Kiddos on the Beach

Just one more picture from Kiawah:

GranMols wanted a picture of all the kids, which is quite a feat with seven ranging from 3 months to 11 years old! This is the best we got - good job, Kels!

Big Boy #2

Malachi's not the only kid around here going through big changes...Elliott is now in a big boy bed!

In a few weeks when the baby arrives, Malachi and Elliott will begin sharing a room so we thought it would be a good idea to go ahead and convert the crib into a toddler bed to give Elliott some practice before moving him to the bottom bunk. After three nights and two naps I can hesitantly say it's a success! After reading books and praying he walks to bed by himself and climbs in. (I think it helps that he loves his blankie and it was never allowed to be out of the crib.) When he wakes up he stays in bed and yells for us until we come into his room and then he climbs out. I can only hope it continues to be this easy!

Off to Kindergarten

We survived day one! It was rough to get up a lot earlier than normal, but Malachi was so excited that things went very smoothly yesterday morning as we got ready for the very first full day of school. We even had time to snap a few pictures! On the way Malachi said at least three times how excited he was and how cool it was to be going to school. I walked with him to his classroom and was able to get a few more pictures before hugging and kissing him goodbye. I even made it out of the building before I teared up a bit!

I think Elliott enjoyed having lots of solo attention yesterday, but he was excited to see Malachi when we went back to pick him up. Malachi's assessment of the day: "It wasn't as fun as I thought it would be, but it was good." Apparently he didn't get to fingerpaint in art class because they ran out of time which is what prompted this response. However the first thing he said this morning is that tomorrow is his second day of school so I think he did really enjoy it and is looking forward to going back. This week and next he goes every other day and after that it will be every day. Pretty nice that they ease them in like that...and I enjoyed sleeping in a little more this morning!

The Big Day

Tomorrow is the big day - Malachi's very first day of school! Last week he had orientation and testing, but beginning tomorrow he will be there all day without us. When I asked him if he had fun at orientation his response was that it was kinda boring since he only got to stay for one hour. I guess that's a good sign?! We really like his teacher, Mrs. Hobbs, and think he'll have a great year.

I'll update tomorrow with all the stories from day one!

Kiddos Galore!

Before heading south to Kiawah the boys and I got to spend a morning at the Knisley pool with my longtime friend, Heather, her two girls, her sisters and their girls. This was my best attempt at a group picture. Emmalyn was already napping and Annie didn't want to get back in the pool. Thank goodness Malachi and Sophie were able to corral all the little ones!

Kiawah Family Vacation

We spent last week in Kiawah Island with the entire Lloyd side. We had an awesome vacation together, complete with lots of laughs, perfect weather and plenty of fun. Here are a few highlights of our week:

We started the week off with the annual Kiawah Island Amazing Race - Lloyd family style! Sadly, I was not able to defend my title as reigning champion, however I'm choosing to blame that on the lightening that caused us to stop early instead of the fact that our team had Malachi on a tandem bike with Erik and I was 34 weeks pregnant and riding a bike with a 25-pound toddler in tow!

The boys enjoyed our stop at the fire station during the race.

Elliott and Adeline liked playing with the truck in the sand.

Building sandcastles with Dad is the best!

Elliott helped dig,

and Malachi supplied plenty of water.

The kids thought the park was fun in the evenings.

Walker especially liked the swings!

More fun in the sand.

I think this was Oliver's favorite part of the week, naps on the beach!

Both boys loved playing in the water.

Malachi and I made a stepping stone at the Activity Center one afternoon. Malachi's is the one in the front on the right.

Elliott LOVED his bike rides, especially those with his bike-buddy, Aunt Meg!
What a great week full of wonderful memories!

Jekyll Island, Part 2

The rest of our vacation week on Jekyll Island was as fun and relaxing as the first part! Here are a few of the things we did:

Enjoyed appetizers and the sunset over the marsh at the Rah Bar in the historic district:Spent lots of time at the beach:The boys played like kids in the ocean:

A serious game of putt-putt:

With a few variations to the rules!
And nice relaxing dinners out. Erik and Andrew took advantage of the all-you-can-eat seafood buffet at B&J's Seafood and Steak in nearby Darien. The shrimp was delicious!
On the way home we stopped at Whataburger for breakfast taquitos. Erik was excited to see some pictures of his hometown, Corpus Christi, where Whataburger began. We were also surprised to find out that the manager that morning was from Chillicothe! Small world!

A BIG thank you to Grandpa Gene and Grandma Alice for allowing us to take over their house for the week. We had a wonderful time relaxing and enjoying your island. And another big thank you to 'Buelo and Yaya for keeping our boys, to CeCe for keeping Corinne and Cooper and to Grammy Marsha and Grandma Linda for keeping Camryn. It was so nice to have some adult time and know that our kids were in great hands and having as much fun as we were!