At the Beach in Hilton Head, South Carolina

August 15th, we headed to Hilton Head, South Carolina for my sister, Rebekah and her husband, Dan's wedding.  The boys went with me and got to see their cousins and play at the beach.  It was a nice little vacation.

First, we have Brady building little sandcastles.

 Major and Uncle James (my brother).  Uncle James was great at holding Major in the water.

 Uncle DJ (my other brother) was great at showing Eli and his daughter, Haley, how to ride the waves. :-)

 Rachel and Major

 Major making sure those waves don't get too close.  He made a game of going out in the water, waiting for a wave to come up, then running back to shore yelling, "RUN! RUN!"  It was cracking me up.  Sadly, I couldn't get a good picture of that.

 Eli and Haley played in the water for hours and hours.

 The Belcher side of the family cousins: Haley and Tyler Belcher, Major, Eli, Katie Belcher, and Brady.

 Haley

 Papa enjoying some shade on the beach

 Lunch break!

First Day at Alabama Christian Academy

The night before the first day of school, Brady's kindergarten teacher gave him some homework, to make a miniature Brady.  He chose to be a Texan football player (no surprise here).  He went outside and got some real grass for his football player to stand on.

 August 8th, 2013.  First day of school at Alabama Christian Academy in Montgomery, Alabama.  Brady in kindergarten, Eli in 2nd grade.  Brady's teacher is Mrs. Kachelman, Eli's is Mrs. Hatcher.

 Eli and Brady with their brand new lunchboxes (I didn't get a picture of their new backpacks).  This was a 3 day choosing process.  I let them pick them out on the internet and it took FOREVER!  Poor Brady, it is so hard for him to choose.  I mean, he'll be stuck with whatever he picks for an entire year!  This decision is not to be taken lightly.  Eli chose the Oakland A's lunchbox because that was his little league baseball team.  Brady chose the New England Patriots because he likes them. :-)

 Brady Moore...his cubby hole and his desk.

 Eli Moore: outside his classroom and at his desk.

 

The boys had really good first days of school.  Poor Eli is having a much harder time than Brady adjusting, which is to be expected.  Eli and I prayed a lot those first few days; he missed his Texas friends so badly.  But now, two weeks into school, he's found a group of boys he plays football with at recess everyday and he is very happy.  Brady is doing a great job at school and is loving having homework and getting to be a big boy.  Several of the girls in his class have told me that he is their boyfriend, but when I look at him, he just shakes his head no.  Sweet boy, Brady.

Last Day of Summer Fun Before the School Year Begins!

Every year, we take the boys somewhere fun before school starts.  This year, school starts early...August 8th! And the boys wanted to go to the zoo.  They absolutely love animals...as long as they are behind fences.

 Brady and Major spent a good deal of time trying to catch some birds in a bird sanctuary.

 At the Montgomery Zoo, they have a ski lift type thing that will fly you over the whole zoo.  It was my special treat for the boys.  Here are the pictures I took while flying over the zoo.

 Bill had to go to teacher in-service at school, so the boys and I went with one of Bill's new assistant football coaches, Hayden Sneed.  Hayden will be attending Huntingdon College in the fall and played for Bill at Houston Christian.  He stayed with us for a week while he was waiting for his apartment to get ready.  They boys loved having him around and he was so good with them!

 The best picture I could get of Major on the ski lift.

 It was so hot that day...thank goodness the zoo had sprinklers out everywhere.  Ahhh, that feels good!

 By lunchtime they were sweaty messes, but they had such a good time.  The school year may now begin.

Papa and Nana come to visit

We have been so excited to have our first guests in our new home... Papa and Nana!  They came the last week of July and it was so good to have them here.  The boys love having Papa and Nana around.  Someone else to read to them and play with them and take them out to eat. (One of their very favorite activities.)

First: Nana reading to Major

 Next: Papa watching the Detroit Tigers play baseball with Eli and Brady. He was teaching them wonderful things like how to yell at the TV and chants like "we want a pitcher, not a belly itcher."  Great.  Thanks, Papa.

 Traditional last day of trip pictures...

 Getting to ride in Papa's Mustang convertible is another one of their all-time favorite things to do with Papa. :-)