Memories

We planted a tree today in honor of Matt's brother Keith. He is missed very much! 

Grace's First Day of Kindergarten 2011

This is one year ago on the Grace's first day of Kindergarten. Looking at these pictures I can't believe how young the kids look and how I look at the house and the street and if feels like ages ago that we lived there. It seems like a different life. 

October Snow 2011 & Silly String Fight

Frisco, NC Beach July/August 2012

We had a much needed vacation to the beach and had an amazing time! It was so great to have just the 6 of us together having fun!

Evan's Preschool Graduation - June 2012

Evan graduated from Pre-K in June and we are all so proud of him! He was so proud of himself, and just loved having his Grammie and PopPop there!

One Liners

Hi! Oh how I have been neglecting my blog!!!! And since I have very little time right now, as usual, I am going to give a few updates in one liners (or maybe two)!

• I just sat through Kindergarten registration yesterday and I cried when I got into my car. 
• I had a conference with Grace's teacher yesterday and Grace is doing excellent! I'm so proud of that kid!
• Madeline is very intense and into her letters and letter sounds, she wants so much to read like her big sister can. 
• Leah is starting to show her artistic side more and more, I adore the pictures that she draws and paints. She's just so proud of herself and I'm so proud of her!
• We are making progress with the house, not as fast as I would like but with everything we have going on we're doing the best we can. 
• I cannot wait to repaint (or replace) the front door and garage door. I really really can't wait until we replace the deck! 
• I'm loving that the weather is warm enough for us to take walks and we have met a lot of great people in the neighborhood. I can't wait to relax on the back deck with friends while we watch our kids play in the yard!!
• I'm looking forward to the end of the school year ~ the freedom to pack up and take trips whenever Matt has a few days off will be great!
• My baby boy turns 5 in one week from today. It breaks my heart to see the kids grow up so fast. They're only young once....  :-(

March? March!!

I cannot believe that it's March already. My baby boy will turn FIVE in less than a month. I got his Kindergarten registration packet in the mail and cried, just like I did with Grace. I'm going to lose my mind when Madeline and Leah start Kindergarten. Evan just seems so young. Evan doesn't want to go to Kindergarten he says. I'm scared of the first day of school!

Grace is reading like a pro. I'm constantly amazed by her. She just loves school, she's upset that she doesn't have school on Friday for a teacher in-service day!

Product Details - Green Vintage Flower Tumblers

Product Details - Green Vintage Flower Tumblers

Just Us

Just a mini-update on us...

• Evan has a double ear infection. I took him to a CVS Minute Clinic this morning because the pain was just too much for him and he's on antibiotics. Grace just got finished her antibiotics for an ear infection. Evan is super bummed that he isn't able to go swimming tomorrow for his lesson. 
• Madeline is now the sick one, fever, cough, runny nose. I wonder how long it will take her to get an ear infection. Leah is hanging in there without any major issues, just a nasty sounding cough. Leah does however has a rash or bug bite of some sort on her lower leg. I'm worried about it but of course I worry about everything!
• Grace just got the results of the state testing they do in school and she did amazing! I'm so proud of that kid!
• We are getting things ready for marathon painting when Matt has 2 weeks off in March. I still have not gotten ALL of the wallpaper glue off of the walls. 
• Tuesday is Valentines Day and it's a holiday that Matt and I really don't do much for, it's just not our thing. The kids are excited though so I'm going to try to make something special for them on Tuesday. 
• We are hoping to get everyone better so that we can visit Matt's parents on his next days off.
• I need hire an interior decorator. I can't seem to get an idea of how I want to decorate the living room or our bedroom. I see things in magazines and like them but have no idea how to pull it all together. 
• I'm not finished our taxes yet, I'm ready to throw them out the window!! With selling a house, buying a house, Matt working in another state...oh do things get complicated! 
• We were pretty bummed this morning when we woke up and checked our Powerball ticket to find out that we didn't win the big jackpot, we won $12.  :-) That pays for 2 days worth of tolls for Matt.
• Grace has her hair appointment on Thursday and she is still insisting on getting a pixie hair cut. I don't know what to do! I know it sounds silly but I feel a lot of pressure to make sure I make the right choice...not let her do it and just get it cut into a really short bob or let her decide and live with the consequences if she doesn't like it?!!!

**Dance**

I just have to say that I have been getting SO many laughs from watching The Ellen Show's "Dance Dare". If you don't know what it is, it's a dare to get people to video tape themselves dancing randomly behind strangers without the stranger knowing. Some of the videos just crack me up!

Evan

Here's my big boy riding his scooter in the driveway, he loves being outside!

In the news

There is a story in the news from yesterday about a 15 year old boy who was shot to death by police officers inside of his school. The boy apparently displayed the gun and engaged in fights (or fight) with another student(s). The administration dialed 911 and put the school on lock down. The police arrived, came into contact with the student and repeatedly told the boy to drop his gun and he refused to do so. The two officers shot him twice, killing him. How awful for the 750 students in that school and their parents. I also feel for the parents of the boy that lost his life. After everything was over the police discovered that the gun was a pellet gun and not a "real gun". They have shown pictures of the gun and it looks exactly like a "real gun". Some are saying that the killing of the boy was unjustified because he only had a pellet gun. There was no way for the officers to know that. I 100% support the actions the officers took if what was reported is exactly what happened. I have a child in school now, and will have a second one in school in the fall, if this incident occurred at their school, I hope and pray the school district and police officers would have handled it the same way.
I pray with all of my heart that something like this will never occur at their school. It's scary enough to put your young child on the big yellow bus and wave goodbye, placing them in the hands of others to take care of. When things like this happen it just makes me sick to my stomach.