Family Vacation

We're spending time with our extended family this week-- the kids are the third generation to enjoy this marble game!!

Home Again

I got home last night, and it was great to hug everyone! 

Addition-wise, we should have a roof in a week or so!!

It's going to be so nice!!

Happy Easter!

My parents and my brother and my sister-in-law visited us for Easter weekend. It was great seeing them all! Here we all were after church on Sunday:

Aren't we a good looking family?

Weekend with cousins

One of my cousins moved down to Charlotte a year or two ago and we decided we'd go visit her and her lovely family for the weekend. It's nice to get to see family whenever you can. We had a great time going to see The Little Mermaid presented by The Charlotte Ballet and then getting to hang out and catch up while the kids played non-stop.

After church on Sunday we went out to eat and the kids got their very own table. They were so cute.
Here are my cousin's kids, who obviously know what to do when someone is taking their picture, and our kids, who look like they were to busy eating to bother.


Also, Goose had another baseball game tonight. He got to play catcher. His Uncle Todd would be proud!

The girl was too busy with crackers to pay attention.

Three!

It's fairly official: we don't have any babies in our house. The highchair has been converted to a booster, we don't have bottles or sippy cups or diapers, and the baby turned 3!!

That's right, the little peanut below has turned into a three-year-old.

 After opening presents, she strong-armed her uncle into joining her at a tea party. He was thrilled.

(The poor guy probably thought he was done with that when I outgrew tea parties! Bless him.)

Low Joints

My grandmother used to joke that she learned things at her mother's knee and other low joints. 

Speaking of low joints, my mom got a brand-new knee last week, and the baby and I are helping take care of her for a week! By taking care, I mean insisting that grandma read books!

Family Pool Time

My mom and brother are in town (to attend my great-uncle's funeral that was this morning), so we went to the splash pad before the little guy's swimming lessons tonight. It was fun to have extra eyes at the pool with the kids.

Beautiful Falls, Beautiful Smile

We went camping over the weekend and stopped by a waterfall on Saturday evening. When the baby saw it, she said "Look! The water is falling!" Hahaha. Here's her gorgeous smile for the camera:

The little guy had a great time climbing on the rocks.

Eric and I got engaged in these woods (awww) and our first post-engagment picture was in front of this waterfall.

We were so young!

Special Stories

We had a very special visitor at the house tonight-- my big brother! We all had ice cream, hung out for a bit, and then he read two books to the kids before they fell asleep. I don't know what it was, but they thought he was hilarious and just giggled the entire time he read.

What a wonderful visit!

Snow!

When our flight landed in Connecticut, the little guy leaned over and said "So, what language do they speak here?" After we were in the car, he asked "Is it Halloween in Connecticut right now?" Too funny. He didn't get to enjoy a different language OR Halloween, but he got to shovel snow off the frozen pond with his uncle.

He also said he saw a hamster in our hotel room... I'm hoping that was actually just his imagination. Ugh.

Healthy!

The little guy was fever-free all day! We even took a chance and checked his temperature at bedtime-- it was totally normal. We can send him back to school tomorrow with a clear conscience. I tried to get a sweet picture of the kids and Eric on the couch right before bedtime, but the little dude didn't want to participate and the baby likes to get in your face and talk. Here's the best I could do:

Someone has grown up

Well... my little man is officially registered for Kindergarten starting this fall. Today was the first day of registration in our county and (surprise, surprise) Emily was probably the first parent at our neighborhood school. He sure has changed a lot since he was little, obviously, but I don't think we realize just how much fun they are until the reach a milestone like this. All I can say is that I love that boy so much! I never knew my heart could be so full.

Then this one showed up and, well, my chest has exploded!

New bedtime routine

Well, softball was a disappointment last night. As Emily mentioned our first playoff game was last night. We were running just on time (or late as my lovely wife would put it). Unfortunately I was inadvertently, or at least I hope so, left off our playoff roster so I wasn't allowed to play. So I do what most do when they can't play anymore; they coach!

Now that that's cleared up from last night's post we can move on.

Bedtime has changed over the last few days to a week. It starts as normal with the kids going upstairs and procrastinating until their PJs are finally on. It used to be that Emily would read to the boy and I would get a very insistent, "LAY DOWN!!" and read to the girl. But lately the miniature person has insisted on climbing into her brother's bed and listening to a book with him as Em reads. Before the reading commences, Goose will insist that his sister needs a pillow if she's going to be in his bed so we have to provide that or the world is not right. Then they read. It's actually very sweet and cute.

Then, inevitably, something like below happens. Notice the choke hold hug the boy is giving his sister. She is soooo happy about it!

He means well... I think.

Swimming Lessons

The little guy's swimming lessons were a family expedition today: Nana, Pops, Daddy, Mommy, and the baby all went. The baby played happily through almost the entire lesson.

The little guy did AMAZING today. His teacher was REALLY impressed with how much more willing he was to be in the water this week. Wahoo!

Happy Daddy

I was laying on the couch Saturday minding my own business when Beau decided to hop up and lay on my chest. Emily decided it would be fun to take pictures while he kneaded me until I was comfortable enough for his liking. Well, you know the big kid and cameras. It wasn't long before I had another being piling on.

I'll tell you what. Life doesn't get much better. There's one happy daddy under there somewhere.

California Dreaming!

The weather was amazing in CA. It didn't rain the ENTIRE time we were there! I'm used to the humidity, and it was fabulous not having any for a little while.

The kids had a blast on the trip. The little dude spent hours upon hours running around my grandparents' backyard. He played all kinds of sports back there. He also spent some time admiring their orange tree.

Meanwhile, the baby and her great-uncle spent a lot of time poking at things with a big stick!

California, Here We Come

Actually, we went this past week, but I've had the O.C.'s theme song (California by Phantom Planet) stuck in my head for about a month. My mom and I took the kids to visit their great-grandparents and we had a blast! Here are the first of MANY photos I took.

Here are the kids at the airport, right before they were
perfect little angels on the plane.

This is why we went to California.

Introducing a new sport-- a hybrid of soccer, baseball, and
tennis (along with with fancy uniforms).

Both kids missed their daddy a TON, so it was great seeing him again last night.

Getting Better All the Time!

The baby still looks awful, but is doing SO much better. Hooray! After dinner, everyone headed out to check on the garden and play baseball in the yard (we're in a rut). The baby's feet are hurting her, so she sat in a little rocking chair to watch the game.

Even Beau came out with us to enjoy the evening. Ah, summertime.

Happiness Is...

... hushpuppies, baked beans, pulled pork, and family.

Not necessarily in that order!

Tiny Couch

Eventually, we're going to need a bigger couch. Our little tiny love seat still works for now, though, but  just barely.

I think this photo turned out pretty well given that I balanced my little Elph on the mantle and put it on self-timer. Not bad!