At the end of June our family packed the car and headed to South Carolina for a couple of weeks. Michael had to travel for work during the first half of our time there but returned for beach week. Here are some pictures from our time!

Ready for the next 10 hours!

Beats.

Sleeps.

We kicked off the time in South Carolina with a visit to my grandparents’ house on Lake Murray!

Summertime Fincher.

Lovin’ life.

Lake lounging.

Colt’s airplane arms.

I think this is the ride where Michael flipped all 3 of us off!! Woops…!

Finn loving his new Clemson gear.

Back in Columbia…

Colt!

My parents got a sandbox for their yard and it was a HUGE hit!

Sandy Finn.

Sweet face.

We checked out the water park at Ft. Jackson.

Colt ready to go!

Finn in on the action too.

My grandparents also took us all to the zoo!

Colt & Finn with Nanny & Papa at the new otter exhibit.

Colt’s favorites are the elephants!

With Nanny and Colt.

Feeding giraffes is always such a highlight!

The gorilla was putting on a show!

Colt riding a pony!

Mom and Colt on the zoo train.

One evening Colt was thrilled to go watch my mom compete in a tennis match which she OF COURSE DOMINATED!

Colt watching Gigi on the courts.

Playing in the dirt with Gigi in the background.

At my parents house the kids run the show.

Finn exploring.

And I wonder why he always wants to climb into the dishwasher while I’m trying to do dishes!

Riding his bike around their neighborhood.

Finn learning to pull up in the crib.

After a week in Columbia we drove to Charleston for a week at the beach with my family!

Driving to Charleston. First stop – airport to get Michael!

Second stop: Meredith & Andrew’s house where Colt promptly made himself at home on the drum set.

The beach week was in celebration of my mom’s 60th birthday that previous May. She and my dad joined together with my dad’s brother and his wife and they rented an awesome beach house for all of their kids & grandkids. There were 4 from my parents generation, 8 from my generation and 7 little ones (ages 10 months, 1.5, 3, 4.5, 6, 8 and 10) so it was a full, FUN house. The house was a block off the beach and had a great pool that was well shaded in the afternoons so the routine was usually beach in the morning, pool in the afternoon. Some highlights included celebrating the 4th of July, celebrating Colt’s 3rd birthday and lots of family time! Here are some moments from the week!

Dad & Colt.

Dad & Finn.

Colt & Augusta Clare digging at the beach.

My brother Brad and Augusta Clare. Love this pic of them.

Sweet little May.

Pool scene. Colt…

More.

Spiderman goggles!!

Finn loved floating in the pool.

The best little infant floater.

Harper bros. #matchingsungas

Love snuggling this guy.

Beach babes.

Besties Augusta Clare & Colt.

Patriotic Finn.

At the coloring table.

Face!

Laughing the days away.

Finn and Aunt Suzanne!

Colt with Delaney and Gavin.

May and Finn building with blocks.

Family 4th photo.

Colt’s first time really watching fireworks. Best view on Dad’s shoulders.

Colt learning all about block towers from big cuz Gavin.

All 8 of my generation: JC & Matt, Michael & me, Brad & Suzanne, Jenna & Mark.

On July 7, we were so happy to celebrate Colt’s 3rd birthday!

Birthday table set-up, all ready for the birthday boy.

Birthday morning at the beach.

Birthday kite flying.

Birthday brother.

Birthday playing with Augusta Clare while Finn crawls headfirst into the surf.

Birthday playing with Dad.

Jealous.

Fun on the beach!

Mom & Finn.

Family photo with the birthday boy.

Birthday Colt.

Love our 3 year old!!!

CAKE and PRESENTS!!

Evening walk on the beach with this cutie pie.

Papa with his granddaughter and granddaughter in law. 🙂

Our attempt to get the great grandparents with their 4 great grands.

Lunch with these cuties.

Family Photo Shoot!

Harpers on the beach!

My parents with their kids & grands!

Beach crew (minus Mark & Jenna!)

Beach boys.

Last April (almost a year ago…eek!) we flew to Arizona! 

We were visiting for a family friend’s wedding in Sedona so after we landed we drove straight there to the Harpers’ property at Hidden Valley.

Colt loves it.

Feeding the ducks!

Sweet little visit from Sharon’s sister Patsy and brother Tim for a hand of Pfeffer.

Great Aunt Patsy and Great Uncle Time with Finn!

Colt is a focused Pfeffer player.

Colt and Papa!

The rehearsal dinner Friday night was western.

Aunt Lise with her boys in their perfectly fitting Western wear.

Yeehaw.

Mike & Shannon.

A couple pictures from the wedding and party Saturday.

Colt opening up the dance floor.

Rent the runway triplets.

Photo booth.

After the wedding, Michael had to fly to Brazil for work for the week so the kids and I stayed in Arizona. Since we were there for a full week, Michael and his parents decided to take advantage of the time and get Colt into swim lessons with the amazing swim instructor, Marta. The Harpers originally met Marta when she taught the Harper kids to swim back when Michael was 2 or 3 years old. Soon she stepped in to fill the void left by an au pair and has worked for his family ever since – currently their Home Manager! So, she’s basically family. But her hidden talent is definitely swimming lessons. People come from all over Arizona to have her teach their kids – especially since pools are so common there so water-safety is essential.

Colt was only 2 and a half and had NO swimming experience. We only had a few days so they coordinated with Marta to have him take lessons every morning and evening for 5 days. The first few days were pretty brutal and Colt would seriously resist getting dressed and ready for it, but just when I was ready to pull the plug, he turned the corner and started to like it. 

By the end of the week, Colt was able to jump into the water, go under and come up onto his back totally on his own. Then he learned how to float and paddle over to the wall until he could grab on, flip over and “monkey” across the wall to the side of the pool until he reached the steps where he could get out. I was amazed by the incredible progress and accomplishment! We celebrated his “graduation” with medals and gifts.

Excited for his lesson!

Graduation gifts!

Facetime with Dad to show off his medal.

And when we weren’t swimming we were busy enjoying time with family in Arizona!

Bubbles with Lise in the backyard.

Happy Finn at 8 months.

Driving down the lane.

Colt and cousin Julian at the children’s museum.

Finn!

To close out the trip I did one of the bravest things ever and flew with both boys by myself from Phoenix to DC. The Harpers walked us up to security and Michael met us on the other side but I was nervous about the 4 and a half hours in between. Thankfully it was before Colt was really potty trained (so no emergency runs to the bathroom!) and before Finn was mobile so he stayed relatively content in his carseat (I think the only time we’ve bit the bullet and bought a seat for a baby under 2). Not sure I could do it again right now but it was worth it to get that sweet time with family! 🙂

(Still playing catch-up!) Earlier in 2016 Michael was still traveling a lot to Brazil for work. He needed to be in Brazil the week before Easter so we decided to have my mom fly up to VA so that she could help me do the drive with the boys from VA down to SC to spend time with family there that week. Then, Michael met us in SC for Easter and we were all able to return to VA together as a family. Here are some pictures & memories from the trip.

Making our standard Cracker Barrel stop along the drive!

Easter-week activities at my parents’ church.

Colt & Finn are happy to meet the Easter Bunny. 

Finn at 7 months old! Had just gotten his first tooth!

At the Easter Egg hunt!

Finn & Pasha.

Kids settling in for some scripture readings.

Colt was a huge fan of the whole Easter egg concept. 

Gigi introducing Finn to dolls.

Meanwhile, Michael was hanging with our friends back in Brazil and sent me these pics with the Parkers’ precious kiddos who are both within days of our two.

Michael & Jack.

Little Finley!

During my week at home, my parents let me leave Colt with them for a day so that I could visit a dear college friend for an afternoon in Atlanta. Finn was happy to have come along for the ride with me though!

Finn!

So happy to meet Bess and her 2 cuties.

With Bess and her princess Mary Carol!

Next morning back in Columbia.

Sweet boys!

Necklace making with Colt.

All set up to race matchbox cars down the hill across from my parents’ house.

Colt always took the better cars…

Funny bath Fincher.

Loves the bath.

It was during this trip that Colt wrote his name for the first time. He has a really simple name to write and it’s obviously not perfect but he did it totally unprompted so I was kind of shocked when I saw it so of course I took a photo.

“Colt” – age 2 yrs 8 months. Showing me it’s time to start working on writing! 

During our visit, my mom also introduced Colt to the whole concept and process of dying hard boiled eggs. He was a HUGE fan AND it got him to eat hard boiled eggs (at least for a while…).

Egg-dying 1.

Egg-dying 2.

Egg-dying 3.

Egg-eating 1.

Egg-eating 2.

Puzzle-building 1.

Puzzle-building 2.

Puzzle-completion!

Egg-dying 4.

Egg-eating 3.

Nanny & Papa with their great grandsons.

Easter Sunday with Gigi & Pasha.

Michael is back!

Brad’s family visiting my parents’ house as well. 

Michael catching up with May.

Easter egg hunt with the cousins.

Colt, Augusta Clare and Gabriel.

Pasha entertaining grandkids. 

Henry & Margaret teaching Colt cornhole. 

Fincher Fam!

When Michael finished working in Brazil at the end of January, he joined back up with the boys and me in South Carolina.We were staying with my parents until we officially got keys to our house in Virginia mid February so we took the opportunity to take the family out to Arizona again to get a little more time with our Harper family. Random photos but here we go!

The first leg of the trip was on a small plane (Columbia, SC going through DC) so Colt was in a single all by himself! He loved it.

On the longer flight to Arizona, however, this was not the case. Finn & I weren’t seated beside Colt and Michael so when Colt passed out, some kind gentleman beside him basically ended up holding his head the rest of the flight. Always thankful for kindness on a flight with kiddos!

In Phoenix:

Colt & cousin Julian (just 3 months apart!).

Feeding the ducks with Papa.

Finn loves eating at True Foods.

Wine & cheese in the grove.

While we were in town, the Harpers hosted a beautiful engagement party at their home for some family friends. I don’t have many photos of the event itself but I do have a couple of the set-up.

Barrel bar!

Paella for days!

Sweet baby Finn. About 5.5 months here.

Colt with an upside down stick-on mustache, passed out in the car with Daniel Tiger and other cozy things… so normal.

A couple days at Hidden Valley:

Hanging in the barn. Lise playing with Colt, Michael & Finn.

Michael & his dad out for a morning hike.

Catching the sunrise.

Back in Phoenix.

Another visit to the Phx Children’s Museum.

Measuring beans with Julian.

Cozy Finn.

Cutie Coltchie.

Aunt Christy with Little Finn.

Colt and Abby.

Colt & Julian at the chalk board.

Hanging out by the fire! So cozy!

Great views on our way out!

A sleeping kid is the best view one can have on a plane!

Thanks for hosting us, Harpers!

After a fun-filled Thanksgiving in Arizona, Michael and I parted ways. I took Colt & Finn to South Carolina and he returned to Brazil. Although we all flew together through Washington DC, my flight from DC to SC was the first time I ever flew solo with the boys. The flight is just an hour though and since Michael helped us until we boarded and my parents were waiting for us upon arrival, it was hardly a thing.

So, while Michael was looking at this:

Cheers, Trentchy.

Final mass at our favorite Catholic church in SP.

I was looking at these sweet faces:

Finn, happy to be at Gigi & Pasha’s.

“Nerd Bear” Colt.

Colt helping Gigi make chicken.

She’s braver than I am!

December 3: Papa Fincher with Baby Fincher.

Nanny & Papa Fincher.

Gigi & Pasha got Colt a new bike!

December 4: Uncle Brad meeting Finn!

Brad also did us a huge favor bringing some of their old baby stuff for Finn to use while we were in SC. 

Finn loved the mirror and all of the animal faces.

What baby doesn’t love a swing? So thankful to have some places to put Finn!

December 5: Grocery shopping with Gigi gets you a balloon!

Loves Pasha, loves bikes, loves balloons. #winning.

So again, at this point Michael was back in Brazil getting us fully moved out of our apartment and working. We had planned on meeting in DC on Wednesday, December 16 to look at houses together for the first time, with hopes that we would find something we loved. Every night my mom and I would look on Zillow and one night, a house that I had been eyeing got a price-reduction. I loved the house and became convinced that it was “the one” so on Saturday, December 5, we decided to throw the boys in the car, drive the 10 hours and go to the open house the next day.

The boys actually did great on the drive. We arrived late at night, brought their sleeping bodies into the hotel room and were off the next morning. Open houses were starting at 1pm so we decided to spend the morning eating and playing at McDonalds.

Play Place!

I already posted about our house-buying process but to re-cap, the house I had fallen in love with online was actually already under contract by the time the open house started. I was heartbroken but we kept on with our search. When we came to our house (the one that we bought), I ran in and did an initial pass while my mom entertained the kids in the car (read: gave Colt crackers). I really liked it so I asked my mom to walk through to get her opinion. She came back to the car and agreed that it was awesome. I went back in and eventually she brought both of the kids in as well so we could really all get a feel for it together. I was pretty sure that this was the house for us but obviously wanted Michael to be able to see it too. He was set to arrive in 10 days but unfortunately the realtor told us that we would need to have our offer in within TWO days in order to be considered. My mom called our family friend and local realtor, Pam Campbell, and she met us at the house. We looked around some more and ultimately decided to go for it!

That evening as my mom and I drove the 10 hours home with the boys, we talked through the process. Pam sent us all of the paperwork the next day and thankfully we had already gone through the mortgage approval process with our bank and they were very responsive in providing any & all documents (we love you First Republic!). So, we worked our tails off to get our offer in by Tuesday only to have their agent come back and tell us that there were 10 offers on the table. We had included a letter & photo and he said that although the sellers liked us, our offer would need to be stronger in order to be considered. Over the next 36 hours we ended up having to adjust and readjust a bunch of times and I was so stressed out and frustrated by the process that I almost wanted to walk away, but our love for the house kept us in and ultimately we got it! It turns out that we didn’t even have the very best offer on the table but the sellers did like us and felt confident that we would take it to close (thanks to some phone calls from our bankers to the sellers’ agent) so they chose us!

I think that any time you’re buying a house, especially in a competitive situation, it’s very stressful but this was particularly stressful to me since Michael hadn’t been able to see the house or drive through the neighborhood or walk around the area. And truthfully he hardly had time to talk through each revised offer since he was so busy packing up our apartment in Brazil, not to mention working! But then, just like that, we were under contract!

Meanwhile, back in South Carolina…

Happy Finn.

Colt & Pasha bringing in the Christmas tree!!

Yard picnic.

These two…

And this guy!

At May’s baptism in Charleston!

Nanny & Papa are members of the Columbia zoo and we always love going with them when we’re in town.

Feeding the llamas.

Colt & Papa are always getting up to something!

Pony rides! (Thankful Colt does NOT seem to be allergic like his daddy…)

Gorilla watching.

The eyes on this guy!

And the chin & cheeks! 

Just like Jake!

Colt has always been so good with Finn.

Love watching their friendship develop.

Selfie!

Now Colt’s turn!

Copycat. 

When Michael finally flew to DC mid December, he was actually able to go to our home inspection! He totally trusted me but upon seeing the house in person he was even more excited about it and the whole neighborhood so that was a huge relief. I left Colt with my parents for a couple days and flew up with Finn to meet Michael there.

Coffee break with Finn!

While Michael and I were in DC, my parents took Colt back to Charleston to celebrate May’s first birthday.

Augusta Clare, Brad & Colt!

Then Michael and I returned to SC where we stayed through Christmas.

Christmas Coltchie.

Live Nativity at my parents’ church.

Colt & donkey. 

Our little Christmas elf.

Heart eyes emoji.

Captivated.

My dad & cousin took Michael to the shooting club for an afternoon of “fun”

December 22: Augusta Clare came to stay one night early so that she and Colt could get a little extra time together. They adore each other and are so freakin cute together.

Then, Gigi decided to let them make Christmas cookies…!

December 23: My brother’s family came to my parents’ house to stay the night and my grandparents visited for dinner & gifts!

The 4 grandkids! Ages: 2.5, 1, 4, and 4 months

The next morning – Christmas Eve – we all went to the Governor’s Mansion for pictures. My mom got the cute outfits for the grandkids and I think the pictures are adorable.

Christmas Eve Church service.

Pasha teaching Colt the art of the shoe-shine.

Colt decked out in sweet winter gear from his godparents! Thanks Mike & Mo!

Finn rocking his sweet “necker-chew”

Then on December 27, we flew west to Arizona to get ready for our New Years celebrations and for Finn’s baptism.

**Up Next: New Years in Arizona!