Catch Up

Today is the first official day of summer and already I feel like I have no idea where time has gone! Here is some of what we've been up to:







A few weeks ago, Scott and I took the kids to Busch Gardens. Momaw Sweetie met us there with cousin Bayley (who spent the entire day squealing "this is fun!!!!").






Finally our turn! We had dinner in the Rotunda at the University of Virgina with Scott's residency class to celebrate the end of residency (which officially ends on June 30).






End of an era: we said farewell to our Volvo and hello to our new minivan. It was inevitable. We never felt like minivan people until we crawled inside ours. As thrilled as we are with the new van, we were all sad to see our Volvo go. We brought both of our babies home from the hospital in this car and have taken roughly 100,000 miles of trips together in it. I knew I'd be sad to see it go, but Grace shocked me: she got big tears in her eyes and said "maybe our car will find a new family that has new babies that need to come home from the hospital." I lost it. And then 20 seconds later, we were all smiles as we drove home in what Grace has now named the "Codfish." I promise to post a family shot of us in front of the codfish but for now, I can't get the kids out of it long enough to pose!

Granny's patted shrimp! Scott has only been talking about "Granny's shrimp" since the day I met him so it was probably time that we try to recreate the tradition. Using his fancy new fryer from Aunt Ashley, and only after consultations with Aunt Suzie, Aunt Nona and several more with Aunt Jean, we patted and fried 2 pounds of shrimp. They were incredible. Seriously, we could open a restaurant. Forget medicine, maybe that's what we should do!

Note the blue box of Nabisco Cracker Meal. Vital ingredient. Lucky for us, Nabisco hasn't changed the look since Granny's days of frying so it was very easy to find! Also note the Chinese lanterns: leftovers from our supper club a week ago - we hosted Asian night.

Scott and I met Momaw Sweetie and Bayley in Richmond yesterday at Short Pump Mall. The girls are always so excited to see each other - it is really a treat to watch. We are all heading to Williamsburg tomorrow: Patty and Mom have put together a little celebration to mark the end of Scott's residency. I can't wait to see how those twins have grown!

So far, the summer is off to a great start! Andy's cast came off yesterday and we are heading outside for a day of sprinkler fun. Wish you all lived close enough to come join us!

We had a little happy hour with our neighbors in our front yard last night. I am thrilled to report that little Andy is finding his groove. It is a little hard on him to be outside and NOT wet (the two go completely together in his world) but fortunately, Grandpa Ern sent a box of balls and MaMaw Sweetie sent a light up sword so he spent the evening playing ball and protecting us all from God knows what. Big sister Grace has been great through all of this (including the every-five-minute-question to Andy "how is your boo boo baby Andy?"). Grace is playing (i.e. feeding soap to) our neighbor's dog Wyatt in the picture - the child is dog-obsessed!

Poor Andy has had a rough time getting comfortable at night so zzzz's have been minimal the last few days. Our fabulous babysitter Michelle stopped by yesterday with treats for the kids - including an adorable little superhero pillow. We were singing her praises last night - this little soft pillow was the PERFECT size to support Andy's arm! Sleep was had. We are all restored and heading out the door shortly for a picnic at a park (we hope to come home with no new injuries to report!).

Clean break. Both bones in his wrist. My Mother of the Year nomination should be secure now. All things considered, Andy is actually doing well - he seems MUCH more comfortable with the cast. As you can see, it didn't take long for Andy to return to full activity!