Saying goodbye to summer

We don't do the beach in the middle of summer. It's like a form of torture, especially for my insanely white family (except Noah apparently tans even with 30+ sunscreen?). The sunburn, the crowds, the heat... just not our thing. So we wait until school is back in session, and then we head down to Kiawah. We've been going since I was 14, and even though it's gotten way more popular since then and a few big changes have been made, it's still like going home.

 (in case you're curious, yes I did get my hair redone. It's in the middle of a rescue operation in order to get me back to a more natural color. I kind of love the color now though... hard to tell exactly here, but it's more of a dark red brunette)

 Over the years, we've brought different friends along with us. This time, we brought our buddy Chase (I'm sure you figured that...). I think Brad enjoyed having a guy friend around, and I liked having the extra set of hands to help with Noah. :)

 (okay, seriously... it looks like they hired a photographer to take pictures of them with their son. lol. I'm in like 2 pictures from this whole trip. I really need to get better about that.)

 Brad got to play golf on the island for the first time ever (he scored a great deal). Chase tagged along with him for that and got a few phone pics.

One afternoon, Noah and Brad were both exhausted, so I took Chase for a tour of the island. I showed him all the insanely massive summer homes of all the surgeons, lawyers, and celebrities. We both agreed that if we ever had enough money to build something like that, we wouldn't. Mainly because just the cost to build something like that could feed an underprivileged family for a year.

However, this one is my dream home. I love it so much. I'd never need all that space, but it sure is beautiful.

I also showed him the Oceancourse where they had the 2012 PGA Championship. We also used to take our truck out there and drive to the end of the island to fish.

He's officially branched out on his own business-wise. He does web design, SEO, and other nerd like things that make my brain hurt. Anyway, he needed some updated shots of himself, so we had some fun and did a photoshoot while we were there. And since neither one of us work for free, we traded... he's in the middle of designing a whole new website for my photography business, and I gave him new pictures. I love a good trade. :)

(to see more from the shoot, go here)

The price of fish there is ridiculous, especially when you can just catch your own. So that's what we did. We caught dinner.

It was a lot of fun. At least until the monsoon hit. Oh and until the gator in our back yard came after our fish. Yeah, that wasn't as fun.

It ended up being the perfect trip. The perfect goodbye to summer. Noah had so much fun, he didn't want to leave. When we got back home, he climbed back in his car seat and asked to go bye-bye. :) I felt the same way.

Last birthday post, I swear

Normally, since it's already September (yay!), I would just skip over this last birthday post of Noah's. Except that a moment at this party caused Brad and I to want to cry (for a good reason). So I have to document.

We meet at my grandparents' house with the majority of my dad's family once a month to celebrate everyone's birthdays. In August, we have Noah, my little brother, and my uncle.

This is my dad's "baby" brother. He's about 6'4" and the youngest of the four of them. Crazy, huh? haha

 

After dinner, we usually gather around in the kitchen and sing happy birthday. All Noah wanted was some ice cream, so my dad had already gotten him set up in the dining room when it was time to sing. They went ahead and sang to my uncle and brother. And instead of just moving on and assuming Noah would be fine, they picked up his cupcakes, gathered around him in the dining room, and sang happy birthday again, just for him.

 

He just looked around at everyone, amazed that they were singing to him. It was such a sweet moment. My family is awesome.

Outside, they have a wooden porch swing attached to my granddaddy's workshop/garage. We've been working on strengthening his core muscles. He hates to use them, but that swing? It's the best workout for him, and he doesn't even realize it. He no longer leans back the whole time. He now holds himself up, even when it changes direction.

And he's finally letting some of the family members love on him beyond just a quick hug and kiss. My cousin's wife Breanne soaked this moment up for sure. She told me how she's been waiting so long for Noah to let her love on him and this totally made her night.

So now you see why I couldn't just skip this one. There's just too much sweetness to ignore. My family has just amazed me with how much they love Noah and accept him for who he is. We're all pretty country, and several of them didn't know anything about Autism when he was diagnosed. But instead of being weird around him, they've done the exact opposite. Even my granddaddy, who is a total strong-Southern-man type, tries to interact, love on, and encourage Noah anytime he can. It's really sweet.

My family is awesome.

still here.

I'm feeling a little all-over-the-place lately. Just lots going on. I haven't read any of my regular blogs lately (like since I blogged last...), but based on the titles in my feed? Pretty sure I'm not the only one feeling this way. School has started back, people are trying to find their groove again, and life has just gotten a little busier all of a sudden. It's understandable.

In our little world, we have friends getting married next weekend (we're both in the wedding), so we're gearing up for that. Our buddy Chase is officially moved into his new place, and we've been spending a ton of time hanging out with him. He also had some friends in town, so of course, we all spent the last few days like we were on vacation. Except not, because Brad still had to work.

We've gone swimming, bowling, out for ice cream, watched movies... just lots of fun stuff. Things I don't get to do all that often, and it's been really nice.

 

Outside of pretending we're young college kids with no responsibilities (ha!), the rest of our time has been spent just soaking up Noah's cuteness. Little moments that are priceless. Like how he's learned to take his shoes and socks on and off (almost) completely by himself.

Playing in mud puddles...

 

Or when he grabs my hand and takes me for a walk. It melts my heart, even when he decides he's too tired to keep going, and I have to figure out how to convince him to walk the rest of the way home. haha

 

So not a whole lot of anything in particular going on. Just lots of little things taking up most of the time that I  normally would've spent blogging. :)

Hope everyone's first week back to school is going (or went, depending on where you are) well! I'll be back with more eventually!

Noah's Birthday Outing (in lieu of a party)

Once we decided not to do a friend party this year, I knew exactly where I wanted to take Noah for his birthday. I used to take my little brother and sister there when they were kids, and they always had the best time.

The cool part is that you don't have to be a member to swim. They offer day passes for non-members. It's not super cheap, but definitely affordable. Fortunately for us, Noah had on his autism shirt. I usually put it on him when we go out to potentially crowded places, just so people are a little more aware of him. Add that to the fact that he's so cute? Well, apparently that equals a big discount. Like almost $20 off the price that we should've been charged. Score.

This was the Best. Decision. EVER.

Noah had such a good time. We ended up staying for four hours, only for a brief 10 minute break to eat a snack. Other than that, he was in the water. Little man couldn't get enough.

 

I think one of the best parts of this place for me was the fact that I didn't have to play lifeguard the whole time. I mean, we act like his bodyguards constantly anyway, but because it was so shallow, I wasn't panicking every few minutes trying to keep him alive. haha.

He ended up having such a great time, that I almost feel bad for not taking him sooner. There are only a few more weeks to take him, so we've already planned on taking him at least once a week until it closes.

He's not spoiled at all...

:)