Last Week At Hilton Head

Last week we had a fabulous time with Honey Beth, Dale, Austin, and Ashlyn in Hilton Head, South Carolina. I overheard Lindsey telling Grandma our vacation schedule. She said, "First we woke up, then we went for a bike ride. Then we went to the beach and then we came back to the house and swam in the pool. Then we went for another bike ride. We did this every single day." Hey.....that sure sounds like a vacation. Thanks Honey Beth and Dale!

A Mother's Dream Come True

The day when I can say: "Lindsey, could you please put the clothes -that are in the washing machine- in the dryer?" And she does so with a joyful heart because she really likes to help. This may not last, but I will enjoy this moment!

All I want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth

I often tell people that Christmas is every day at our house because I get to be with my three precious children every day. Then there are those even "extra special days" that happen in our household. They may not be 'off the chart' special, but to us they cause great excitement. One thing, if it were actually Christmas, Lindsey would definitely wish to have her two front teeth finally fall out. On Wed. they did in the same morning. She was SO excited about this and we had to even go see Daddy, during rehearsal, because - as Lindsey put it - "Daddy has been waiting and waiting for this to happen." I am certainly biased, but I think she is just a cutie even without her teeth.

Not a kid anymore and not a teen yet

Gotta love 8 and 9 year olds and their thought processes. Austin had a friend over for the day and evening Friday. We were heading to soccer and the park when I couldn't resist listening in to Austin and Josh's conversation. They were actually sad for themselves being at the "old age" that they are. The reason they were sad: They couldn't fit into those cool "car carts" at Target. It was just too cute to listen to this sweet conversation. I always thought kids couldn't wait to be older. Well.....I guess those awesome carts have kind of spoiled "growing older" for Austin and Josh.

Tennis anyone?

When I came back from a trip to Iowa, I also arrived with two suitcases instead of one. (spending 6 hours with my sister will do that to ya). Aunt Nar had bought the kids tennis rackets so we couldn't wait to try them out. I must warn anyone to stay clear of a 4 year old with a tennis racket who is desperate to hit the ball. We had SO much fun "playing tennis". Lindsey has decided she wants to be a tennis player. Austin surprised me the most. I had thought it best to just hit it back and forth on the same side of the net. He asked if we could play over the net. Why not even though it was his first time hitting a tennis ball. Wow......he has a pretty good swing and kept me running.

Christmas at our house in April

As you can see, it doesn't take much to have a cause for celebration at our house. Today Fed Ex delivered 6 bags of white Snappy Popcorn (I think all the way from Iowa). When we first moved down here we searched every store for white popcorn. The world came close to an end when we couldn't find any. How could we have moved to a place without white popcorn? So....we decided to "suffer on this missions field" and try out the yellow popcorn. It was awful - kept getting stuck in our teeth. Plus it is just heavy and not our light and fluffy white popcorn. Now we get ours shipped here. It is truly gold in a bag. Especially since popcorn is our Sunday night supper. Aw......this box makes us all smile in the Megilligan household.

Perspective

We've had kind of a rough week (I know it is only Tuesday). Our vacuum cleaner is broken and we are trying to decide if Brian can fix it or we need to get a new one. Also, our van is in the shop and we just found out that it will be costing us a pretty penny to fix it.

Fortunately Brian and I immediately (while talking about this over the phone) chose to take a positive perspective on this. First off, we were given this brand new vacuum cleaner 13 years ago. I would say it was worth every penny we spent - but hey - we didn't even need to spend one penny on it. Second, the problem with our van is quite serious in that - if we don't get it fixed now - we might all be breathing in carbon monoxide soon. The best thing the Lord did in this situation is that we didn't know about that life threatening problem. Our van is in the shop for an entirely different reason. Thank God we have an awesome mechanic that discovered this. What price tag would we put on the 3 precious children that ride in that van several times a week. I'd say God's been good to us!

Crocs

Yes, we along with families all over the world, love crocs! Aunt Nar stocked us up for summer and the kids are thrilled. A few friends have blogged about their croc stories and I have to add ours to the blog world.
A few weeks ago the kids and I were reading a book about Benjamin Franklin. We were reading how Benjamin's father didn't want him to continue at the school he was at because the jobs available to those children weren't very lucrative. He pointed out, to Benjamin, men who had holes in their shoes. Well....Lindsey piped right up and said, "Did Benjamin Franklin and his friends wear crocs too?" How far our society have come to find it a good fashion to have holes in your shoes.

Fun in the sun

Friday was a gorgeous day so we kidnapped some other kids (friends of our of course) and had some fun feeding ducks at Shelly Lake (first picture), finding "nature treasures" to put in our egg cartons (second picture), playing in the sand and having a picnic. We were having such a great time, Harrison and Jackson joined us at Lindsey's soccer practice that night. While she played with her team, the boys kicked around a soccer ball, played at another playground and had the best time rolling down a hill. Thanks, Anthony and Beth, for letting us hang out with your kids this weekend! They are just the best!

Brian's in charge

I'll be out of town for a few days, visiting family, and Brian will be home with the kids. The best thing about that is the fact that Brian really can do it all and he wants to. From school work, laundry, cooking, taking the kids to soccer, girl scouts and church - he'll do it all these next five days. I even offered to get his groceries but he said that he and the kids could do that. So....I really do feel just fine about things getting accomplished when I'm gone - not to mention all the fun times they'll have with Daddy. But.....having said that, I did make out a schedule of sorts just to help him out. :) I think he still loves me -- my lists and all.

A Special Announcement from Lindsey

Hours of entertainment

Sometimes, when you buy a gift for a kid, you just don't know whether it will be a "big hit" or not. Because of that, I wanted to share what has been a huge hit for all three of my kids. A year and a half ago my parents bought Austin a Marble Race for his birthday. Since then, it is something that rarely gets put away in the closet. All three kids have spent literally hours and hours making their own marble races. I can't remember a toy being more entertaining than this. So....if you are looking for a present, for a kid - there ya go!

Reece's New Bike

Reece's bike, from last year, broke so we were in need of a new bike for the little guy. Brian checked on Craig's list and found this bike. So he and Reece went to check it out. The owner, of the bike, had spent over $100 for it and Brian gave him $40. I can't imagine spending $100 for a 4 year old's little bike that they would soon outgrow, but that's why we love Craig's List. Reece absolutely loves it.

Kidzpraise Spring Concert

The kids had their spring concert the last Sunday in March. It's been funny having all the kids in Kidzpraise this year as we get to enjoy all groups including the 5 year old class that I help out with. Austin's group did an entire musical and Lindsey's group did three songs while Reece's class performed two songs this year. They all enjoyed it.

Fun at Pullen Park with the Grandparents

The Adult Easter Egg Hunt

There was a new twist to the Easter Egg Hunts this year. Brian's parents hid money inside of some eggs and had Brian and I go on our own hunt. I was all over that of course and you could even find Brian reaching under a bush to grab a money egg. After it was done, we counted up our money and found out that we are still missing $15 (2 eggs). We spent a good portion, of the weekend, searching for those two eggs that we have yet to find. So.....if you are up to a challenge, you can pop over to our backyard and play "finders keepers".