Just a mere two hours after returning from our vacation, MK and I hit the ground running in that thing called "reality."  Relaxing was a thing of the past and we were out for an evening with her Girl Scout friends.  

 Tuesday was a big day for two of our peeps - Pryce and MK.  With C out with his broken collar bone/shoulder, we have Pryce and MK to swim their part for our summer swim league.  

 What a difference two years makes!  This is MK's third year of swim team.  She is 6.  The first year she was so capable of swimming the events yet she was mortified that people were cheering her on....it scared our little girl and she cried many tears that year.  

 Last year she cried the very first meet after her very first event.  Again, too much yelling.  This year, though, this year is her year.  She is on full force and loving every.single.minute.

 She dives in and she is finished before you can blink your eyes.  She is the girl to beat!  

 And P is holding his own.  Poor P, he is the youngest one in his age group so this year is a bit more than he is used to.  No fear, he is hanging in there!

 Wednesday was a very exciting day for our family on the adoption front.  We got the email that our homestudy had been officially approved and was in the mail!  Yahoo!  

During our quest for Maddox, we always celebrated each little victory with dinner at one of our favorite local restaurants, The Garlic Clove.  For Mary-Gentry, we believe our celebratory gatherings will be held at our favorite dessert location, Brusters!  yummo!

(Note: Taking pictures with our boys is a thing of the past.  They LOVE to be silly in front of the camera OR they run from the camera!  Either way, photographing them, even during a simple little moment, is beyond doable!)

My sweet girl.  She lives her life in two speeds - full-on or full-off.  All week, she worked so hard to keep up with the big kids, swimming with them, boogie boarding with them, building sand castles with them, finding shells, tending to the minnows....all this, yet when the time came and she was all tired out, she would crawl up into my lap, snuggle in close and fall asleep.  

 Moments with C are never quite right....this week for him each year, is his slice of heaven....he is currently counting how many days until next year's trip.  The highlight for him this year was making a film of our week.  He even included and trailer and we spent our last morning gathered around the table watching the final masterpiece.  

 Last year Jay would sit by the pool and watch everyone else swim as he shivered on the sidelines.  This year, he is a different child.  He can do amazing jumps and would be content for hours asking, "Aunt B, what jump do you want to see me do now?" Let's just say that Beautiful Aunt B came up with some pretty cool jumps for him to perform! 

 MK was happy to swim either in the ocean or in the pool all.day.long.  And when everyone else left and she was the last man standing, she would take the opportunity to brush up on her strokes for swim team.  

 Maddox adores my dad.  And I am pretty sure the feeling is mutual.  On this particular afternoon, she climbed up into his lap and they began writing her name.  

 The beach crew.  My parents, my aunt, two cousins, my sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephew, and our family.  Every single one of these people make up the memories of our trip each year.  Some memories from this year include "Ja Croix", "Apples to Apples", "Ship My Pants", "Kabooyow", burnt trash, a theft which led to my sister composing her very own song....and many more.  

 My two boys.  Love these boys.  As I type this, I am listening to P laugh and it is music to my ears.  

 We made our annual morning trip to the pier.  One would think that the children would be looking for jelly fish or sharks yet my niece immediately squealed, "Hey, look guys, a love note!  Why would anybody write a love note on the pier?"  Thankfully, all four were quickly distracted when they noticed a fisherman had caught a baby shark so on we went without reading the many love notes that were present!  We went down to watch as a fisherman offered the baby shark as bait for the five foot long shark that was lurking in the waters....snap went the line and off swam the big shark.  

 Maddox never misses an opportunity to climb on anything that is higher than she is and this chair was no exception.    

 maddox with lollipop and busy making a sand castle = one happy three year old

 pure joy

 oh c.  he counted down the days until this beach trip.  his words as we drove out of our driveway were, "I cannot wait to go skim boarding!"  And skim board he did all.week.long.  He has a few tricks up his sleeve and he had some admirers who watched him daily as he did a 360 here and a jumping of the waves there.  He is my child that does not do anything without having pure confidence that he can do it without getting hurt.  Cautious.  Well, Friday afternoon C's board suddenly stopped which caused him to be launched into a full aerial flip and, boom, on his shoulder he landed.  Ryan and I both watched it happen and there was no question that he was hurt.  Sandy hair, wet bathing suit and shoes is how he entered the ER.  An xray revealed a fracture of the collar bone.  In typical Colin fashion, the bone was labeled "an atypical break" due to the location.....we will follow up with our orthopedist.

 and Pryce....minnow catcher, shark teeth finder, wave rider, body surfer, hole digger, repeat.  

 three amigos

 beach bums

 my parents, the ones who make it all come together each year

 the crew with Gran and Pop

thankful for each year.  39 years and counting for me.  

When I was growing up, my daddy was always the apple in my eye, the one who could do no wrong, the one who was stronger than anyone else's dad, more handsome than any man I knew, the one who I  always wanted to make proud.  He was the dad who saved me from my fears of the Wicked Witch of the West while we watched the Wizard of Oz, he was the dad who taught me how to ride a bike and roller skate, he was the dad who would take me to McDonald's and hold the fries out of his window as we drove so they would cool off, the dad who would - when asked if he could take me somewhere - sing, "If you've got the money, honey, I've got the time,"  he was the dad who taught me how to drive, the dad who taught me how to Shag as best he could (I am a very poor dancer while he, on the other hand, is very good), he is the dad who taught me how to pull for the Gamecocks during good and bad (and didn't give up on me when I was lured into Clemson territory), he was the dad who gave me his sunglasses when the sun was just to bright for my eyes, he was the dad who rescued me from bad roommate decisions, the dad who held my hand as I was approaching surgery for my tonsils (until he felt weak when I stated that I was afraid I would not wake up:/), he was the first person I called when I was supposed to have surgery and decided against it - he stated the words that I will never forget, "Beth, your daughter is in China and you will get her soon," he was the dad I pleaded with to go to Columbia College and he said, "OK," the dad who sang his song for me that included the nickname he gave me growing up - Pooh-B.  He was, my dad, the one that will always be irreplaceable in my heart.

Happy Father's Day, Dad.  I love you and thank you for the life that you gave to me!  

Arrrrgggghhhh.....these guys were all about a little dress-up fun:)

 Waterpark adventures.....these four rode every.single.slide.

 And this little one was not too far behind.  Whatever she could slide on, she did. 

 The girls pondered as they walked up for their first jaunt down the Dark Hole.  

 Thankfully, they were all smiles when they popped out of the hole and up they went for another ride!

 And this handsome guy was pleased to see the light too!  

Garden City - The Beginning

Squeals of delight accompanied by giggles galore....

 teaming up for boogie boarding on the rough seas....

 cousin pals forever, two peas in a beach pod.....

 "Mommy, I want to go see Pop.  He is so funny!  I like him a lot."

 A girl and her boiled peanuts....I could not open them fast enough for her!

 This little one knows how to do the beach....play lots, eat more, and take naps aplenty.  Repeat.  

This baseball season was Pryce's time to shine.  He had the highest batting average on his team.  He gained the most RBI's.  Third base had his name written all over it - his favorite spot on the field.  The season ended with an amazing double play by our guy.  The season ended and the votes were made for many yet our Pryce came out on top and gained his very own Mr. Hustle jersey.  Mr. Hustle is given to a player that has gone above and beyond during the current season.  

 And in other news, it seems as if we have a visitor....or two....in our very own backyard.  EWWW.  I am so not a snake person.  My neighbor called one day last week to say that she had seen a snake in her yard.  Then, lo and behold, Ryan found one in between our homes a day or so later.  AND then, he spotted who we think is the mama snake in a big tree in our backyard.....ack.  

Adoption news....MK and I spent four hours together on Friday doing paperwork.  We drove here and then there and then back to there and here and finally had it all done.  Four documents off to the Chinese Embassy in DC.....seven documents off to the Secretary of State in Georgia.  STILL waiting on our homestudy and hoping to get the call next week that it has been completed!  It cannot happen fast enough for Maddox.  She asks every single night when we are going to get Mary-Gentry.  

Mary Cathryn was our perfect playdate this week....MK loved being the one in charge and she kept these two little ones in step as they played house and Barbies.

 Pryce finished out his baseball season last week with a tie ballgame.

 They were trailing by 3 when all of a sudden Pryce made a double play for two outs.....

 and then turned around to bat and hit another double hit and eventually made his way across home plate one last time.

 On field, you could see a lot of this - the coaches doing their job, giving the children an earful on what to be ready for next.

 All in all, it was a great reason to celebrate after the game at one of our favorites, Brusters!

 Our week ended with two surprises....one, we visited my niece at her school and surprised her during lunch....two, then we left and went to visit my grandmother for the afternoon.  She was so happy to see all of us!

 Sweet Ellison....how fast time flies!  Ellison is our great-niece and we were lucky to spend some time with her over the weekend too!  

 Barbie bikes and boys....what in the world?!  MK is determined to ride her bike without training wheels so we took them off while visiting Ryan's parents.  Both boys took it upon themselves to give the Barbie bike a little cruise around the driveway and it was hard to pull them away....

 "Don’t let worldly fears get in your way if you are contemplating adopting. It’s God’s thing and He will make those fears into something wonderful."

I read the above statement on another blog and LOVED it.  So.very.true.