BEST SUMMER!!

We are having the best summer ever!!! It has been so long since I lived so close to so much to keep us busy!! and not mention family and close friends! We have been in the ocean or water of some sort no-stop and you can tell by Lila's beautiful tan. She is made for coastal living. We went to visit Aunt Lori, Uncel Andy, Drew & Chole this past weekend and had an absoulte blast. The kids went tubing and the boys knee boarded( well not technically but they thought they did). And Scott is the master of the knee board...a hidden taletn he has kept under wraps for 20 yrs now!! We also took a trip to good ol WV to see out buddies the Vogt's and see the house. We had yet another great weekend seeing some good friends. I will have to post the all the pics later but here are few from WV

Cade is turning 7!!!!

I am shocked to say that our sweet boy will be 7 yrs old on Sunday.He is still little is so many ways but just 3 short years from the double digits. We had a pool party for Cade everyone had a good time and I am glad to have yet another kid party behind me. We have been spending a lot of time in the water this summer because if we didn't we might no be able to go outside!!! The beach in the late afternoon is my favorite time to go. People are leaving and the wind is cooling off I could sleep out there!!Grandma & Grandpa Bob gave Cade some scuba gear that we hope try in the pool this afternoon waiting on Scott to fly in with Pop-pop for the weekend.

Finally Summer!!!!

Yes once again I have been a severe blog slacker!!! Since Facebook showed up the blog has just about lost it's purpose of sharing the Stark saga, but I love to follow a few blogs and hate when they don't give me any new updates( yes I am a hypocrite!!!!) Well we have been out of school since June 2nd and have been busy enjoying what coastal living has to offer. We love the beach, boating, swimming poolside and fishing. I can say honestly that we are never that board here like the summers in WV. I really love living in Mount Pleasant its just a great life here, but unfortunately Scott's absence is still hard on us especially me I miss my partner in crime!!! Cade will be turning 7 on the 20th and I acutally feel sad about it for some reason. I have yet to miss my "babies" until now. I can't explain why the timing all I know is that it bothers me I just want them to stop aging and myself as well would be great!!The kids are all doing great and did really well in school and we are so proud to be their parents. Jake can not wait to be a 3rd grader he is so excited and ofcourse I'm a nervous wreck. I can not protect him forever but damn if I don't try!!!

Spring Broke!! and so on

We had a great time on our Miami adventure (or as the kids my-enemy). We did everything from swamp ride on an air boat to a helicopter ride. WOW I never did either one when I was a child I had to wait 39 1/2 years!!! The boys LOVED it of course Cade sat up with the pilot to get the best views. Lila on the the other hand was silent with a unsettled look growing on her face..in the world of Lila silence is no golden she scared to death but didn't want to let anyone know. It was amazing to see how few gadgets were used to maneuver that thing. We also got to cuddle a 3yr old gator named Larry he was so cute and was much heavier and squishier that I had thought. We all wanted to take Larry home. Miami has an awesome Children's Museum and we spent hours exploring it. All the kids loved it and wanted to stay for what seemed like months. We loved getting to see Scott everyday for a whole week I miss him something terrible!

Trip to Grandma & Gradpa Bob's

We decided take a little drive to Savannah to see Jenny and Bob aka Grandma and Grandpa Bob. Jake has been asking to go for weeks and this weekend worked out perfectly. Aunt Nana brought over Jordan and Cassie and the kids all had a great time together. I love that they get to spend real time with family it really makes a difference. I also got to catch up with an old friend that I haven't seen in about 10 years and was great to get hang out and get our kids together. I can not believe I will be 40 in 7 months....ugh it makes me want to find a time machine!!! My old school buddy, Michelle, gave Lila some turquoise suede boots that belonged to her gorgoues daughter,Kali,that are 3 sizes too big but Lila will not take them off her feet, I wish they were my size I would love to slip those puppies on!!SO CUTE!! Thanks Michelle & Kali!!!!

Sam's great escape....ugh

Well Sam the Milksnake somehow managed to escape from his house and has decided not to return. Jake freaked out and was falling apart because his snake ran away. So after searching the house for a 12 inch snake with no luck we adopted a new snake....drum roll please.....introducing Sam Dotson the corn snake. He is so so very small but seems to be much more pleasant the Sam with no last name!! Lets hope this is my last trip to purchase a snake for a while... just what I need.

SNOW in Charleston????

We could not believe that it snowed in Charleston,SC. So we have learned that it has been over 10yrs since they have seen any of the white stuff!! It was pretty to see and the kids played for a while then it was all gone...fun while it lasted!!It was so weird to see snow in palm trees....by the way they don't like snow. Though it threw a huge monkey wrench into our plans. Ann P and her BF came to visit and we couldn't meet up due to the blizzard and took us an hour to go about 4 miles to get home!!But the next day they came over and we had the chance to catch up. I love me some Ann P she is so much fun to hang with!!. Lila has been doing her hair as you can tell more is more in her opinion. I didn't post the pic of me after Lila "fixed" my hair.

Oysters on Folly Beach

Anyone that knows Scott know he loves oysters!! So it's oyster season here is the low country and everywhere you turn there is a salute to the Oyster. Folly Beach was having a festival(music,food,beer and oysters... oh and hot dog eating contest)so we went.Jake and I are not big..ok no fan of the beloved slimy snack so we just enjoyed watching the troopers of the family snarf down several buckets of the steamed variety .Cade was hounding Scott to hurry up and keep um coming.Poor Scott was doing all the work and only getting a 1/3 of the bounty. Cade even shed some tears when he felt he wasn't getting the pick of the litter or bucket! A good time was had by all!!!

Lila the Great....and I mean Great!!

Lila never ceases to amaze the world. Yesterday she taught herself how to tie her shoes. I could believe it when she said" Look Ma I tied my shoe"! so I took a peek and sure enough she had tied her shoes. This almost tops teaching herself to swim in just a few days this summer.Oh and one more stunt... she can write her letter. She made a pic for her teachers and wanted to know how to spell thier names so I told her and she wrote them by HERSELF!! This kids is going to rule the world and I am sure glad I am on her good side!!!Ok one more... so today I picked her up at school and Ms Tina told me Lila got an extra star for helping 5 kids get their coats on and she zipped them up for them!!! Beauty, Brains and Big Heart.... yea Lila has it all!!!!

Jake turns 8!!! Awesome Happy New Year

Jake turned 8 on the 29th. oh how the years have flown by and stood still at the same time!Grandma was so sweet to host Jake's party with his fav cousins, Jordan and Cassie. Jake loves to hang out with Jordan and his Grandma! She made the best cupcakes for the party and I think Jake had 3. So a fun times was had by all. Later that night Chris, Marty, Miriam and Calvin swung by and we all had a chance to catch up!! Lila and Cassie get along so great and Lila never gets tired if hanging with a cousin almost 2 yrs older!! After that we drove up to Lori & Andy's lake house on Hartwell and had the best New Years I have had in many years!!! We had a blast and so did the kids the only driving we did was on the go-cart( I will have to post the pics when I get them from Lori) and was that hilarious!!! I am so thankful to be closer to my bestest friend in the world she just makes me feel at ease and the laughter is just never ending!!!