Baseball Parade

To celebrate our repeat national champion baseball team, the City of Columbia had a parade through downtown Columbia last week. It was really HOT...but we hung in there to show our support for the team! Although I think Roper was wondering what the big deal was...he was pretty miserable! Between the noise & heat & time of day (lunchtime) he was just not feeling the parade. He spent most of the time with his face buried in my shoulder or leg with his hands covering his ears! The rest of the children loved it and Tripp-man even caught some Zs!

I love this picture of my boys...


When did my baby turn into a little man??? This is such a classic Roper face...he is always cutting his eyes!


Check out Jay's big foam finger...straight from Omaha, courtesy of his dad who made the trek out to the middle of the country!


Giving people the finger (haha)...






Can you see the pain on Ro's face? He wanted outta there!


Mason's favorite "float"...


It's hard for me to identify the players in street clothes...but I'm pretty sure that's Matt Price with his hand in the air...how could you miss those chops?!?





Coach Tanner (who happens to look eerily similar to my boss), along with his family and the rest of the coaches...


I really really love my double stroller, which also functions as a quadruple stroller...


A future USC Cheerleader and pitcher! Their mama will love that comment! :)



Here are our pictures from last year's parade. Here's to making this an annual tradition!

Lake Day

We have spent our fair share of time at the lake this summer! These pictures are from a few weeks ago and I'm just getting around to posting them! Thanks to Hollis for snapping the pictures...I'm usually on the other side of the lens but I didn't have my camera with me so she took some with her phone camera.

Hollis and I are childhood friends...we were even in preschool together! She is now dating mine and Graem's good friend Mike. We are very happy for them and I have enjoyed getting to know Hollis better now that we are all grown up! :)

Anyway, we spent the day at the lake with Hollis & Mike & our other friend Blaise. Roper was such a brave little booger and rode on the float with me!



And this picture was at the end of the day...on our way back to the dock. No nap = sleepy boy. I know it is hard to see in this picture, but he was falling asleep on the float!!








We went back out on the lake on Father's Day with my parents and Graem's parents. Again, no camera {sorry} but we convinced Mason to get on the float and he loved it just as much as Roper! At one point we had me, Mason and my mother all on the float...and not to be outdone, Roper also rode with his mama and Bebe. Fun times!

Fortunes

Last weekend we had chinese take out for supper one night...the boys' favorite part is the fortune cookie at the end. Their fortunes always amuse me because they usually just don't apply to children!

I was pondering about whether or not to share their fortunes on the blog, when Google Images returned this image...I guess that settles it!


Roper's fortune...keep in mind he is not yet 2 years old...

You will soon be reunited with an old friend.

Mason's fortune...

Investigate new possibilities with friends. Now is the time!

Cock-a-doodle-TWO

I'm so proud of the South Carolina baseball team! Isn't it crazy that until last year USC had never won a national title in a major sport and now we're the CWS champions two years in a row?!?

Of course I am biased, :) but I really don't think it could have happened to a better team...from Ray Tanner all the way down they are a class act! They credit each other with the plays/points/wins instead of trying to steal the limelight. What a lesson in sportsmanship and humility! And they really seem to have fun along the way. With all the negativity surrounding many college and professional teams lately I couldn't be happier to support such a good group of guys. I loved Michael Roth's post-game interview:

"We're not the most talented team, and we don't have the best players position for position," Roth said, "but we go out and stick together as a team. We battle. I can't describe it. We're a bunch of average Joes and love each other and come out and battle."

Thanks to my friend Kerri for the catchy title (she put it on her Facebook page)...and my cousin Andrew put this YouTube link on his FB page...check it out!

Edventure

When the temperature is 100+ degrees, we try to find a cool place...one day last week that place was Edventure and we were happy to have the McCartys join us.

I snapped one picture with my camera and then my battery died, so most of the pictures are taken with my phone camera. Don't you love technology?!



Mason was pretty ticked that there were no fireman boots to fit him but he got over it {eventually}. I am by no means a germaphobe...but even I cringe when the boys put on the fireman hats, coats, boots, etc. ICK!




Oh Tripp-man, I love your legs!!




The fire truck exhibit is still the hands-down favorite, but this new construction exhibit wasn't too far behind...


Mason & Ruth Ann, hard at work...


Roper showing his temper...not sure why he was so mad at Ruth Ann but he definitely grabbed a handful of her hair! She is a tough cookie! I was "that mother" -- snapping a picture while my son was misbehaving!!

2011 Copeland Reunion

This past weekend we had our annual Copeland Family Reunion. My great grandmother was a Copeland (Gigi's mother). The Copelands have been in Clinton since...well, since before it was Clinton. A long long time!

This year we had the reunion at Lake Wylie, SC at the home of our cousins, Mike & Merita Copeland. It was our first visit to Mike and Merita's...their home was a weekend lake cottage that they moved to permanently about 10 years ago...they have added on and renovated along the way and I just love it! The yard was my favorite -- beautiful hostas and hydrangeas everywhere!

On the ride up...the boys were so excited!






I really don't think the boys got enough attention... :)






I have been using the stick sunscreen on the boys' faces...it seems to stay on well and doesn't get in their eyes like the lotion does...but it makes their faces really white!
























Graem took M&R out on Mike's jet ski. Mason wasn't so sure about it at first but he ended up loving it!






Robert liked it as long as he was in sight of his Mama & Daddy...




This is Kate being towed around on a float behind a jet ski...too funny...


We had a great time catching up with family that we don't get to see very often and it was such a beautiful day...I swear it is 10 degrees cooler up there!

Way Before...

I was trying to remember exactly how our kitchen looked when we moved in and I dug up this old picture. I took this picture during our home inspection...