It Takes a Village

This past weekend Chris and I escaped for the first time in almost six years.  We've only left the kids once since having Philip....and that was for a quick overnight at the Grand Hotel when Philip was 10 months old.  Six years, my friends, it was well overdue.

Leaving four boys six and under is no easy task.  First, there's childcare to cover.  Then carpools.  Then meals. Laundry must be done...meals prepared ahead of time.  Lots of details, but oh so worth it.

Ms. Tara, Daniel's teacher, stayed the majority of the time with the boys.  However, family...GranGran, Aunt Nancy, Dee, Cameron and Heather, and Susan and Rob helped out too.  Their help was invaluable...it helped break things up for the boys.  They did fine...Philip and William seemed to actually enjoy it!  Daniel was a different story.  He cried when I left...cried when Ms. Tara arrived...and later told me that my coming home was his favorite part of the weekend.  :(

On to the trip!  We traveled to Texas for Chris' college friend and roommate, Jonathan's, wedding.

There was lots of traveling...we drove to Pensacola, flew to Houston, and then drove to Brenham, TX where the wedding took place.  Friday night, we joined friends for the rehearsal dinner.  A nice evening.  I have to admit that I got a little teary during Chris' toast...he definitely has a way with words!

We stayed at the Murski Bed and Breakfast in Brenham.  It was a quaint B and B on a farm.  The porch was my favorite place...I spent a little bit of precious quiet time out there reading my book!

On Saturday, we ventured to College Station.  We toured the construction site of a project that Chris has been working on for several years.  It was so impressive and so fun to see a little bit of his work!  We also went here...

the George Bush Presidential Library.  Chris and I enjoyed walking around the museum and learned a lot.  After lunch with friends, it was back to the B and B to get ready for the wedding.

The wedding was beautiful....outside with gorgeous weather.  Another fun night with old friends...

The weekend was such a wonderful getaway.  I commented several times to Chris that my favorite thing about being away was going to public bathrooms by myself!!  The boys survived, but were pretty worn out when we returned.  Time to get things back to normal!

No Longer Two!

I think two year olds get a bad rap.  I have loved the stage that two brings...they can be difficult, but they are so innocent.  William was definitely a fun two year old!  But on Monday, we celebrated his turning three.  It was a fun day.  He truly got that it was his birthday and loved all the special attention.

Since Monday is a school day for him, I sent him on.  John and I joined his class at lunch.  We brought some cupcakes for he and his friends to share.

Monday night the family arrived for dinner.  Dee, GranGran, PopPop, Cameron and Heather, and Susan and Rob joined us for tacos...William's choice!

In typical Gill birthday fashion, there was dinner, cake and ice cream, a birthday video, and presents!

Perhaps your sweetest present was this one...

a handmade card from Philip.  As he worked on it, you begged to see it.  He read it to you when it was completed...

It says, "Happy Birthday William.  I hope you have a good birthday William and remember when you were two but have a great time being three.  From Philip."

William, I know three will be just as much fun as two with you.  You are my constant companion.  Always by my side...always talking about something.  You love Curious George, all of your brothers, being outside, the hunting camp and beach house, Uncle Cameron, and any sort of adventure.  You are always up for a trip to Wal-mart or Lowe's with your parents.  You get lots of comments from strangers on your curls.  You are quick to tell them that 'it's just hair' or 'my Daddy' when asked where they came from.  You are an incredibly sweet soul that I feel so blessed to have!  Happy Birthday!!

A Breath of Fresh Air

Oh friends, it has been a long week.  Getting back into the swing of things after Springbreak has been hard.  Harder for some...like this guy...

We have had a week of tears at school.  Daniel has cried everyday that I have dropped him off this week.  Some days he got himself together after I left, but two days he was inconsolable most of the time.  We have had talk after talk and disciplinary actions at home.  It appears to be just separation anxiety...not really anything going on at school...just being away from me.  Makes it hard on me and on him.

Thankfully today was a field trip.  You'll probably remember Philip's trip to Brantley Farms here.  It was so nice to not have to drop him off.  I have to admit that I was still a little nervous that he would cling to me and not stick with his friends.

Boy was I wrong!  He did great.  Had a ton of fun and couldn't have behaved better.  I was so proud of him...such a relief.

Here are some fun shots from our trip...

Now here's hoping that next week will be better!

Goodbye Springbreak...hurry up summer!

Well, our vacation has come to a close...what a fun week it has been.  I guess I can appreciate SB more now that I have children in 'real' school.  I loved no carpools, no lunch boxes, etc.  We ate a picnic lunch every day this week...at home, at GranGrans, on our 'field trips', at the playground!  We all got to go to the library together and pick out books.  We actually got to read some of those books!  We napped,

we played,

we read,

Philip reading to his brothers one morning while I put John down for a nap!

and all in all we just enjoyed each others company!  Good times with my boys...can't wait until summer!

More SB 2012

Another fun field trip today!  Dottie, the boys, and I headed out early this morning bound for Dauphin Island.  We started at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab.

The sea lab is the perfect destination for the boys.  It isn't too big...just right for their attention spans.  There was lots to see...even some things to touch!

  

Outside, they have a great boardwalk that wraps around and eventually heads out to Mobile Bay and a small playground area.

hard to get a shot of all four with John who has to be moving!

After a picnic lunch,

we decided that we'd walk to Fort Gaines.  It wasn't a part of the original plan but the boys were up for it.  I think they may have enjoyed this as much if not more than the sea lab. 

There was a ton of walking but no one complained...not once.  That's miraculous...or at least the sign of a good time!  The weather was incredible.  We could not have asked for a better day!

A Springbreak Field Trip

Yesterday GranGran, the boys, and I ventured to Gulfport, MS for our first visit to the Lynn Meadows Discovery Center.  We met up with some friends for a day of play and fun!  The center was awesome...so many different things for the boys to do.  We could have easily spent a whole day there!

Our friend,Claire, who loves "baby" as she calls John!

They had an incredible outdoor area with a wooden tree house.  Somehow I failed to take any pictures of it!  Oh well, got this cute one of GranGran and John after our picnic lunch!



And since we were so close to the Gulf, we couldn't help but stop and put our feet in the water!

This was such a great Springbreak adventure!  We can't wait to go back this summer!!  Stay tuned for more SB 2012!