Eight is Great

When Winston started muttering about having a birthday party this year, I had flashblacks of the sweat-fest we staged 2 years ago when Winston requested a Panther Tail-gate Party in our backyard. It was an awesome concept and frankly a super fun party to plan - Joe even painted yardage lines on our back yard for that one. We were set and ready to go and about 5 minutes before the first guest arrived, I looked out my kitchen window at the thermometer and saw 108 degrees. To say it was a hot party would be the understatement of the year!

August birthdays are tricky -- Winston wants sports-themed celebrations which require the element of the outdoors...."the hot and insanely humid in August" outdoors. I was tempted to offer up another set of Panthers football tickets in lieu of a party but I remembered that this was NOT about Mommy....what a concept!!

Winston quickly put my angst at ease when he asked for a pool party -- perfect for offsetting the heat and absolutely NO requirement to have the house spotless and ready for a whole bunch of people!!

The guest list grew by the day as another friend would pop onto Winston's list; we made it a Saturday night gathering by the pool for Winston's friends and their families. It was a great party with some really great friends and some we hadn't seen much over the summer which was an added bonus. Grammy, Grandddaddy, Auntie and Unc Unc made the interstate trek down to celebrate with us which sweetened the deal for sure.


We stocked up on Atlanta Braves party supplies, ordered pizzas and made some giant sub sandwiches and things went off without a hitch. Great times for sure. It was fairly sweaty for those of us running around "doing stuff" but the kids had so much fun and the birthday boy was happy as could be.

We are beyond blessed to have a talented cake baker in our lives, her skills are unbelievable as practically all of her creations are done from scratch - no shaped baking pans used. She simply bakes sheet cakes and sets about carving shapes and designing by hand. She has been so gracious to us over the years with her replica of a Carolina Panther football field and Lilly's life-like princess cupcakes last year. She manages to blow us away every single time. This year was no different- the Braves Tomahawk cake will rank up there pretty high in The Grant Birthday Cake Archives!


We made chocolate baseball lollipops and handed out cracker jacks and could have saved alot of time by just offering Mr. Jason as the party favor. He (the baker's husband!) was the biggest kid in the pool -- the boys absolutely loved roughhousing in the water and getting tossed and splashed by him. GREAT GREAT STUFF...although I feel certain Mr. Jason might have needed a nap the next day!!


The icing on the cake was the long awaited arrival of one of Winston's front teeth -- he lost both in November and we've been sitting watch for those suckers ever since. We were beginning to have some real concerns about the missing teeth but finally, one popped through ON his 8th birthday. One down, one to go!!


A super night spent with awesome friends celebrating the life of a pretty great little boy....we might have perspired just a bit but we were storm-free and surrounded by people we truly love. It really is great to be eight!
Check out the pics....

Hello Mister Tooth! We are really glad you're here!



Let's eat!


Pool Party - Braves Style....

Some hungry boys...Matthew, Hamp and the Man of the Hour


YAY for Grammy and Granddaddy - it was a tough night to sit outside in the heat - THANK YOU FOR COMING!!!

Winston and Hampton - as thick as thieves since the day they met.


Snorkel Girl!! Bless her heart, in the rush to get ready for guests, she put her swimsuit front on backwards...a little lower cut than it was supposed to be!!

Mister Jason was AWESOME!


He was outnumbered most of the night but took it all in stride!



Claire getting some big air thanks to Jason!


I can hear the Braves tomahawk chant right now....unbelievable skills that I do not have!!


Cake #2 (there was a #3 too...square cake with the Atlanta "A")


There she is.....Baker Boomer we sure do love you!!




We successfully staged a group jump into the pool!! No small feat considering the number children and the level of sugar consumed!

You BRETT-CHA!!!

Looks like I'll bleed Viking purple for another season!!

I am excited and yet apprehensive about what the season holds for that awesome #4. He's back in Minnesota and getting ready for another run at the Super Bowl. Only time will tell....either way, he sure makes football fun!

Time to get my sedative prescription refilled....and maybe a few for my family too!

Go Brett Go!!

Summertime Wrap Up

It's been a whirlwind for sure - truly, it almost seems impossible that here we are at mid-August and autumn is around the corner. Did I just say "autumn"...clearly the weatherman is not aware of this - we are still sweating profusely here in these parts!

We've been busy with lake fun, cousin fun, and much fun in between. (As is obvious from the state of the blog - not much technology fun!)

Winston turned 8 and Lilly made her debut as an official Beech Hill Beacon. The turning 8 and becoming a Kindergartner are pretty big milestones that will have posts all to themselves but for the other adventures....here's a quick peak at why the blog is a mess and has remained post-free since early July!

This was a favorite spot for sure -- back porch at the Wobbly. Life is just good and easy there. The folks who host us are the very best part.


Homemade popsicles...dockside....summer perfection!


Paddleboat rides - solo....


Pizza Party at the Wobbly - perfect way to end a day in the sun.

Celebrating with a 1st grade buddy - many a play dates were had this summer. Hopefully this will ease the pain of the separation in 2nd grade...they got different teachers but we know they'll continue the fun!


We celebrated Christmas in July when this box of tomato perfection arrived special delivery from the farm in Dry Fork. My goodness they just get better every year. These with Joe's cucumbers made for some awesome sandwiches!!


The annual Cuz Fest made for some great memories -- Kiawah Day with the kids.


A week spent at CSU Baseball Camp was no doubt a highlight of his summer.



Hot and ready for a cold drink and a shower but he had a ball.


A tube ride at the water park. Love those smiles!


Celebrating a special birthday for a most special girl. Happy Birthday Little A!!

A day at the Children's Museum and making a Cupcake run in the torrential rain was a great way to spend a Lowcountry day.


Have many a preschool pictures of these two together - we'll sure miss seeing Parker everyday but there is no doubt we'll stay close.



Easy Saturday nights with great friends and a menu of Chef Yoder's creations is never a bad thing!

Pardon the Mess

Blog is under construction

Let Freedom Ring

We spent our Independence Day by the lake with some pretty awesome peeps. What has sort of become our home away from home this summer - the Wobbly Box - was the setting for a spectacular day of sunshine, unexpected but a very welcome LOW humidity, great food and friendship.
We packed up the food, beach towels and sunscreen and headed an hour up the road first thing Sunday morning. We spent the day with The Fulchers, The Baucoms and The Rowlands - all Wobblette Famlies present and accounted for!! SUPER GREAT DAY!!
Here are some pictures.....

Everyone milling about the back porch getting ready to begin the day....first things first - sunscreen!!

First up on the tubes...Brayden, Aubrey and Lilly - GIRL POWER!!


Then a little swimming....Winston
Hanging on the dock...Lilly
The Baucom girls played....


While the Baucom Daddy caught a nap...lake style!!

Joe decided to catch some zzz's too!

A Wobblette meeting in full swing.....no telling what the topic is!!

Mr Keith smoked some ribs and Winston was a fan!!


Patriotic Pops....made with love by the Grants....transporting popsicles across county lines was tricky business but they survived the trip!

Rowland Boys - Tatum, Mills and Sam


Baucom girls - Aubrey and Brayden

Fulcher peeps - Gracie, Sarah and Hayden
July 4th spread.....delish!

And the hottest....Part 3, the conclusion!

Our last full day in Hotlanta was definitely the highlight for Winston and what he'd been waiting for since school dismissed. Thank the Good Lord it was everything he expected and more...

I think we've pretty much established the level of enthusiasm Winston has for most sports and athletics in general. He loves it all - the energy, the competition, the camaraderie, learning new skills and how to play a game. He loves to participate in and spectate practically anything with a ball, some rules and a final score...we've traded in Disney Channel for ESPN much to Lilly's dismay! He developed some mad math skills at a very early age just by playing "pretend" games and adding up scores - he can count by "sevens" quicker than any adult (i.e. touchdown + extra point = 7!)


We said farewell to football season, started basketball and began working on brackets; after the Final Four we bought a glove and a bat and entered into the world of baseball complete with nightly channel surfing in hopes of finding a Braves game.


When Winston got wind that we were Atlanta-bound, within an hour of hearing our plans he came to Joe and I with a listing of home games, dates and times for the Atlanta Braves....and asked if we could work a Braves game into our trip. Joe and I are big fans of sports too so we were happy to oblige.


After a long wait, we left mid-day on Monday for downtown Atlanta and Turner Field. Lilly and Katie stayed back and hit Chick Fil A with Uncle Jeff so the rest of us could go to the game with Winston.

There's something about being at a live sporting event that just makes this family very happy. While there doesn't seem to be the traditional tail-gating frenzy at a baseball game, the atmosphere was fantastic! The Braves began their 3-games series against the Washington Nationals and their rising superstar pitcher Strasburg. The stadium was packed to watch this guy take on the Braves.


We walked around the stadium smelling the concessions and watching ALL the people who came out to visit Braves Country - Winston was on a mission to find a Heyward jersey and after an "itch" test, he chose a t-shirt and hat instead. It was so great to watch him take it all in -- we could see the excitement and awe in his expressions.


God sure smiled on us that night - the game was FANTASTIC!! Anna and I went for a potty break, returned with a funnel cake to share and 2 foam tomahawks and the place was going wild!! In the 7th inning, Atlanta went on a 5 point run and Turner Field practically exploded with energy, everyone was on their feet and the tomahaw chops were in full swing.Winston absolutely loved it all. We all did -- super great game with a Braves win!!

What a day to remember and a fantastic way to end our time in Hotlanta.


We hit the road for home the next morning and arrived back in SC safe but very tired and with a mountain of laundry to tackle (which has been tackled already).

We're ready to celebrate a very unusual but most welcome "cooler" weekend (temps only in low 90's - that's cool here in the Lowcountry people!!)

Happy 4th everybody - and GO BRAVES!!
Pictures below of our great time at Turner:

I always love the first sights of a stadium...


On our way in...
Winston made a new friend when we arrived...


Our seats were just up from the Braves dugout - he was hoping for a few early arrivals but the players were still inside keeping cool before the start


A quick wardrobe change after we hit the store....


W with cousin Anna - her 1st Braves game too -- we think she's hooked now!


A Jason Heyward sighting -- so happy W got a glimpse - he was pretty disappointed that Heyward didn't play because of an injury



He was pretty awesome - even if he did play for the other team!


Melkie Cabrera - as Winston will tell you, he was a Yankee last year...Welcome to Atlanta #53!

Tim Hudson pitched....

Chipper Jones at Bat....



Yes it was.....