Little Bear Has a Birthday Party

Piper was pretty excited about her birthday.

We traveled to the farm to celebrate Sweet Willow's turning ONE!

She looked surprised when everyone began singing, but she didn't lose her cool.

When she saw her cake she just stared at it for a while. Eventually she began eating it, first with her fists, then finally her face (see photo below). In fact, this gradual move from watching to fists to face took so long that only the true fans of Finn stuck around to see it occur! (hehehe)

I think slurping may be most effective. Yes, I'll just stick my face right here and breathe this sugar castle in.

And this is what it looks like after the slurping.

Ummm...... I am thinking about this cake.

Curious George Visits the Beach

Oh, the good times we Keigleys had at the beach could fill many blog posts....so many blog posts.

However, we are actually about to leave again for a short visit to the farm to celebrate our wee little Willow's first birthday. I will have to add more images when we return - but for now, for all of my blog fans (and I mean you Jenga and Gray), I will simply add a hilarious shot of two.

Walter and Jane stopped by for a visit on their way to Charleston and we had a little frolic on the beach together.

We loved Fripp Island - it was peaceful, serene and perfect for us . . . exactly what we needed at the end of a long summer. We were in the water every day, despite rainfalls scattered throughout the week. We searched for shells, found a mollusk, cut my toe on oyster shells, swam in the pool, jumped over waves, ate too much junk food, watched TLC at night, saw dolphins in the ocean, played on every playground we saw, watched Riley fall off the monkey bars in an attempt to show off her skills for Kevin, ate at fun restaurants, walked the shore, consumed ridiculous amounts of cereal, played SkipBo and relaxed with one another.

The Giving Tree

When we lived in Virginia we always felt as if summer began the day the Wickstrum's suburban swirled up the dust as it roared down the driveway for the first time each summer.

Living at Look Up, I guess summer ends here the day the staffers pass out hugs and slowly drive away to their other families in various and sundry locations.

What an incredible, exhausting, emotional, bizarre, hilarious, beautiful summer it has been.

We have loved the summer staffers here at Look Up - all 25 of these outstanding people. The kids have truly believed that the summer staffers primarily existed to hug them, help them climb trees (thanks Andrew), play in the water with them (Stacy, Becky, Rachael, Lanier, Torrye ....) laugh at their jokes, talk about the Beatles (Nate) and perform all the skits and songs just for their amusement!

Bergen has learned to pretend that the tree house at the top of the swing set is an airplane that he should pretend to skydive from thanks to some staffers' weekend excursion. London now thinks it is hysterically funny to see boys dressed in girls' t-shirts and insists on putting Bergen in her pink Tinkerbell pajamas for laughs. Mosely reminds Bergen daily that it is a "girls' day, not a boys' day" every morning. Riley is excited to be wearing all of Katie's clothes now. Piper gives high-fives now and doesn't hold any grudges against Nate and Chris for the harrowing diaper change experience.

O, Summer Staffers - the Keigleys love you.

Wild Days

This actually happened a few weeks ago, but I forgot to mention it.

We were swimming at the lake one day and Bergen was showing us his new skill of pulling himself out at the dock, instead of walking around by the wooden steps. Up and down he went. Over and over again.

Next thing we knew, Bergen Hawke was swimming out to Kevin, who thankfully happened to be with us that day, and he said, "Dad, my shirt hurts." Kevin pulled back his swimming shirt and then looked at me. "Uh, Lacey," Kevin said, "We need to get out of the water. I think we need to go to the emergency room."

Bergen had somehow found a nail in the side of the dock and scraped it across his tiny birdcage chest, opening it up like a small zipper.


Bergen never complained about his chest as we waited and he only was worried when he had to be held down and he had to watch the doctor stitch up his chest with what London and Mosely call "fred" because they cannot pronounce "thread". During this time he screamed and screamed. He asked me to sing him his favorite songs and despite my serious tone deaf-ness, I sang my little guy his favorite songs - "Beautiful Boy" and "Lullaby" - while holding his small hand in mine.

One of the nurses holding him said he was really being brave. Bergen said, through his sobs, "I'm not being brave. I'm crying!"

Ten days later Kevin took out his stitches while Bergen was sleeping and the next day Kevin and Bergen had a father/son day in downtown Greenville. They ate pizza and ice cream and went to a special toy store called O.P. Taylor's where Berg picked out this cool sword and shield.

I couldn't really get a photo of his stitches. He only reveals his wound to a select few people decided on a case by case basis.

Rootabaga Stories

Let me just say.....I do not possess the graphic artist skills of say, Emma or my husband or my eldest daughter. I tried to move these photos into eye pleasing arrangements, but I couldn't, alright??

We visited Connemara last week, the last home of Pulitzer prize winning poet Carl Sandburg. It is such a beautiful place. I want to live there.

We watched a show about Sandburg's writings presented by the actors at Flat Rock Playhouse, conveniently located across the street.

We hiked around the farm, played with the goats, ate a picnic lunch, hiked a very long path and enjoyed the lovely day.

All Things Wise and Wonderful

(Perhaps this is the pilot episode of a pair of the Beth Babes.)

Raven and London go way back. When they first met at the Phelps house in Florida, five month old Raven reached over and yanked a handful of three month old London's hair.

Raven crawled first. She walked first. Raven said words first and slept in a big girl bed first. When Raven visits, London imitates what Raven has done for weeks after the visit.

On the swingset . . . London can now do flips. Very impressive.

In the bathtub . . . London announces, "I can wash my own hair and my own body. Raven showed me how. And I think I may take a shower by myself soon. Raven can do that. I just don't know if I can reach all of the things."

Currently she desires five of everything. "Because that's how old I am!" Five pretzels. Five blueberries. Five toys.