Our Babies

Four little reasons to smile....

(and thanks to my nephew, Tyler, who's the best photographer in the family!)

Family Reunion 2010

A lot can happen in 2 weeks!

It seems like forever ago that we were driving home in our rental car... anticipating Myla's birth, wondering if I'd make it to our family reunion (scheduled for 2 days after Teresa's due date)... looking forward to some time in the pool and in the a.c. and in our house that doesn't float.

Well, we made it home on Saturday, just in time for dinner. (Thanks, Teresa!). Made it to St. Andrews for worship the following morning (Thanks, TJ!), then spent Sunday afternoon with Teddy and Teresa. - and 32 hours after we got back in South FL, we welcomed Myla Rae Cook into the world. (Thanks, Teddy and Teresa!) She's a beautiful baby, it was a beautiful birth (at home!) ... 7 lbs 2 oz., healthy and happy. (Thank You Lord!)
(that's Teddy's naked chest, by the way)

(and sorry there's not a picture of Teresa right here... I didn't get any that were "postable"... if ya know what I mean. ;) )

Since Myla came 4 days early, family reunion was definitely an option for me... oh, and for Teddy and Teresa, too. Not one to stay at home for long, Teresa was up for a little road trip. The midwife gave the "all-clear", so the whole family was together with our extended family for a beach weekend. Did I mention that my daughter in law is amazing? :)
We had a full house for a few days after the reunion, as Kailee and her girls came "home" with us for a short visit. This is the only picture I got of all the cousins together... the series of shots is pretty funny- four little girls that don't stay in one place for very long. Myla's the only one you can really count on to stay still. We even took a road trip down to Grandma's house in Miami, for more extended family time (and more swimming!) A highlight for Cap was teaching Avery to swim... she went from a floater to a swimmer in the week she was with us. (Note the yellow swim rings- our kids learned to swim in these things...and they still work!- found 'em at Sports Authority, if anyone's interested).


Two weeks at home went by way too fast. We wanted to spend time with all sorts of friends, and never got a chance to. We wanted to relax- and I'm not sure if we ever did!... but time with our kids and grandkids was more precious than anything. I wasn't ready to leave quite yet... but we're back on the boat.
We enjoyed a short visit this morning with friends from home that were passing through the area (Robert, Jason and Jonathan Hale), then said goodbye to our Beaufort friends... and we're on the go again... anchored in a quiet spot somewhere along the Intracoastal Waterway tonight... heading north in the morning.
It's good to be on the go again- but we both kind of miss our Beaufort "home", too! We made some good friends at Lady's Island Marina- and plan on returning on our trip south in October.
It's a crazy life! Joy and Sadness... over and over again. Lots of love- and that makes it all worthwhile.

Progress!

The long-awaited parts are in!!! (5 weeks later)... Ted's up and working feverishly so we can get the job done and get home for "our" upcoming birth! Hang in there, Teresa!

Low Country Life

Remember the "neighbor" that let us borrow the air conditioner? When we thanked him (profusely), he said "Not at all- I'll getcha on the come back."
Today was the "come back."... but we had fun doing it!


Dan and Gina are refitting an older catamaran. They've lived on the boat for several years, and are fixing it up as they go. Mother Ocean was scheduled to haul out yesterday (on a shrimp boat rail) to get her bottom painted... but it was raining yesterday, so it got postponed to today. No biggie- except that Dan (a firefighter on Hilton Head) had to work today. So he called Ted, and asked him if he'd bring her in for him. Now Ted had no experience with shrimp boat rails...

or with this boat...


or with the tides and depths and oyster beds of Hilton Head...

but no worries. Ya learn something new every day 'round here! He was kind of nervous, but it went well- all part of the excellent adventure!


By the way... the weather's a lot nicer... there's a cool breeze blowing today. And there was a seafood shack at the dock we visited this morning, so I've got some snapper and shrimp to throw on the grill for dinner. Sound like fun? Oh yeah!