Camping Trip

This past weekend, we braved the colder night temps and took our three little munchkins camping in the "real" woods. Honestly, I was pretty apprehensive that day before we left.....Is it too cold? Will we get any rest? Do we have everything we need? Are we crazy to take 3 little kids camping? Are toilets available close by? And the questions kept coming and coming......
However, my fears were all for not. Everyone had such an awesome time! We got to the campsite (about an hour drive from our house) and found the perfect little spot. Up on a fairly flat little ridge overlooking the woods and lake below. Just beautiful with all the fall leaves. And most importantly, close to the bathrooms! We (meaning David and me.....the kids were too busy playing on the logs and rocks nearby) got to work right away putting up our massive tent. Just picture if you can a pack-in-play, blow-up double mattress for mom and part of dad, two sleeping bags for Sarah and Luke, bags of clothes, extra blankets, and cooking supplies with room to spare! We definitely got the mac-daddy of tents!!
After set up time, we took a stroll down to the lake (or what was a Lake.....severe drought in our area right now). Sarah and Luke enjoyed running and finding little treasures along the shoreline as Andrew peeked out from behind Daddy in his backpack. After a dinner of Chick-fil-A (I know, we had to cheat a little....) the sun began to set and the kids immediately got out their flashlights. We started a fire and spent the rest of the evening roasting marshmallows and watching the stars in a little clearing above our tent. Then it was bedtime! Luke could not wait to sleep in the tent. He had been asking all night when he could sleep in his sleeping bag. We all put on two layers and bundled up for the night.......everyone slept well (except me....of course, I kept waking up worrying if everyone was warm enough...especially little Drew) It did drop to about 44 degrees by morning. I had Andrew in 3 layers, plus two blankets at night and coat and hat in morning....He looked like the little brother from the movie Christmas Story. He could hardly move, but he was sure warm!
David got up about 5:30 am and ended up staying up and starting a fire for all of us for breakfast. What a man!!! We cooked bacon and eggs over the fire...and then gathered up all our gear and headed home. But of course, no camping trip (Shaw style) would be complete without stopping by the local Starbucks and getting a hot chocolate.

Fair Time at Last!

Am I tall enough?
The brothers
Hey, I want to ride, too!
Look at me!
Daddy and Sarah on the Ferris Wheel

Two weeks ago we went to the local Country Fair. Sarah has been talking about going since last year....literally. Every few weeks she would ask when the fair was coming back....so needless to say, she was ecstatic when the time finally arrived. We got there early because of the free admission during the first hour and stood in line for the Ferris Wheel. I was planning on staying with Drew while Sarah and Luke went with Daddy. However, once we got to the front of the line the operators told us that Luke was too short to ride.....he was disappointed, but once I convinced him that he could go on the Merry-go-round with his little brother, he was fine. He loved riding with Drew and being the "big" brother while his little brother held onto him. We had such a blast! The kids rode tons of rides, ate cotton candy (a must at any fair!), watched the local Indian tribal dances, etc.... We ended up spending over 4 hours there!! Sarah and Luke have already been asking when the fair will come back again..... only 355 more days guys:(:(:

More Birthday Pictures

Granddad making me laugh
Whose birthday is it?
Andrew's little helpers
Cousins:)

Andrew's 1st Birthday Party

Our Little "Pumpkin"

Icing little bro's pumpkin cake
The cousin table

Andrew LOVED the cake!
The fam

This past weekend we celebrated Andrew's first birthday. We decided at the last minute to have a party a week early since my sister and two little nieces would be in town from Charleston. We had a wonderful day celebrating our little "pumpkin's" first birthday. We ate pumpkin cake, painted pumpkins, grilled out, and spent time with family. We cannot believe that he is already one!! What a precious little boy that God has given us!!!!

Crawling.......Finally!

Andrew "officially" crawled two weeks ago. I really thought he would be content being an army crawler (crawling using arms only with legs extended) ; however, out of the blue two weekends ago he finally figured it out. In the picture above I caught him wedged under the living room chair......his world just got much bigger!!

Our Biking Adventures Continued.....

Yes, we actually took the children again this weekend to the same trail. Definitely a bit daring after our first experience, but this time we were prepared and we left home without any major "events." It was a beautiful fall day with bright blue skies and a hint of that cool crisp air that I love!! Sarah was a bit uneasy on her bike to start with (remembering Luke's fall last week, I think), but after she overcame that initial fear, she took off. In fact, she was our leader the last half of the trip! Wow! Amazing what can happen with a little self-confidence. Luke would have liked to lead, but because his bike was much smaller he could not catch up to Sarah no matter how fast he pedaled. Poor little guy! We rode about 3 miles, but I don't think Luke's legs ever rested except for a short water break......he definitely worked harder than any of us:) We are really looking forward to having many little family biking adventures this fall!!