How to Skurf

How to Skurf:

(in Jack's words)

1.  Hold onto Dad very carefully.

2.  When you get up on the board you have to be safe and hold onto your Dad.

3.  Hold onto your Dad again. Sometimes you fall, and you have to be careful when you get hurt.  Don't get hurt.

4.  When you're skurfing, you have to be very, very, very, very, very careful in the water.  Sometimes your Dad won't pay attention and you might lost at sea.

5.  Hold onto the Dad.  And be careful. 

6.  When you're holding onto your Dad, you have to be safe.

7.  Bend your knees a little bit, and you will get the hang of it.  It takes lots and lots of practice.

8.  Keep your head up and be safe.  And don't get hurt.

9.  Have a lot of fun by not falling down and tripping.  It feels funny when you fall down and trip. 

"How to Skurf"

(In Finn's words)

1.  Put your feet on the board.  

2.  Hold onto Dad on the legs. 

3.  Stand up.

4.  Then you skurf.

5.  Then you get held onto to.

6.  And then you "shred" it.

There aren't many things cuter than our boys....

Unless...

our boys are holding baby animals.  

Even if they're holding them a little too tightly.

About 2 months ago, we were invited to a family friend's farm outside of town.  We packed a picnic (that was eaten in the car on the way there), a camera and were on our way.

Jack, a self proclaimed animal whisperer, was in hog heaven.  

Make that goat heaven.

This little guy was only a week old!

I think they would have brought him home and let him sleep in their bed if we had let them.

Same with this guy. (or girl...I can never tell.)

Why the long face?

The boys would be happy to move here.  

And so would this horse who was fed 10 times the normal amount of hay that day:)

Preschool Graduation

Okay, I know you want some first day of school pics, but before those could come, I had to document the end of Jack's preschool years before hitting the K5 scene.  

Last day of school:

(They have already grown so much in 3 months since these photos:()

Jack attended Bluffton Academy for the past 3 years.  It has been one of the biggest blessings to us.  Jack thrived at Bluffton Academy.  The teachers are all fantastic, and Jack came home so confident and excited about his ability to learn.  Thank you, Bluffton Academy!!!

One of the pre K highlights each year is attending the graduation.  We were first timers at this, so we didn't know the level of preciousness that lay ahead of us...

Jack.  In a graduation hat.  And "gown".

As you can see here, their gowns are mens' dress shirts turned around backwards. 

Clever.

And super cute.

Ms. Maria was Jack's teacher.  He LOVES her.  And so do we. (And I'm pretty sure she loved Jack, too.)

Poppy Johnny and Gigi were able to make it to Jack's big graduation.  It was a special day for all of us.

It was special to us because we were so proud of our boy. 

It was special to him because he got to eat cake before 11am.  And it wasn't even for a birthday!

Another view of the dress shirt/grad gown.

Jack posed with the owner of Blufton Academy, Mrs. Kristen, for a quick shot.  Mrs. Kristen is Finny's teacher this year, and he is so excited!  She's a superstar.  She just had a baby and is back in the classroom.  Amazing!

We are so thankful for Bluffton Academy!!!!  And we couldn't be prouder of our graduate (even 3 months later:)

Beachy Keen

We ventured to Garden City Beach a few weeks ago for the Kincaid/Gardner/Williams/Ussery 476th annual family vacation. 

We....

put our face paint to use one rainy afternoon...

transformed ourselves into pirates, 

transformed Uncle Matt into a pirate,

(eye patch under eye resembles giant sperm, jolly roger on forehead with a smiley face)

peered into buckets of dead minnows with cousins, 

climbed through tunnels at the aquarium to the viewing bubble,

roughed the waves with Poppy,

took pictures of the cutest chick on the beach,

threw babies in the air,

rode the waves,

bumped cars, 

(guess which child avoided bumping altogether and which one bumped with a devilish laugh)

forced Dad to ride the rides while sad, preggo Mama stood by and observed,

and rode more waves.

(Finn took to boogie boarding as easily as his big bro.)

As usual, the GCB vaca was a great time had by all.  We are so blessed to have this time with family, especially the cousins!  The boys love their cousins, both big and small, and ask on a daily basis when we're going back to the "beach club."  Last night, in fact, I asked Jack what he wanted to thank God for. It was a very detailed answer:  "I want to thank God for the people who own the beach house but let us pay to borrow it." 

Other fun (non photographed) events:

-Pirates Voyage:  pirate themed dinner theater.  Worth the money.  Made us excited to take the boys to Disney World one day.

-Building castles with Jack:  He seems to be more into landscape design than into structural design.

-Hanging out on the dock.

-Watching the cousins perform their "routines" which consisted of them singing and doing dance moves to different songs played on our iphones.  Makes me think of Ross and Monica from Friends and their "routine".

-Meeting up with some friends who moved to Charlotte.  

-Waking up to the smell of Mimi's flapjacks. 

Tee Ball

Tee Ball 2011 was a special time for our family.... 

Jack was coached by his Papa Johnny. 

Finn was promoted from Bat Boy to unofficial player #11 for the Ussery Group Red Sox.

And I was able to determine that tee ball uniforms are the cutest of all kid sport uniforms.

It all started on a cold February night practice, where our 10 little guys met on a red, dirt field determined to swing as hard as they could, slide into every base despite necessity, and master the art of climbing a chain link fence.

Our coaches were awesome!  

Papa Johnny, Coach Larry (also known as Coach "Warry"), and John were our coaches, and they all did an amazing job working with these boys.  I think Johnny and Larry were a little out of their league with how young these kiddos were and how little (at first) it appeared they could understand.  But they immediately adjusted to the boys and taught them the fundamentals of catching and throwing.  (And not to head to third base after you hit!)  They were so encouraging to every boy on the team.

So many of the other dads were so willing to help out as coaches as well.  It really was a family effort.  

Even the snacks were good.  Someone brought Oatmeal Creme Pies early in the season screwing it up for the rest of us on the snack schedule.  I mean, really?  I was worried my Teddy Graham/Capri Sun contribution would receive an audible "BOOOOO!"  But we survived.

As with most things, it was difficult for Finley (seen below as #11) to accept that he was too young to be on the team.  But when your Grandad is the coach, you get to experience a few perks.  Like, say, when a few players can't make it to the game and you just happen to have an extra jersey in your car and you get put in the game....only to be put in every game after that because it's just too darn cute.

Our little lefty really was able to hang in there with the big boys.  

(And, yes, he has his shorts on backwards.  But, hey...they were on.)

How awesome is this picture?

This is what Jack would do in the field if we yelled, "Look like a baseball player!"  He was so ready.  After every game, he would ask us what our favorite part was.  If we didn't answer correctly, he would say something like, "You mean, it was the time when I caught that ball in the air that was soooo high?"  

I love that boy.

Jack really loved Tee Ball, and he improved so much throughout the season.  He wanted to learn, and he wanted to win.  Can't argue with that.

And Finley got a little taste of what it will be like next year when he's officially on the roster.  

Usually at the end of a sport season, we're ready for it to be over.  But we really miss Tee Ball!  The players were our friends, the families were so involved, and there's nothing like being coached by your Papa Johnny and Dad.  

I have a feeling this was the first of many seasons of baseball for our family.  

One can hope, right?