September 2012

Sarah's 3rd Birthday

Sarah got a bike for her birthday. There is even a basket so she can take her babies for a ride, too. (I did not find any other pictures for Sarah's birthday??? Either we didn't celebrate (ha!) or we must have forgotten the camera.

Cuboree Scout Camp

 Adam trying a little knot tying. He's not an official scout yet but gets to tag along with Jackson and Kevin.

 Jackson doing chin ups. He did the most (11) of any other scout there!

 Waiting for the rain to end.

Soccer Season Begins

 Jackson began playing travel soccer. It's a year-long soccer program where he will be expected to play at a higher level. We will also be "traveling" no more than an hour away for some games.

Soccer Festival

The soccer season finally ended today. It was supposed to be over before Easter, but the rain and thunderstorms kept canceling our games. We would schedule a time to make-up a game and that game would get canceled due to the weather. The league decided to just forgive the unplayed games, end the season, and host the festival for Jackson's age group. We had some pretty hard rains last night and were expecting them to cancel the two games we were supposed to play today. It was looking like we were not meant to play soccer this season! Our theory was that it was the end of the season, and they felt there was no reason to "save the fields" and so let's play some soccer. Jackson played one game this morning and one game this afternoon. The afternoon game was a little warmer and somewhat sunnier than the morning game, but the rain didn't hold off. It started pouring at half time, and by the time we all put our chairs away, it stopped. Unfortunately, it started again and we ended up watching the second half under the umbrella. Adam, Sarah, and I sat in the car while Kevin and Jackson met the team under the shelter of the concession stand for the end of season team "party".

Sarah was not happy about having to stay in the stroller to watch the game, but it was way too muddy to let her run and play.

Adam entertains himself during the games by playing on Kevin's iPod. He cannot, however, wait to play soccer. In fact he thinks that when he "changes four", he can play. We are going to have a hard time explaining that he has to wait until August.

The rare occasions he sits in my lap are at soccer games.

Jackson and his teammates eat their party foods.

Instead of a trophy, he got a small soccer ball used for training.

Big group hug!

Separation Anxiety

Someone in our family has been experiencing a little separation anxiety... and it's not Sarah. I've been gone for the past three weekends doing "girl stuff" and Kevin has been left at home to hold down the fort. Of course, he has taken every opportunity to try and make me feel guilty. He has been known to say, "Thanks for stopping in" as I run back out the door to bible study or other commitments. Unfortunately the comments did not keep me at home. We had to celebrate Nana's birthday at the Barn Dinner Theater with just the girls. Then the next weekend I had to help shower Emily and baby Ivey with gifts. This past weekend I attended the Women of Faith Conference. See, no room for boys.
Now, don't assume Kevin was sitting at home counting the hours until my return. He packed all three of our kids up and drove across North Carolina two weeks ago. They went to the Fossil Museum in Aurora, dug for fossils at a park, and then rode the ferry across the Pamlico River to get home. Here is a little evidence of their fun weekends.

Jackson getting eaten by a shark at the Fossil Museum.

Digging for shark's teeth.

"Look, I found one, too!"

"Daddy lets me drive when Mommy's gone..."

"...And he gives me M&M's. The blue ones are best."

I missed Jackson's last two soccer games last Saturday. This is the best picture Kevin could get of him getting his medal.

"Aren't you coming with me, Daddy?" (I love these steps Granddad. I climb up them every chance I get.)

I'll help you rake!

You can't rake leaves without playing in a pile or two!

It's Been a Long Time...

It's been what, like 3 or 4 months since I've posted. We've got a lot of catching up to do! Sorry, I haven't taken the time to update this blog. I'll try and do better from now on. For this entry, I'll catch you up on all of our happenings through pictures.

Jackson finished his soccer season in the middle of May. His team met at the park near the soccer fields to play, have cupcakes and get their medals. This was Jackson's last season with this team. He will move up to what they call the U8 division. Boys under the age of 8 will play together on a longer field and with goalies. I think they even keep score. We're hitting the big time now!


Jackson and Adam celebrated their birthdays with friends at Bouncin' Around. It's a local place that has tons of bouncy houses and obstacles to jump on and in. We combined their party this year but each got their own cake! The next weekend we had a party for family at our house. We had "make-your-own sundaes" with all kinds of toppings.

Adam gets a ride to the house after the big birthday bash!

They wouldn't give me any cake! All I got was this tasty toy!

Sarah turned 8 months and started crawling all over the place. If left on her own she will follow us wherever we go. There is still no sign of teeth and just a little hair starting to grow. We are still waiting...

At the beginning of June, Jackson had his field day at school. This was a picture taken with his friend, Regan. He ran races, jumped on the bouncy things, and tried his hand at throwing the baseball at the dunking booth. Unfortunately (or maybe that was fortunate for Mr. Allred in the booth!), he missed!

I think this is just the cutest picture of the three of them. This is also our only picture of Jackson in his baseball uniform. I know, we are slack. We always seemed to be rushing to his games since they were so far out in the county. I never remembered the camera. He really enjoyed playing, (this was his first season) and Kevin even got some experience as an assistant coach as he helped out where he was needed.

This is Sarah's latest trick. She claps her hands and raises them over her head. She'll do it again if you acknowledge her and say, "Yeah, Sarah!"

Sarah is now nine months old and can pull up to a stand. Lately she has been known to let go and stand on her own for a minute. I think she will be walking before she has teeth or hair!
She loves the swimming pool. We thought Adam had no fear- Sarah has even less fear. She prefers to be swimming on her own without her float and tries to push your arms from around her so she can be "free". I really do want to let go just to see what she would do. As much as moves, she would probably just start swimming!

I just love this picture! Sarah loves her big brothers and Jackson loves holding her and playing with her. Adam is starting to tolerate her a little more. He likes to touch her head. Come to think of it, he pretty much pets her like a dog but does ask permission before doing it, which is good!

Adam got sick at the end of June with a virus. He ran a fever for about two days and was only puny (as you can see above) when there was no Tylenol in him. He bounced back pretty quickly but ended up giving it to Sarah by the end of the week. Her case wasn't quite as mild. She was a miserable girl with a higher fever for about three days.

Mine and Kevin's Fourth of July weekend wasn't an exceptionally relaxing one. We didn't once go to the pool or see the fireworks. While the kids were at Gramma and Granddads (yes, they took all three and survived!), we slaved over their bathroom. We pulled out about 500 short little nails that had once held up some OLD fabric wallpaper (I guess that's how they hung it 100 years ago) and then plugged the holes so that the walls would finally be smooth. Kevin took the exposed plumbing and tucked it behind the baseboard molding and then 3 days later I could finally paint. When I get the shower curtain and the towels hung, I'll post another picture. We only had a slight mishap with the water (We failed to make sure it was turned off before we turned it back on...oops!) but other than that, I think it's going to look great!

Oh, our little Sarah! She is going to be full of mischief ! I was in the kitchen preparing dinner the other night and she was in her "cage" in the living room with Adam who was watching TV. Adam ran into inform me that Sarah took her clothes off. When I came into investigate she just stood there and smiled and laughed like there was nothing wrong with what she had just done, which I guess there really wasn't! She was wearing a sleeveless top with skinny little straps and somehow shimmied out of the arms. The shirt was just sitting at her waist. I just helped her out of it the rest of the way, so she looked like a bumpkin the rest of the night. Later I was loading the dishwasher and she was crawling around the kitchen. I turned to the sink to rinse a dish, and when I turned to put it in the dishwasher, there sat Sarah on the door, smiling and clapping her hands. My first thought was to take a picture, but she was naked, and I refuse to have pictures of my children with no clothes. So, I just picked her up, put the dish in closed the door, and off she went. Well, even later, Kevin caught her climbing up to the second step and throwing the blankets down (that he had just folded up) so she could have a seat. And what did he do? Yep, he snapped a picture. You have to admit though she is so darn cute even if she is naked!

On Friday Adam pulled out his tool belt and asked me to put it on him. Jackson tried the construction vest on and then went to get the safety goggles and the hard hat to add to the outfit.

Well, now that we're all caught up, you know what's been going on in our ever so crazy lives! I promise to take so long to post the next entry!

Nearing the End of the Soccer Season

Jackson had his last soccer game on Saturday and they took team pictures on the previous Saturday. He will have his end of season party on Tuesday. What are we going to do with all the upcoming free time on Tuesday nights and Saturday mornings?

Adam wanted to pose with "his" soccer ball, too!

Jackson's Soccer Game

Jackson had a soccer game last Saturday. We finally remembered to take the camera.

Last Soccer Game

Jackson's last soccer game was on Saturday. Here a few shots from the game.