The Ol' Aye Patch

 Here is a picture of our Lightning, The Ol' Aye Patch.  She is an old school Nickels, meaning she is probably as old as Joe and I.  But, she is super fast and we are really enjoying sailing her.  Joe drives, I do the bow (which is the most work, thanks) and we sail with our friend John Bowden who owns the Quantum Sail Loft, Quantum Sails in Charleston.

We have had a blast this summer.  We have sailed three regattas, two locally, placing 3rd in one regatta, and one in Wrightsville Beach, NC.  While we haven't always placed where we would like to be, we have learned a lot to improve and we have had a blast!  Joe is doing fantastic driving the boat and John has been a great, great teacher.  Joe is super impressed with my ability to gybe the jib from inside the boat, most of the shorties (other foredeck people, mostly women, small but strong!) have to get on the bow.  That makes up for a few bad tacks I have had.  Hey, I am just learning my boat handling for this boat, but I will get better!

 Here is The Ol' Aye Patch upside down in our garage.  She does not have the smoothest bottom and maybe a few dips where she sat on the trailer bunks. (I will have to post another picture of the trailer later, it is a beauty complete with hub caps!)  So we are going to get the bottom flat and smooth, much faster.  Watch out Charleston Lightning fleet!

Oh no!  The Ol' Aye Patch has been commandeered!

Madeleine

This is Maddie.  A.K.A "The Politician", she loves to greet everyone and shake hands.  (Much different from her first year of life when she wouldn't even look at people.  It pretty much took until she was a year old to like Joe.)  She is 21 months old.  Here is a little information about Maddie.  She will be great at the game Simon Says, but lose each time because she loves to mimic (and doesn't understand the rules yet).  Her older sisters are teaching her a lot, which she immediately copies.  Gracie has taught her to hit and throw, while Anna (who is more gentle) has taught her cuddles and kisses.

Her mimicking includes words and she loves to try out what you say.  So you better be careful about any adjectives/nouns that may slip out after lets say, you hit your finger with a hammer.  We are happy to report that she is saying:  "Mom", "uh-oh", "Ma" (for Max), "Bee Bo" (belly button), and some others.  Her favorite word is "Hi" and she says it so chipper and when she says it, hi-EE her face lits up and her voice gets real high as she hits the EEE sylable (her hi is two sylables).  It is really cute.

She is a pretty good eater, she loves to play with dolls, balls, barbies, etc.  She also loves the toilet, it is just her size and has all these cool features.  She loves to flush, slam the lid, not all of our toilets have the plastic lids either, and she loves to dip everything in the toilet and put it in her mouth, yum.  We are very glad Gracie has started to flush.  Also, note to any visitors, please store your toothbrushes in a safe place Maddie can not reach or find.

She is also starting to get into dress up clothes and still takes one nap a day.

On Wednesday Anna had her first day of school.  She is going to a new school for first grade, East Cooper Montessori School.  Here is the link if you would like to check it out (http://eastcooper.ccsdschools.com/).

It is a great, great school and we are so excited for her.  It is montessori, so she is in a classroom of 1st-3rd graders, which is an environment she does wonderful in.  The student to teacher ratio is 24:2, and each teacher is both montessori and state certified, and the lead teacher in each classroom is also certified gifted.  It is a public charter school that starts at 1st grade.  The school has great parent support, the kids learn through so many different experiences and working with different groups.  We really can't say enough good things about the school and environment.

She is doing great so far, a bit tired since her days of late night partying with Gracie and late mornings have come to an end (at least the late mornings).  I asked her the other day at pick up how she likes it and she said "Mommy, I love it."  She also has a few friends from preschool and is making other friends.  In fact, she also says she has a boyfriend.  She moves quick, I mean, it has only been two days for heaven's sake!

Starting Over

Alright, we had a blog once.  A long time ago, you probably remember.  It was so long ago I can't remember what was on it or recognize the people in it.  Also, I am not the best at keeping people up to date with our life (I am sure there is at least one person out there who is interested).  So, time to start again.

I know a few changes have happened since our last blog and I will try my best to fill in the blanks of the past.

I hope you enjoy!