Salute From The Shore

My brother Mike in his kayak during today's fly over. It was hard to wave and get a good picture at the same time! I was also using a different camera since mine fell into the pool about an hour before the fly over.

It was fun to wave flags and wave to this C-17, and the party stretched across the entire SC coast!

Happy Fourth of July!!!!!

Happy Birthday Jack!

Three, Three, what a great age to be!

Jack and Sully are enjoying Jack's new Gator so much they already ran out the battery. Happy Birthday sweet boy!

Amanda is FIVE!

Amanda has been five for three weeks but I'm just now posting the birthday pictures. Per her wish, we celebrated at the beach!

We had to shorten the trip to a 24 hour stay because an H1N1 flu shot clinic was offered for preschoolers at the last minute. We had no idea what that would involve, so we packed up and decided to "swing by" on our way to the beach. All five of us ended up standing in line outside the health department for three hours. We even had Sully with us, and he was the only dog there so he felt like a celebrity. As we got closer to the front of the line we discovered that they did not have enough for parents and non-preschool siblings, so Jay took Elizabeth and Sully for a car ride while I took Jack and Amanda inside.

It was not Amanda's idea of a birthday party. Once we stepped inside, the three hours of anticipation combined with a DMV like waiting room made Amanda snap. She went into full panic mode, tried to escape and kept yelling "I'm bustin' outta here!" She threatened to take her clothes off and "be naked" but she was wearing her fancy birthday dress and couldn't reach the zipper. The other parents were trying to distract their children from their inevitable fate, and Amanda was quite a distraction. From the looks of death shot in my direction, I could tell the parents didn't see it that way. But in hindsight I think they would agree that the 30 minutes their children spent watching Amanda was actually a blessing. Even Jack was in such a state of shock and awe that he didn't move, complain, or cry. I don't even think he blinked.

Amanda required "extra nurse assistance" but stopped crying as soon as the shot was over. She walked passed the same crowd on the way out like it was no big whoop. Jack's coma-like state ended as soon as he felt the needle and he screamed until he eventually fell asleep in the car. It felt like an awful way to start Amanda's birthday celebration, but the kids had forgotten all about it before we even reached Charleston. I was the only one still twitching when we reached the beach.

When we finally pulled up to my parents' house, we were greeted with balloons and a huge "Happy Birthday Amanda!" banner hanging on the front porch. My mom went all out to decorate the house for the birthday girl, and it was perfect. Amanda was smiling from ear to ear.



Here is the birthday girl rocking out with her new purple boots and a purple guitar.

When my mom offered to make the cake, I forwarded her a "rainbow cake" recipe that I found on tastespotting. I'm an evil, evil daughter. But look at this cake!!! It was so fun to cut into and see the look on Amanda's face when she saw the rainbow. Even the chef looked surprised that it came out this perfect. Thank you Gaga!

It's hard to believe Amanda is already five. I keep telling her I'm going to put a brick on her head so she stays little forever. In true Amanda style, she refused to keep her birthday wish a secret when she blew out her candles. Despite about 10 attempts to stop her from blurting it out, she wanted to say it out loud. Her simple wish: "I wish I would turn five."

Halloween

Halloween 2009, a.k.a. the first year we flipped Disney the bird.

It wasn't until Boo at the Zoo that I realized we had no Disney anything for Halloween. No princess, no fairy, no Winnie the Pooh, nada. And it feels GOOD! Take that Disney, we'll show you! Disney, you are everywhere in this house. We have your movies, DVDs, character toys, books, video games, toothbrushes, clothing, undergarments, socks, shoes, hats, backpacks, bedding, wall paint, wall decals, bikes, helmets, dinnerware and everything else Disney under the sun.

The thing is, when you're surrounded by Disney products, kids ask almost daily when they get to go to Disneyworld. So we made that first trip to Disneyworld, and it was truly the most magical vacation ever. Nothing can ever compare to Disneyworld, and two years later the kids are still asking when we can go back. But a trip to Disneyworld is expensive! Who can afford that kind of trip on a regular basis? So I say pfffffffffffffft to you Disney, we didn't even need you this year.

But psst. Disney, I love you, I really do, we'll be back soon. Tell Mickey to send me some coupons or something, would ya?

The scary face picture. Note the spooky backdrop...

A closer look at our Halloween central by the front door. The idea just came to me when I realized hundreds of trick-or-treaters would get a glimpse of the "playroom" which at this moment has been deemed unfit for actual human play. So instead of cleaning it, I blocked it off and labeled it a crime scene.

People were really freaked out by these mice. Mostly it was the parents who jumped back a bit when they saw the mice.

Zombie Sully will eat your eyeballs. Not really, but he kept stealing this decoration and hiding it from us. It's a slimy ball with about 20 eyeballs dangling from long red stretchy optic nerves.

This is what Zombie Sully looks like when he is trying to say "please don't take my eyeballs away again, I love these eyeballs, please I keep?"

Boo at the Zoo

Tonight we went to Boo at the Zoo. This is the first year with the new policy of buying tickets in advance for a specific night. No tickets were sold the night of the event. It was supposed to ease flow and provide a better family experience. But honestly, I think it was MORE crowded than past years.

But no crowd could stop our Doctor, Superman and Batgirl from having an absolute blast. Jay had bronchitis and has been in bed (taking antibiotics) for the past couple of days trying to get it out of his system. He rallied like a champ and was up and ready for Boo at the Zoo tonight.

Superman Jack (with kryptonite), Dr. "I Call the Shots" Amanda, and Batgirl Elizabeth

Jack and Amanda scoping out the dance floor. It was too early for the fog machines and strobe lights to have much effect, so we decided to come back when it got darker.

Most of the animals were already in their private zoo beds by the time we got there. This bear was fast asleep out in the open, even with the Halloween dance music blasting right next to him.

The bat cave was perfect because all of the flashing bats were hot pink...

And it made our Batgirl come alive!

The kids also went trick or treating at all of the mini houses around the zoo, Elizabeth was able to see one elephant before it went to bed, we rode the haunted train, roasted marshmallows, went through the haunted pirate maze, and danced the night away until around 8:15 when it all started to fall apart.

Elizabeth could have danced all night, she was in heaven bouncing around to every batgirl, batwoman, batman, batboy, or batbaby just to make a connection and then get them to jump up and down with her on the dance floor. But Jack was OVER IT and was starting to talk gibberish. Amanda was stabbed in the hair by a marshmallow stick so she was ready to take her clumpy marshmallow head home.

We are getting better at timing our exit, always before a tantrum sneaks up on us. Jay even bought a bag of popcorn on our way out, which worked like magic to get them to the car without a fuss or complaint. Once in the car, they made one request: can we come do it all again tomorrow???? I said maybe, which Amanda always tells me really means "no" in Spanish. She's usually right.

Happy Birthday Mike!

This was your very first birthday and I'm guessing the cake was chocolate??
And this was your first Halloween, back when Moms actually made costumes for their kids instead of buying them at Target.

I hope your day was wonderful. Happy Birthday little brother!

Today It's Fall

There is always one day that really feels like the first day of fall.

For me, today was the day.

The weather was perfect and the kids were pretty darn close! The whole day made me want to put on a cozy sweater and light a fire, but then I remembered it's only September and we live in South Carolina. It really isn't even brisk weather, there is just something about today that made it finally feel like fall. The leaves are green, people are still wearing shorts and flip flops, but today was definitely fall. I celebrated with lots of brown, orange and park green attire.

And the icing on the cake? We were actually able to have a meal, in a restaurant (gasp), without any temper tantrums. It was so enjoyable that for a moment I thought I had stepford children. The kids were eating their food (Elizabeth included), Jay was sipping an Oktoberfest brew, football was on every television in Red Robin (I didn't say it was a fancy restaurant). It was beyond enjoyable; even Jay commented "wow, if this keeps up, it could get expensive!"

Then something happened that made the day magical. Shortly after this picture was taken...

I got a little carried away and started using Amanda's balloon like a paddle ball, seeing how many times I could hold the string and punch the balloon with the same hand. I was too strong (and stupid) and the red balloon detached from the string and floated up, up, up and away.

There was screaming, Amanda was in tears, Jay gave me that look, and we all watched it go higher and higher.

BUT THEN, as we were watching, the red balloon deflated and came all the way BACK DOWN TO US. Seriously. It didn't even pop - it untied itself!!! It was bizarre. Even the balloon knew you don't mess with the first day that feels like fall.

Now I'm putting the kids to bed before they ruin everything!

(P.S. I only made it to five, but I was robbed because the balloon ran away)

Opa!

The Greek Festival seems to get bigger every year - it seemed huge this year! Everything was, of course, delicious. I think having three kids is quite helpful in this situation because you end up eating (and drinking) much less. With Jack sitting on my lap, bouncing to the music, only about 30% of my food actually reached my mouth, and the cookie line was not even an option. We ended up sweating more and eating less - pretty good deal.

When Elizabeth saw this picture she said "hey, that picture makes me look like I'm in Italy!"

First Ferris wheel ride ever. It was a mini Ferris wheel, but they didn't know that. Only Jack is visible in this picture, but all three were sitting together in this red car. Elizabeth kept yelling "Amanda, stop rocking it, we're gonna fall!" and Jack just couldn't stop smiling.

Happy Grandparents' Day!

Happy Grandparents' Day to the coolest grandparents we know!

Happy and Buddy

Gramma Holly and Grampa Bob

Gaga and Grandpa

Scots at the Beach

Another wonderful annual family beach extravaganza. This time it was even more fun because my Great Aunt Iza made the trip. My Aunt Betty drove down with Iza, and my cousin Kristen flew down with her sons Johnny and Tyler. The girls immediately velcroed themselves to the boys. I had forgotten about how Amanda constantly followed Tyler around last year, but Amanda sure remembered. She was back at it, only she still calls him Johnny. Their conversations consisted of the following:

Amanda: Johnny?
Tyler: Tyler.
Amanda: Johnny?
Tyler: Tyler.

Over and over and over again. Tyler never lost his cool, he just went with it.

The real Johnny (who is part ninja and part kamikaze) seemed to use this to his advantage. Johnny operates best in stealth mode, and by the time the pantry door opens and he walks out (trust me, you won't see him go in), there is no telling how much candy he has devoured.

Iza is 92 and hops around like she is 20. One night it was about 10:30 pm and we were all exhausted, everyone but Iza and my Mom were already in bed. Iza was sitting on the couch doing a cross word puzzle as my Mom was turning off the kitchen lights. I heard Iza say "where is everyone?" and then heard my Mom laugh and say "Iza! Everyone is in bed!"

It was my Mom's birthday, and because she doesn't care for sweets, we made sure she had three desserts to choose from: brownies, angel food cake with whipped cream and strawberries, and fresh peach pie.


My Mom was reading Harry Potter and at one point she was talking with Tyler about her favorite Jonas brother. Everyone seems to be getting younger. Even my cousin who is training for a triathlon. I can't be certain, but I think this might be the Curious Case of the McWilliams Clan. I'm still getting older, so I'm not sure exactly when I start to reverse. I'm ready.

Some pictures of the fun...

Future You

Dear Mini Jay,
Want to know a secret? Someday, when you grow up, you're going to marry a Yankee and have three kids. Don't laugh, I'm not kidding. Want to know what else? You're going to be an awesome Dad. I love you...in the future...after the short shorts.

P.S. Super cool socks.

Happy Father's Day!!!!

The Jack

The Krabby Patty Cupcake!

For those who don't watch Spongebob, Spongebob works at The Krusty Krab making krabby patties. The characters either work at the Krusty Krab, or they eat there, or they are trying to steal the krabby patty secret formula.

Saying that Jack loves Spongebob is an understatement. I know, he is too young for Spongebob. After he was introduced to Spongebob last summer at the beach (when he was ONE!) he just became obsessed. He would recognize anything Spongebob on t-shirts, back packs, magazines, toys, anything - and scream "bubbob!!!!!" So we let him watch it with his sisters and he seriously cries when it's over. He really pays attention to the whole show, makes comments like "Pa-tick funny!" and talks about what happened when the show is over.

So, a krabby patty cupcake it had to be. It's very easy:

The bun is a vanilla cupcake (box mix) and the patty is a chocolate cupcake (also box mix). After the cupcakes are cooled, you cut the middle out of the vanilla cupcake so it looks more like a bun, add a few sesame seeds on top. I cut the top of the chocolate cupcakes off to use as my patties. I bought one tall container of whipped white frosting and divided into three bowls. I used red, green and yellow food coloring to turn the frosting into ketchup, lettuce and mustard. I assembled them with the kids, which was the funnest part. We just used spreaders for the frosting and repeated the order: Bottom bun, mustard, patty, ketchup, lettuce, top bun. Voila! Jack's very own krabby patty. Amanda wants her official cupcake to be the krabby patty now too.

Jack on his big day, officially two years old. It just happened so quickly! I swear it was just yesterday that he looked like this:

He was a good baby and now he is a good little man. He says "please" and "tank oooo" without having to be reminded, he is a great sleeper, he is nice to his sisters and comforts them if they are upset or hurt. He will pat their backs sweetly and ask "okay?" and sometimes he will even say "sowwy" even though he didn't do anything!

Happy Birthday Jack, we love you!

Also, I'm not sure why she is being so serious, but Elizabeth found this ball in the playroom. It is the exact ball that told the girls they would be having a brother. After the big ultrasound, we planned to give the girls a paper bag that would contain a pink ball if it was a sister, or a blue ball if it was a brother. I'll never forget the look on their faces when they pulled out the blue ball. Until that point, they had been praying for a sister. There were a few seconds of total silence, then the gears shifted and the girls start screaming with excitement about their soon to be baby brother. The girls were all about having a brother (a real bug squisher!) from that moment on.

Happy Birthday Grant!

Happy Birthday Grant! Amanda and Jack have NO IDEA that at this very moment, Uncle Jay and Elizabeth are at your birthday party. Isn't that funny? Even though they don't look (or act) sick, they are considered contagious until they have been taking medicine for 24 hours. So they made you this video without knowing they are missing your party. Shhh... don't tell!

Hope you are having a blast! I'll wait to make "The Grant" cupcake until we are germ free!

P.S. Are there any bearded dragons at your party???

Happy Mother's Day!

"For the hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world." William Ross Wallace

Isabella Clark McWilliams

Anastasia Korba Petz

Miley Hair Clark

Winnie Bessie Ready

Lois Nicholson

Bessie Bean Clark

Elizabeth McWilliams Petz (with her first child, David)

Ida Gervais Martin

Ruth Kirkner

Holly McKenzie

Robin Clark Nicholson (with her brother Owen Clark)

Eileen Petz Kirkner (with her sister Elizabeth Petz Bickell)

Me, with baby Elizabeth