Lincoln is Three

When did this kid grow up? We knew he was turning three because he became a happier kid. He was coming out of his terrible two stage, which really wasn't too terrible. Lincoln has always been so fabulous at thinking of others. He will give you what you want, it may take a couple of minutes to decide that's what he wants to do but he will do it to make you happy. He loves to play jokes. He is really shy around a group of people, even if he knows them. Smaller groups are more his style. If Lincoln could pick what to wear he would probably pick a pair of pjs or shorts and wear it for a week if I let him.

Lincoln loves animals. He loves dogs, but only from a distance. He likes to run around with Parker. He prefers mom over dad. He will tease me and go with Willie, but I allow it to happen based on the situation. He refuses to listen to Primary songs if it's not Sunday. Linc can really let loose and become a wild child. Settling him down can be difficult at times.

I love Lincoln. He is my little snuggle bug right now. He will join me in the morning to lay down and get more sleep or wait until I get up to make him breakfast. He is very patient and loving. He loves to make his brothers laugh. He really loves when others are happy. Lincoln, thanks for being a fabulous kiddo. Enjoy his three year old photos.
With Lincoln's birthday so close to Christmas it was hard to think of something worthwhile to get him. I debated about something that I thought would be a hit but I didn't know if I wanted to put myself through torture over the next year. In the end I wanted Lincoln to be happy. We bought him the cd to the movie 'Spirit.' Oh my has he absolutely loved it. Parker loves it too. The two of them will listen to the music and then when they know the horse is running they will run too. One of the first times listening to it both boys were in a bit of a daze, I think they were watching the movie in their head.
The other thing that we got for Lincoln was a tunnel. I love that it folds up and can be stored in a tight place, Linc loves it for other reasons.

The birthday cake request was to have a train on his cake. Usually my boys don't eat the cake from the box so I made rice crispy treats, Linc didn't eat any. He did love the new bridge (thanks Laura) and his new train (Toby, he talks).
For his activity he picked miniature golf. I'm not sure how much longer we will be able to take him golfing on his birthday, unless we stay in the South. The weather was fantastic and all of the boys loved running around. Parker and Lincoln usually get far ahead of Willie and I. Henry had fun playing but he wanted to play with any putter he could find, he would trade often.
Willie says that Lincoln will be great at using a belly putter when he is older. This is based on the way he holds the club. One day he will learn how to hold the club, for now this is what works.
Happy birthday Lincoln. We love watching you grow up.

Seven Years

I thought it would have been fun to show pictures of Willie and I from each year of our marriage. Well I'm behind in my blogging already so I probably won't post any. For the first two years of our marriage we relied on the good old disposable cameras and I think we borrowed a film camera at some point. We were in school we were (are) poor college students. The perks of life back then were that we drove to school together and he would walk me to my building where I worked (the Fine Arts building). He would continue on to his building to his work. During the day at some point we would get together to have a Top Ramen lunch. On occasion we would put an egg in with the noodles and boil it. Not too bad, but I don't think I have had it that way since we were in college together.

Depending on the day we would either stay late so I could finish a project or we would go home at a decent hour for a good dinner. Our rent was super cheap a little less than $400, but now it's more than we desire to pay. We visited our family on a weekly basis, now we visit hopefully once a year. We graduated in the same semester.

Willie and I had Parker about a week and a half before we moved our things to Georgia. Four and a half years and we are looking at the end of paying for school. We have seen parts of the world. We have made many wonderful friends. But most of all we have grown so much in seven years and we are best friends. We have learned to work together. Our love for each other has grown stronger. I am grateful for my best friend. He does so much for me all of the time and he sacrifices a lot to be with me and our family.

Willie and I have had our ups and downs but we know that if we hold on tight and keep Heavenly Father a part of our lives then we will always be okay. Willie thank you for making the first seven years a wonderful adventure.

Hilton Head Lighthouse

I enjoyed a good break from Henry. We drove down to the Hilton Head Lighthouse. My dad took Henry while I was gathering a few things. Off they were. I didn't see much of Henry that night, and there was a good reason, he would have wanted me back. We didn't get a ton of time and we missed going up into the lighthouse, it's okay we would have had to pay anyway ($3pp:). Here is my dad and Henry. Henry is stuffed into my dad's jacket to keep his toes warm. I found out later the way my dad enticed Henry to stay with him for so long, my dad introduced fruit snacks to him.

In the bay there were some pretty magnificent probably very expensive boats.The reason I like this picture is because of the colors of the kayaks. Plus Linc is so cute.
See here, Henry loves my dad. This was before the introduction to the fruit snack.
Hilton Head Lighthouse.
Self portrait.
I think this picture is so funny. I love that Linc is totally smiling in it but he is about a foot away from my mom. We had to try again.
Not too bad for the second time around.
Lincoln kept running around in circles, he was having so much fun. During this time Willie and Parker were off somewhere so I'm not so sure what they were up to.
Oh my. Can I just say that I really miss sunsets. My Grandma got me hooked on sunsets when I lived with my parents. She would always call to say 'hurry, look outside it's the most beautiful sunset.' We really had some great sunsets. My favorites are the ones with pink and clouds, this particular sunset was stunning though.
See here. My dad really had Henry with the fruit snacks.
Group shot. We probably took about 9 shots and this was the one where Lincoln stood still long enough not to block anyone else.

More of our trip

Before my parents came to visit I had done a very little amount of genealogy. Finding a distant relative through a Google search I also found that she had done a lot of work on my Grandfather Pettigrew's family. I was very excited to find that I would be going to a place in a few weeks where my great great grandfather fought in the civil war. Little did we know that when we arrived to Hilton Head that Fort Walker was located in a private neighborhood. I didn't know how we were going to get to see the Fort.

One afternoon we went for a walk on the beach. My grandma and parents walked on a little farther than the kids and I did. My grandma took a rest in a man's chair. There was a woman there who happened to live in the private neighborhood and spoke with my very lovable grandma and decided to call the gate and put our names down for a visit. Well that to me was a great blessing.

So a few days later we used the gate pass and went inside to visit the site.

Here is my mom and me at Fort Walker.

The boys. The ocean is behind them.
Here is the build up of a mound that was left from the civil war. It's funny my mom laughed when she told me that my grandpa would always say something like 'the South will rise again.' Now she understands why he would say it.
This is the map of what the fort looked like and where we were located on the map.

The Generations.
We walked down to where we think the edge of the fort would have been. There wasn't a sign next to this concrete sea shell bench but we think it could have been a remain of the old fort. :)
So thank you to the wonderful lady who let us in to see where our ancestors once stood. This was at the place we were staying. It was really beautiful.Aside from searching out family my parents and Willie were able to enjoy many round of golf. Mom and Dad, thank you for taking Willie golfing. He really enjoyed every moment of it. Also, thank you for taking pictures.
We visited Savannah one evening. It was a little chilly towards the end of the night, but nothing a jacket couldn't take care of. By the way, we like to dress our kids so that we can find them easily. Plus I don't think I was prepared for the warmer weather so we didn't have a lot of options.

Grandma and I at the Oyster bar. The food was really good. Grandma, thank you for dinner. Thank you for your wonderful presence. We are so glad that you could come to visit. The boys have really enjoyed Grandma Glenna.
Parker requested to ride with Grandma and Grandpa and Grandma Glenna. I think that he loved it. I asked my mom to take a picture. There was one event where we were traveling somewhere and Parker hurried and ran around to the other side of the car to open my grandma's door. Heart breaker. Parker made all the ladies smile that day.This is a picture from the Hilton Head lighthouse. I thought my grandma did a great job with the photo.

A trip to Hilton Head

My Grandma Glenna and parents came to visit us in Georgia. Well they only stayed with us one night and then we all traveled down to Hilton Head. It worked out to be a business trip for my dad. We were glad we could join in on his fun. It was great to walk along the beach and to be outdoors. I was a little sick and I needed naps often. Grandma helped me a lot while my parents and Willie went golfing. Thanks Grandma. The boys were able to get a little bit of swimming in but we had to go when the sun was on the pool and we could only stay for a short time. The pool was heated but it was still pretty chilly.

Not too bad of a family picture.
Photo shoot.
It's hard to read, but it was fun to play in the sand.
The swimming pool.Here is Parker and Grandma. I have one of Grandma with Henry but I can't seem to locate it.
After swimming in the heated pool Parker decided to swim in the hot tub. I think he like the jets and the extra warmth.