McAllister Lane Buckler

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Elizabeth Parham Buckler

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Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Our Last Weeks in Augusta

It seems that we have been insanely busy these last few weeks. School ended, as did ballet, Wednesday nights at church, and several other school-year things. But other things began ~ summer activities ~ like swimming lessons (with swimming miracle worker Jean Umansky!!), playing and swimming at the water park at the Y, and playing at home A LOT. :)

Alli Lane has been doing a lot of reading to Boots ~ in fact, most of the time, Boots prefers AL to Brad or me!


My girls



SWIMMING LESSONS ~ They both took 2 weeks and are doing a bump-up before we leave. AL took with Jean last summer, too, and it has been wonderful both times!! You can't ask for more than an instructor who is 1:1 with you child and genuinely cares about her ~ who has had so much experience with this that she knows that teaching a child swimming lessons isn't just about swimming, but also about water/pool safety and what to do in alarming or possibly scary situations. Jean is wonderful, and I am not kidding ~ I may just drive back to Augusta for a few days next summer to let her work with the girls again. :) Not to mention, both of my girls adore her and literally beg to go to swimming lessons. Now, I ask you ~ did you ever beg and plead with your mom to take you to swimming lessons as a child? I highly doubt it! :)
















Alli's days of ballet with Miss Jessica came to an end. She had a blast again this year ~ and it was a little different, since she was one of the older children in the class. She was definitely in "leader mode" in ballet this year!




Doing a split, of course












With our house on the market, there have been many times I have needed the girls "contained" so I could clean and straighten. This has meant LOTS of movies and coloring and playing in Mommy's bed!!



There has been the occasional tea party, as well. Daddy gets to join in the funwhen he is home! ;)

Wednesday Night programming at church came to an end, and all of the children's choirs did a precious program in May one Sunday night.



I even had a Girls' Night Out ~ dinner at TakoSushi!

Below are, left to right and front row then back row:
Elizabeth Gregg, Lisa Patton
Jen Hughes, me, Amy Tisdale


When we have gone to Savannah this past year (which has been at least once a month for Brad to work and for us to check in on the house), we have stayed with the Lewises most of the time. Other times, we have stayed at the Marriott Courtyard, Room 138. It is almost like home, as well ~ in fact, AL was devastated the last time we were there, when I had to tell her that we don't actually own the room and that other people stay there when we are not there. :) Of course, I try to be very well prepared each time we stay at the hotel, so that the girls are entertained and don't get too bored while we are there. I always have new art projects, activities, and books on-hand!








Brad had to work in Savannah on Mother's Day weekend, but I took the girls to Atlanta. It was a short, but nice, visit.





At Nana and Papa's house


We have spent a lot of time coloring and doing arts and crafts, as usual. Whereas AL really loves the creative crafts, of course, Boots is a step away from being obsessed with coloring! She sits in the blue chair with her tray and colors for hours.... (She is way too busy to do it all at once, but she comes back to it repeatedly throughout the day.)



AL was busy finishing up with her school year; her class made swimsuit coverups with their little handprints as fish!


As we have done every other summer, we have spent a lot of time, already, at the Y. We are really going to miss the Y, even with a great swimming pool just down the street from us in Savannah. The girls love the waterpark there, and in some of these pictures below, Brad was helping them practice what they learned with Mrs. Jean during their swimming lessons. Somehow, the Y didn't make it into my post about our "spots" around Augusta, but it should have!









Although I am not consciously trying to potty train Boots yet, she is beginning to show an interest in using the potty. Sometimes, we get lucky, and she actually goes in the potty. But more often than not, she realizes she needs to go after she has just gone in her diaper. That's okay, though ~ at least she is getting interested, and we can focus on training after we are settled in Savannah. Boots especially loves it when AL reads to her while she is on the potty, which AL loves to do! She feels so important. They are so precious and love each other so much!


Sunday, June 6, 2010

Our Home in Augusta

This is a sentimental post of pictures ~ less for the interest of anyone reading this blog and more for the family journal that I have always intended for this to be.

We have lived at 2925 Westchester Drive for nearly 4 years. Alli Lane was 1 1/2 when we moved into this house, and of course, Boots had not yet been born. Now, AL is 5, and Boots is 2 1/2, and we have loved this house. It has been the perfect home for us. I stumbled upon this house when we lived on Cambridge, only 1/2 a mile from here, and it has been a blessing.


Our home





We have spent many, many hours on our back deck.







Our large, fenced-in backyard ~ lots of play space for the children and the dogs ~ and there is a pen on the side of the house for the dogs, as well.


We have truly enjoyed our deck ~ especially since we built this new one a couple of years ago.





Boots' Room








Alli Lane's Room




You can't really see them well here, but the lights in the topiary are pink and twinkly, and AL has loved them since she was a baby!


Master Bedroom





Living Room, from the back of the foyer






Living Room, from the dining room



Dining Room




Kitchen ~ and somehow, I never managed to get a picture of the breakfast nook in here....






The Children's Den







I also somehow never included pictures of the Guest Bedroom/Study, or some of the other areas.....


This has been a wonderful home to us for nearly 4 years. We have loved being at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac ~ the girls can play and ride bikes/riding toys out there, and we don't get a lot of traffic. We have a large front yard and an even larger backyard, which have been wonderful, and the deck is great for family meals and entertaining. We have truly loved this house; it has been the perfect family home for us. Now, we are praying it will sell, and in my mind, I am sort of wishing for another family to buy it, since this house has been so terrific for ours.


Goodbye, 2925 Westchester Drive! We will miss you!