Day 2-6 of Our Family Staycation

For the sake of my sanity, and due to my lack of devoted time to blogging and memory keeping, I'm going to attempt to touch on the highlights of the final 5 days of our 2013 Staycation all at once.

I've reasoned with myself that documenting a few memories will be better than not documenting any at all... 

(To read about Day 1, click here.)

So here goes:

Day 2: Wednesday, Sept. 25th, 2013
* Slept late (have I mentioned how GOOD that felt?!?!)
* Played cards
* Listened to Caleb play piano
* Went bowling (most of our kiddos have been bowling 1-2 other times in their lives)
* Purchased The Lost Medallion DVD at the local Christian bookstore
* Ate a late lunch/early dinner at Golden Coral (we were all stuffed and Isaiah, Silas, and Kedesh each had ice cream from head to toe)
* Came home and watched movie (The Lost Medallion)
* Boys played MORE airsoft
* Early bedtime in preparation for an early Day 3 of Staycation

 

 

Day 3:  Thursday, September 26, 2013 

* Day trip to the mountains (included a little hiking, a "gourmet" picnic meal, and a little riding on the Blue Ridge Parkway)

* Grilled steak meal at home for dinner (YUMMY! One of my FAVORITE meals!)

Potty time...girls take a little more ingenuity than boys ;)

The guys were in charge of our "gourmet" meal -
chunky soup over rice with added cheese for those who want it.
Fruit and snacks for dessert.

Playtime/Exploring while lunch was being prepared...

Mountain roadside park picnic - Miller style :)

 

Day 4:  Friday, September 27th, 2013

* Airsoft battles, airsoft battles, and MORE airsoft battles - I've decided that if God ever calls them into military service, they will have prior training!  Eva, Kedesh, and Mommy got to be the "Princesses" this day.  :)  The boys split into three teams and each captured and hid another team's princess.  The opposing teams had to find and rescue their princess and take her to safety in order to win the battle.  I was the princess for Gregg's team...and Silas was my guard.  Okay...I admit it...airsoft is so much fun!!

* Made homemade ice cream (Gregg chose pineapple with coconut flavoring - REALLY?!?!  - He DID NOT ask my opinion...I'm vanilla, chocolate, or peach all the way!)

* Game of football in the back yard

* Started packing in preparation for a long day on Day 5 of Staycation

 

**** no pics this day...I was a slacker!  :(

 

Day 5: Saturday, September 28th, 2013 

* Clemson vs. Wake Forest home game - Since Gregg and I are both Clemson alumni, we take all the kids to see at least one game each season (wish we could do season tickets, but that would cost a large fortune for a family of 10! So, instead, we buy group tickets for a game and invite another family to go with us.)  This year, the game we chose happened to fall at the end of our vacation planning.  And, it was Homecoming, so we showed the kids around campus and onto Bowman field to see the floats. We always have the best time cheering for the TIGERS!!

*  Clemson won by a landslide...and we got 10 orders of FREE Bojangle's fries on the way home - YAY!

 

All ready to get to the game!!

 

Matching bracelets made for the girls and Mommy

 

A stop by Bojangle's to get chicken for tailgating

Two tailgating cuties

I had such fun making new outfits for the girls.
I'm learning to sew a little at time...

Family Photo Op -
Special Thanks to the kind lady who offered to take the pic for us

One of the 6 tiger tails I bought at a yard sale several years ago.
$0.50 each - well worth the cuteness!!

Isaiah - "Take a picture of my tail, Momma!"

Homecoming on Bowman field

So thankful Gregg was carrying her!
I'm always out of breath by the time I reach our seats,
and this year was no exception - and I just carried MYSELF!

 

 

Day 6:  Sunday, September 29th, 2013

* Caleb played in a 1-day baseball tournament (have I mentioned that I LOVE watching my boys play ball?!?!)  He played 3 games that day, so that was pretty much the entire day.  Afterward it was supper, baths, and bedtime to start a new week.  Daddy had to go back to work on Monday (Samuel appeared to be the most disappointed about this b/c the first thing he asked me on Monday morning was, "Where's Daddy?" - with a very pouty lip and sad face.).

 

 

Overall, we had a great week!! I'm glad we chose to stay home for vacation.  It was different for us, and I wasn't sure how it would really go.  But, for the first time in a long time, it was just our family - without a detailed schedule.  Anyone who knows me and my dear husband, knows that we are "planners."  It was really nice to just enjoy being together - no packing, no running, no long driving days...It was a HIT with the whole crew!! :)



 



Baseball, Family Time, and A Little Getaway

God has recently opened some pretty cool doors for our family. 

And, through an interesting set of circumstances, He lead us to have Caleb try out for a local Major travel baseball team. 

And, he made the team! 

We love the coaches and their focus on fundamentals and relevant training, we're meeting some great families, and we're having such fun watching our son play baseball this Fall.

This past weekend, Caleb had the opportunity to play a tournament at the Cal Ripken field in Myrtle Beach, SC.  It's a fantastic facility and definitely worth the experience to play a few games there.   Each field is constructed of synthetic turf and is designed to replicate a legendary professional ballpark.  A sign at each field gives a brief history lesson pertaining to that particular field.  Pretty neat.

 

 

 

And...an added perk of our weekend was that we were able to visit with my brother, sister-in-love, and my two precious nephews!!  They live in NC, and we usually only see them once or twice a year.  Oh, how I miss them and wish we lived closer!  It was wonderful to watch the games with them and enjoy some much needed family time.

Our nephew, Jake (age 6), with Isaiah (age 7).  They are such little buddies and were both thrilled about the unexpected time together.  They both decided to wear their matching "Double Trouble" t-shirts on Saturday.  Very appropriate! ;)

Eva being a "little momma" to Kedesh and our 2 yr. old nephew, Jasper.

Is he not the cutest?!?!  It was wonderful to love on this little guy for a bit.  He's grown so much since we last saw him.  He and Kedesh played and shared cheesy goldfish.  I loved how Jasper would sneak away and make his way into the dugout or on the field (yikes!) before we knew it.  I have a feeling he might be a ball player one day!

Naturally, I took tons of pictures at the games (I usually do!), and also grabbed some shots of our littlest ones playing on the beach for about an hour late Saturday afternoon.  (Naturally, Gregg and the older boys stayed in the hotel watching the Clemson v. Syracuse football game.)


Posted Tournament Info Sheet



 #5 On Deck



Running in for a score



One of "Blub-Blub's" biggest fans



She loved getting as close to her brother as she could :)



A hit!



Pitching



Kedesh is what we call "K.O.ed" (i.e. Knocked Out!)



Caleb did fantastic playing behind the plate on Saturday



Behind the plate again on Sunday

 



Just couldn't keep my camera lens from migrating back to my littlest darling

I love the sound of the ocean and just couldn't resist feeling the ocean breeze on my face and the opportunity to watch my little ones enjoy playing on the beach - something they VERY RARELY do.  (We normally migrate toward the mountains - Gregg can't stand the salt and sand! )

Overall, the baseball tournament didn't fair as well as we might have hoped, but we were very proud of Caleb and his team. 

It's not really about winning (although, it's really nice when you do!).  It's about learning, and character, and developing as a baseball player and a young man.  Baseball is a very mental game...and sometimes 14 year old players have to battle emotionally as well as physically. 

Above all else, we couldn't be more proud of the character Caleb displays on and off the field.  He is also developing athletically, and we are excited to see continued progress.  We can hardly wait to see what God has in store for him in the coming years!

Thank you, Lord, for baseball, family time, and a little getaway.