Where has the summer gone?

It's the last day of July already! Zachary and Lauren start school in two weeks. Z will be in 4th grade and L will make her school debut in kindergarten. Lauren was eager to buy school supplies so we rounded up pencils, crayons, glue sticks, and more at Wal-Mart today.

Here are some of the things we've packed into this summer so far:

* Zachary played baseball (and his team won the tournament in the 9-10 age group).

* Lauren and Zachary went to zoo camp and farm camp.

* We took a vacation to Hilton Head, SC, with stops in Asheville, NC, and Knoxville, TN.

* David and I took a long weekend trip to the Tampa/Clearwater area.

* We went to Muskegon, Michigan, for a weekend.

* Spent time at the lake (swimming, fishing, boating, fireworks on the 4th)

* Planted fruits and veggies in the garden

* Library trips

* Vacation Bible School

* Movies (Up, Harry Potter, G-Force)

* Zoo trips

* Tried out the new kayaks

* I started a new job as a nurse practitioner in pediatrics.

Here's hopin' we can pack in even more activities before the end of summer. Good thing I have Fridays off!

Our recent trip to NC, SC, and Georgia

Zachary and Lauren at Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort

One of Savannah's beautiful squares

BBQ at Disney's Hilton Head Resort

Zachary (on the left) waiting in line for the water slide at the Disney Resort

Hilton Head Island, SC

Lunch at the Salty Dog Cafe, Hilton Head, SC

The Lady and Sons Restaurant (Paula Deen's restaurant in Savannah, GA)

Lauren in Hilton Head

Face painting at the Disney Resort

Hilton Head, SC

One of our favorite vacation spots is Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. It seems like we find something new to do each visit! We have always flown there in the past, but decided to be really adventurous and drive this time.

On the first leg of our trip, we drove to Asheville, NC. When we arrived, we ate at a seafood restaurant with live jazz music, and then got dessert at The Chocolate Fetish. I couldn't pass up a truffle called "Blossom," with the following description: "A must try for any Chocolate lover, this Truffle offers a rich Dark Chocolate center subtly flavored with lemon zest, a touch of ginger, and a hint of saffron encased in a Dark Chocolate shell and garnished with a candied Violet blossom." It was quite an unusual combination of flavors!

The next morning, we toured the Biltmore House before heading out of town (see pictures below).

With bikes and kayak in tow, we finally arrived at Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort. We stayed in Hilton Head for most of the week, but we did take one day to drive to Savannah, GA, to tour the city and eat at Paula Deen's restaurant. Here are some other things we did on our vacation:

* Went on a dolphin watching boat ride

* Kayaked with dolphins VERY nearby (less than a paddle length away at times)

* Went to the beach (and found creatures/items such as a horshoe crab, jellyfish, shells, and sharks' teeth)

* Swam at the Disney resort's pool, which has a very fun water slide

* Attended Disney events (Campfire with S'mores, BBQ, Pool Party, Fireworks, Low Country Shrimp Boil, Magnet painting activity, Beachcombers activity, Marsh exploration activity, Alice in Wonderland's Un-Birthday Party)

* Climbed 114 steps to the top of the lighthouse in Harbourtown

* Fished

* Caught crabs using crab nets and shrimp

* Ate at delicious Hilton Head restaurants

* Rode bikes

On the way home, we stopped overnight in Knoxville, TN, but we didn't stay to see much of the town. Our fine Knoxville dining consisted of Papa John's pizza that night!

We've almost settled back into our routine, although it may not be completely normal for a while due to my upcoming job change! I will soon be working as a nurse practitioner at a pediatrics office three days a week and at a family practice office once a week. I've enjoyed the OB-GYN world but have always loved pediatrics! David continues as one of ten partners in his law firm, specializing in civil litigation. The kayak that we hauled to Hilton Head was David's early Father's Day present.

Zachary's baseball season is in full swing (no pun intended) now. He has already attended baseball and basketball camps since school has been out! Lauren loves her gymnastics class at preschool and is counting down to the start of kindergarten in the fall. Both Zachary and Lauren will attend zoo camp and farm camp in the next several weeks. Summer tends to fly by around here!

Asheville, North Carolina

Here are some pictures from our visit to the Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina. The house was originally owned by George W. Vanderbilt, beginning in 1895. His grandson, William A.V. Cecil, owns the estate today. They don't allow cameras inside the house but the outside offers plenty of picture taking opportunities!

The house includes 43 bathrooms, a bowling alley, a 70,000-gallon indoor swimming pool, and a gymnasium.

There are two Renoir paintings in the breakfast room: Young Algerian Girl and Child with an Orange.

Vanderbilt was an avid reader and had a library with more than 10,000 volumes in eight languages. There is a chess set once owned by Napoleon Bonaparte on display in the library.

We toured the house and the gardens, although we didn't cover all 8,000 acres of the estate! The audio tour kept Zachary and Lauren interested -and busy- on all four floors and in the basement of the house. Zachary's last visit to the Biltmore House was about seven years ago when he was 2 1/2. This time, he managed to restrain himself from dashing under the ropes in an attempt to leap on Mr. Vanderbilt's bed. Lauren was quite enamored with the elaborate canopy beds, but she politely observed them from a distance.

Happy Mother's Day

We're heading to the lake tomorrow for a Mother's Day celebration! Tomorrow is also my grandma's birthday. It's always nice to see the arrival of lake season.
Happy Mother's Day, everyone!

Baseball, baseball, baseball...

...This was the perfect weekend for it! Yesterday Lauren and I drove to Delaware, OH, to watch Matt pitch in the OWU vs. Wittenberg game. Matt pitched a 4-0 shutout; click here to read more about it. Meanwhile, back at the...gym?...Zachary had a baseball skills assessment for his upcoming baseball season. The assessment allows the powers that be to divide the teams evenly. David plans to coach Zachary's team this summer.

Today David and Zachary watched Monsters vs. Aliens in 3-D while Lauren and I watched the Hannah Montana movie. Lauren isn't a big fan of 3-D movies so we saw Monsters vs. Aliens a few weeks ago in 2-D. We enjoyed the Hannah movie!

Other than baseball and movies, our latest Wii favorite is Animal Crossing. It is a strangely addicting game without much purpose. Even Lauren and David have gotten into it. (It is not unusual for me or Zachary to develop new Wii game addictions.) We're waiting to hear back from Olivya and Natasha so we can add their friend codes and visit their Animal Crossing towns!

Happy Easter!

No More Tonsils

Zachary had his tonsils and adenoids removed last year. This year was Lauren's turn. She had her surgery yesterday and did really well. Apparently we were justified in our decision to go ahead with the surgery because her doctor said her tonsils looked very scarred from chronic infection when he removed them. Thank goodness for the numbing spray they apply to kids' throats at the end of the surgery. That seems to last all day, allowing kids to eat and drink more than they would otherwise want to. It is the following day when trouble can set in. So far so good, although it is still morning!

Before becoming a nurse practitioner, I worked as a registered nurse in pediatrics. It was very common for kids to be admitted for post-tonsillectomy dehydration. Once the numbing medication wears off, kids have an incredibly sore throat and can be very stubborn about drinking. If kids are well hydrated in the post-op period, they are less likely to have a serious bleed when the scabs fall off around days 7-10. Keeping that in mind, I approached Lauren's post-T&A care with a methodical, nerdy, let's-not-be-admitted-to-the-hospital-for-dehydration mindset. We had a long discussion before surgery about how her throat would hurt and how important it is to drink all day for a quicker recovery and to avoid the hospital. I went to the grocery store before the surgery and gathered all of Lauren's favorite snacks, including Capri Suns, Cheez-Its, Doritos, and Hannah Montana waffles. Gone are the days of an ice cream-only diet post-tonsillectomy. Kids can eat anything they want to, which actually helps prevent large scabs from forming (and later bleeding). Ice cream and popsicles are still encouraged though, since they are liquid, so Lauren had a delicious Culver's marshmallow milkshake yesterday.

In true RN nature (which never goes away, even if the job description changes), we have a chart with pain medication times and Is and Os (intake/output). Yes, the liquid intake is even recorded in CCs. In case you're wondering, Lauren's intake was perfect yesterday with 750 CCs. While it's only day two, things seem to be going well so far (knock on wood)! Zachary is also starting to feel better from an unfortunately timed episode of bronchitis.

Today's plan is to color Easter eggs and put together our bunny house kit...and drink lots of water.