Smith School Awards

At the end of every school year, Smith School has an awards assembly. For the fifth graders, it's a really big deal. There are tons of awards and they make sure everyone gets something. For the Kindergarten through fourth graders, it's not quite as special. The little ones watch as the fourth graders get most of the awards. This year was a little different for Jackson. He earned the Perfect Attendance Award. He was on time to school every day this year!

Mrs. Gooch hands him his certificate.

Girl's Weekend

I know the pictures don't quite go with the title of this entry. While Sarah and I were away for a girl's weekend Kevin took the camera with him, so I don't have any pictures of the girls.
Sarah and I picked up Mom and Nana and headed to Emily's condo in the mountains where she and Ivey were waiting. Jamie and Natalie joined us on Saturday. We had so much fun! Sarah loved watching Ivey laugh. When someone made Ivey laugh, Sarah would start laughing too. We shopped, bonded, and had a birthday party for Emily.
Kevin doesn't like to be home alone when I'm not there. He decided to take Jackson, Adam, and the dog to Hanging Rock to do a little hiking. They hiked down to the waterfall where they rested and played in the water.

I'm waiting for the day when Adam realizes he doesn't have to "cheese it up" to smile.

Jackson has this hiking business down pat!

Adam's Fourth Birthday

Adam's birthday was on a Sunday so we started it off by going to church. After a quick lunch and a nap, the boys headed outside to warm up the Slip 'N' Slide and the sprinkler for the season. They were having too much fun. Sarah and I sat in the shade blowing some bubbles. Since we didn't go out for lunch we told Adam he could choose a place to eat dinner. He changed his mind about five times on the way there. We were first headed to La Cocina, then to McDonald's then to Blue Ribbon, Ruby Tuesdays and I finally stopped the car and made him make a final decision. We ended up at La Cocina. both Jackson and Adam wore hats while the waiters sang to them. We did not have the camera with us because we thought we were just going to McDonald's when we left the house. Adam opened his gifts when we got home which consisted of a new game for his new Fisher-Price iXL, a surf board for the pool, some new pajamas, and a new soccer ball.

The Big Birthday Bash

We gathered the whole family together at Dan Nicholas Park to celebrate Adam's fourth and Jackson's eighth birthdays. Gramma, Grandad, Nana, Aunt Jamie, Natalie, Philip, Philip's friend Val, Aunt Emily, Uncle Joe, Ivey, Grandma, Papa Jack, and Aunt Jeanne all came to help celebrate. Grandad left the hamburgers and hot dogs at home and had to go back to get them. Thank goodness they lived the closest! Grandma, Papa Jack, and Jeanne took the scenic route but made it just in time for Grandad's return with the food. We ate just a little later than planned which didn't leave us a lot of time to play. The kids (and several adults, too) rode the train, the carousel, and the paddle boats. Adam was a little upset about not getting to play on the playground, but heading for ice cream at the end of the day made it all better.

Sarah loved blowing bubbles.

Baseball and soccer was the theme this year. Baseball for Jackson and Soccer for Adam.

Sarah got some presents too! She was very excited about her purse.

Adam riding on the carousel.

Sarah refused to get on a horse so we sat in the sleigh to go round and round.

Kevin took Adam and Uncle Joe took Jackson for rides in the paddle boats. They raced each other all over that lake. The rest of us (Emily, Gramma, Grandad, Sarah, Ivey, and me) sat in the shade and watched.

Thank you to everyone who came and made the boy's birthdays extra special. We love you!

Jackson Turns Eight

Jackson's birthday fell on a Thursday this year. He started the day with some blueberry birthday muffins. We all sang "Happy Birthday", and he blew out a few candles- only three since we couldn't get eight to fit on a muffin. He celebrated at school with cookies and cheese puffs. I was actually able to sneak down and join the party myself. Well, when you are the host you get to pick the time and so I timed it perfectly to be during my planning time. (I do love teaching at the same school my kid attends.) Jackson had a baseball game that night so we grabbed a quick dinner at Moe's and headed to the game. Unfortunately the Red Sox lost, but Jackson did have two good hits. He quickly opened his presents right before having to head to bed. He got a snow cone maker, a baseball bat, helmet, and a bag to put it all in. A pretty good birthday for an eight year old!

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!

Mother's Day Weekend

Our church hosted a fishing trip last weekend at the Atlantic Beach Pier. We (well, the boys) signed right up and took advantage of the weekend at the beach to visit Grandma and Papa Jack. They were kind enough to watch the kiddos Friday night so Kevin and I could go eat with the church group at Captain Bill's in Morehead City. The boys headed to the pier on Saturday morning while Jan, Sarah, and I headed to downtown Swansboro to do a little shopping. We met the boys in Morehead City for dinner that night and were able to walk on the water front and watch all the fishing boats come in. We all enjoyed a lazy Sunday morning and then Kevin, the boys, and I went for a stroll on the beach while Jan and Jacky stayed with Sarah while she napped. We couldn't have asked for a better weekend. The weather was perfect- not too hot and not too cool!

One of the many sharks Jackson caught. He said he caught 11 fish in all!

Adam holding one of his catches- another shark I believe.

I was told that Adam's favorite part was throwing them back.

Fishing is hard work- can't you tell!?!?

Kevin and I strolled along the beach- the boys chose to run the whole way. We finally got them to stop to snap a few pictures.