was the Savannah River where we used to spend lots of time playing with Clara when she was little and dreaming of our future.

Our next stop was to drop by the home of my dear friend, Dianne Brown, who had taken me under her wing when I joined the Augusta Collegium Musicum chamber choir when Michael was in dental school at MCG. She is the epitome of Southern grace, which she used in abundance while we were there.

Henry wasn't too sure, but he just hung out.

Dianne and I enjoyed a laugh about a joke we'd shared while in Collegium.

 I was richly blessed by her friendship. She also introduced me to her sweet daughter, Mary Ashton, for whom I babysat for several years while we were in school and who came over briefly with her kids as well while we were there.

After Dianne's house, we drove around Summerville and stopped at each of our former homes.

763 Harford Street Apartment B was our first place--I think the rent was $500 (?) and it was just on the edge of the ghetto. Not the greatest place, but it was cheap and we were protected. That's where we lived when Clara was born. We lived there for three and a half years.

When crazy, drunk, probably drugged neighbors moved in, we decided to move to Hickman Arms. It was a little more expensive $625 (?) but definitely worth the safer feel and nicer community. Still not the greatest, but hey, it's all relative!

We lived in Hickman Arms for nine months before Michael found the cutest house just around the corner for rent. It was $800 a month (gulp), but it was such a great place with hardwood floors and lots of charm. We lived there for residency, two and a half years or so. We definitely improved on the exterior while we were there (Michael stained the porch, we planted flowers, etc), and we have very fond memories of our time there.

That night, we went out to Chick-fil-A with Ed Elliott, a former counselor in the bishopric with Michael in the Augusta ward. It was great catching up. The next day we visited both the Augusta and Waynesboro wards the next day so we could see as many people as we could. Some dear friends were out of town, but it was great being there and feeling the faith of these Saints in that area.

Overall, things felt and looked very much the same, which I guess surprised me. Michael knew his way around (I had forgotten a ton), and it was really fun to see Augusta again. I am glad we don't live there now, but there are definitely great things about that area.

Then we left for the beach!

Henry's first birthday plus looking back

Wow! A year has passed and Henry turned a year old on June 2nd.

 One year ago! I came across the notebook in which Michael and I had written in preparation for trying to go naturally for his birth. I had to record them here.

 We met with a doula for an hour one day before I went into labor, which was helpful. We didn't do a ton of the things that she suggested, but I think it was helpful for Michael (and I) to get some good ideas and make it feel more manageable.

 Haha!

 Michael did a super job of helping me, and I was humble enough to accept his help, which is always a nice arrangement.

We didn't use much of these (I mostly just walked laps around the hospital floor and held onto wall railings or laid in bed on my side during the contractions because it was the middle of the night and I was so tired), but we made it and it was a very amazing experience. We are so glad Henry is here and also that I'm not pregnant any more!

I love each new thing that Henry is learning and doing. Since his birthday, he has taken his first steps and is getting braver and braver. He still loves to climb. He is tolerating his glasses well, although he does like to take them off sometimes, too. His laughter and smile are just the best thing. He is weaned now as well, which went well despite my nervousness to have him done before we left for Sweden (more on that later!). He isn't a huge fan of cow's milk but he is drinking it more and more. I still have a ton of expressed milk in the freezer. Oh well.

After dinner, we had to have the essential first piece of cake. I confess I don't know if this was Henry's first or not, as he has enjoyed more nibbles of things than either Clara or Robbie. 

 

After singing to him, Henry wasn't too sure about the cupcake and wasn't too interested in eating it. Then Michael said, "Maybe he can't see it because he doesn't have his glasses on!" Who would want to eat a big blue blob?

 With his glasses, he was much more interested.

Here is the evidence of his enjoyment.


We kept his glasses off so he could polish off the cupcake.

He got a walker toy for his birthday (which for some reason his older brother felt immediately attached to) and some super lame (sadly) toddler markers. Good thing he didn't notice.

Happy, happy birthday, Henry! We are so glad you're part of our family.

The end of elementary school

It's so hard for me to believe, but Clara is now done with elementary school. Every summer for the past six years, I would worry about the upcoming year, fearing the challenges and anticipating difficulties. She certainly had those, but overall the experience has been much better than I had feared. A big part of that were the encouraging teachers, administration, and special ed teachers that she had. I am so thankful for the positive experience that Clara (and we) had during her elementary school years.

 Going out to the bus on her last day of school. Her bookbag zipper had busted a couple of weeks before ended (fitting since it had lasted for all of elementary school and I'd told her she could get a new one before middle school), so she opted to use a straw beach bag she had bought with her own money instead.


The week before school ended, they held a fifth grade promotion ceremony. It was way too long, but it was great to see all the parents supporting these kids. Here is Clara receiving her certificate of advancement from Mr. Johnson and Mr. Boyers.

The whole family!

 Megan Morris, Clara's fifth grade teacher, has been so awesome. She helped Clara when she was in Kindergarten and now teaches at Clara's school and has been such a cheerleader for her, helping her overcome difficulties and encouraging her to do her best.

 Here is Clara with her best friend, Jae'lyn Runion, whom she has known since first grade. Jae'lyn also receives special ed assistance and they are pretty much two peas in a pod. Since she is one of Clara's few good friends, I hope that the friendship will continue as they go into middle school and that they will both help each other ride the roller coaster that is to come.

Way to go, Clara! We are so proud of you.